Morning Glory seeds in the news

Store clerks at Almo's Flower & Garden Center initially thought it was a little strange.

Groups of young teenagers would ride their bikes to the garden store to buy packets of morning glory seeds.

Their specific interest in the small black seeds wasn't for gardening, but rather a hallucinogenic high similar to taking LSD.

"They're (teens) chewing them and swallowing them, and a chemical in the seeds is giving them a hallucinogenic high," warned Dracut Police Chief Kevin Richardson.

The chemical is Lysergic Acid Amide (LSA), the same chemical used to make Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, commonly known as LSD.

LSA is derived from ergot, a type of fungus that grows on grains, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Andy Daigle, a manager at Almo's contacted police after realizing the seeds were being used as illicit drugs."One kid said I take it and I hallucinate for six hours," Daigle said.

While LSD has been widely studied and documented, information about LSA isn't listed on the National Institute on Drug Abuse or U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Web sites.

However, because LSA mimics the hallucinogenic effects of LSD, doctors say it could be dangerous.

"LSD is a potent hallucinogenic; not only is there an acute effect, but people get all sorts of flashbacks and psychological damage," said Dr. Wayne Pasanen, vice president of Medical Affairs at Lowell General Hospital and medical director