Imagine sitting in your room one moment, and the next a purple unicorn gives you a ride to a beer-filled pool where you lay around and contemplate life with a field full of singing daisies. While this may seem like a dream, it isn’t. In fact, it’s what can happen to a person on salvia.

Salvia divinorum, also called Magic Mint and Sally D, is a plant that has powerful psychoactive properties which alters consciousness, mood and behavior.

“I’ve taken it two or three times, but when I took it my first time I remember feeling really trippy for like 20 to 30 minutes with the most intense part only lasting like five minutes,” said Nick Gallop, junior in marketing. “There weren’t any big hallucinations, but I got a really intense perception of the different sounds and lights in the room, like tunnel vision.”

Although it may sound like the country cousin of LSD or peyote, it still remains legal in the United States for those 18 and older.

“It’s amazing that something like salvia is legal in the United States,” said Sean Berens, freshman in preprofessional health programs. “You would think that the government would put a restriction on it if the effects of it are somewhat like LSD and those other drugs.”

In its natural state, salvia come as leaves that can either be smoked or chewed. Because of a rise in popularity, most distributors extract the active chemical, Salvinorin A, into concentrated doses of 5x, 10x and 40x – ultimately offering more bang for your buck.

Traditionally, salvia has been available in head shops and adult entertainment stores, but the accessibility has grown because of the Internet. Sites such as eBay offer mass quantities of the drug direct from Mexico without need for age verification.

The drug’s psychoactive effects, as well as the increased ease of purchase, have created pressure to regulate salvia. Currently four states have created laws banning the distribution and possession of the drug, including Louisiana, Delaware, Missouri and Tennessee.

Regardless of the regulations and concerns, The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has listed salvia as having no medical use and only illicit purposes, with no statement on whether further national regulation will be imposed.

On campus, Richard Jauron, extension program specialist for horticulture, said there wasn’t very much information available regarding this strain of salvia because it isn’t naturally grown in the area.

This lack of knowledge appears with students, too, with most not knowing what it is and a few having tried it.

Berens said although he hasn’t heard of the drug, its legality makes him curious to try it.

Because the effects a user experiences are dependent on the room environment, salvia can create mixed results when consumed at a loud party or in a quiet room.

Ultimately, salvia can provide a short break from reality – even transport the user to another world.

But with little known about the long-term effects of the drug, some are asking at what expense its effects can come.

“I didn’t really have any after-effects like a hangover or anything – it’s definitely something to try at least once,” Gallop said.