Pubdate: Tue, 10 Aug 2004
Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA)
Copyright: 2004 The Times-Picayune
Contact:  http://www.nola.com/t-p/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848

BANNING A BREW

Some people who've experimented with angel's trumpet as a way to get high 
have learned the hard way that one of the tropical plant's other common 
names -- devil's weed -- is more apt.

When ingested, angel's trumpet can cause fever, blurred vision and urine 
retention. Three Kenner teenagers and two Destrehan teens were hospitalized 
after drinking angel's trumpet concoctions. In Florida, a youth died from 
its effects.

The plant's hallucinogenic properties are no less dangerous. One of the 
Kenner teens was poised to jump off a roof while under its influence; 
another tried to take a bite out of his arm. And in Germany, a young man 
seriously mutilated himself with garden shears while high on the substance.

It shouldn't be legal to manufacture, use or sell such a dangerous 
substance, and in Kenner and New Orleans, at least, it's now a misdemeanor. 
The Kenner City Council adopted an ordinance last month that makes it 
illegal to consume or sell concoctions containing the plant. The New 
Orleans City Council voted last week to ban the manufacture or sale of 
compounds made from the plant.

Neither ordinance bans the buying, selling or possession of the plant 
itself, and that's as it should be. The angel's trumpet has a legitimate 
use in landscaping, and it's hardly the only thing growing in people's 
gardens that could be dangerous if misused.

But people who turn this flowering plant into a drug should face 
consequences, and not only in New Orleans and Kenner. Officials in both 
places say that a state law is needed, and they're right.

This kind of dangerous trend would be better addressed by a statewide law 
than by piecemeal banning of the substance by local governments that may 
not learn about angel's trumpet until a tragedy happens in their backyard.

A state law that bans the use, manufacture and sale of angel's trumpet 
concoctions could keep it out of the hands of someone's son or daughter. 
And it would ensure that those who seek to profit from this noxious brew 
will face appropriate punishment. 
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