Greenhouse - Alert on Salvia Divinorum

Greenhouse growers should be aware that there is concern about the use of Salvia divinorum as a drug by young people. The following is more information.

Salvia - A Hallucinogenic?

An article in The Washington Post mentioned that Salvia divinorum has attracted the attention of young people across the United States. Salvia divinorum is not the same as the salvia that greenhouse growers have been selling as a flowering bedding plant or herb. S. divinorum is creating a stir because the foliage contains salvinorin that can be dried and smoked to provide a short-lived hallucinogenic trip. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has labeled salvia a drug of concern. You may find that young customers are suddenly interested in salvia this spring, even though the salvia that greenhouses are growing is the not the salvia that they are really interested in.

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Information from October 2, 2009 edition of the Greenhouse TPM/IPM Bi-Weekly Report from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Central Maryland Research and Education Center.