Law hasn't caught up to synthetic stoners - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Law hasn't caught up to synthetic stoners

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By Lori Brown - bio | email

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) -  Top health officials in Tennessee are issuing a warning for parents after an Action News 5 investigation revealed a spike in the number of people using household items to get high.

Action News 5 has warned viewers about the dangers of snorting bath salts, inhaling aerosols and even smoking nutmeg - those are just three household highs state officials are worried about. Now, they're targeting synthetic stoners, but the law hasn't caught up yet.

For instance, the Tennessee Department of Health says Salvia is a psychoactive naturally growing plant. The main chemical in Salvia causes it to be hallucinogenic.  Salvia is growing in popularity, and even popular teen singer Miley Cyrus was seen in an online video smoking what friends said was the plant.

The results of Salvia are not a laughing matter, and the Tennessee Department of Health is sounding the alarm. Experts say there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people needing emergency treatment after using the stimulants.

But Salvia isn't the only cheap and legal drug putting lives at risk. A substance called "Molly's Plant Food" is clearly not about feeding plants. According to a website that sells the substance, Molly's Plant Food is a "legal ecstasy."

One person writes on the website, "I'd love to know what in the world it is I'm taking."

The Health Department says it is a lab-created powder with contaminants "that are damaging to the brain and neurological system." The drug creates uncontrollable body movements.

Another person writes about Molly's Plant Food, "...the last time i did it i went numb and started crying and screaming...to take it away and had to pour water on me to calm down".

Another wrote, "I don't know what that purple monkey stuff is but its not good..its more addictive than the mollys plant food and it made my whole body shake for hours then the roll turned into an acid trip. a bad acid trip. do not do the purple monkey plant food."

There is legislation in the works in Tennessee to ban selling the plant food products and Salvia. To find out more, follow the links below:

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