Popularity of a Hallucinogen May Thwart Its Medical Uses.

With a friend videotaping, 27-year-old Christopher Lenzini of Dallas took a hit of Salvia divinorum, regarded as the world's most potent hallucinogenic herb, and soon began to imagine, he said, that he was in a boat with little green men. Mr. Lenzini quickly collapsed to the floor and dissolved into convulsive laughter. When he posted the video on YouTube this summer, friends could not get enough. ''It's just funny to see a friend act like a total idiot,'' he said, ''so everybody loved it.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]