One day last week officer Al Polehonki took his police cruiser out for a garden tour of Los Feliz.He was looking for a toxic plant called angel’s trumpet, a plant common
in Southern California that is known for its large, flared flowers that
Polehonki described as looking "like lilies with long necks."
Each time he spotted the plant in front of a house, he got out, knocked
on the door and asked whoever answered: Do you know that kids pick
these flowers and chew them to get high?
At least twice this year paramedics have been called to nearby Marshall
High School to treat students who became ill after ingesting angel’s
trumpet, school officials say. Polehonki, who is familiar with those
cases, said the students suffered nausea, delirium and difficulty
breathing. He said he has heard of two other cases in which
neighborhood youths became seriously ill after eating the plant.
They do it, said 14-year-old Marshall High freshman Earl Harris, "because it makes them feel relaxed and calm."
–Kate Linthicum
Photo: AP
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L.A. police warns against dangers of angel’s trumpet as Los Feliz teens get sick