HOUSTON -- Texas lawmakers are moving to restrict the sale of a powerful hallucinogenic drug that is featured in thousands of popular Internet videos, KPRC Local 2 Investigates reported Thursday.

Known on the street as "Sally D" or "Magic Mint," Salvia divinorum is a Mexican herb that dates back to Mazatec Indians in Oaxaca, Mexico, who have used it for religious or healing rituals for decades.

Teens and other young people are now seeking the powerful, nearly instantaneous high that comes from the drug, while many have posted videos of trips that involve stumbling, falling, and reaching into the air for things that don't exist.

"Since it was legal, I figured it wouldn't be that bad," said a 21-year-old Houston business school student, who asked that his family's identity be withheld.

He said he wanted to experiment with a hallucinogen, so he smoked it back in April. He and his family have been dealing with issues ever since and his father fears the drug may have caused permanent harm.

"Just something I never imagined," said the father. "You know, he was the happy guy. He's got such a bright future. God, I just didn't know what to do. Here's my son talking about suicide. This drug just sort of took a hold of his life."

With hidden cameras, Local 2 Investigates found Salvia for sale in most Houston area smoke shops. Some attendants warned that the drug should only be used when sober people are around to make sure nothing dangerous happens.

Some videos have been watched between 500,000 and 700,000 times on YouTube, the video-sharing Internet site that is popular with teens and college age groups. In one video, a man is seen smoking Salvia behind the wheel of his car, as he quickly leans his head back and describes going "into space."

Others are seen falling down and running into furniture while seeming completely detached and unable to communicate with others in the room.

A study from Brookhaven scientists found the drug affects the brain nearly 10 times faster than cocaine, while a University of Kansas researcher reported users enjoying a "less addictive" drug that affects the brain like Morphine. That study found 4.4 percent of users reporting negative effects such as anxiety lasting after the high is gone.

Ohio became the sixth state to ban or place other restrictions on Salvia last month, after a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed by a 12-year-old friend who had just used the drug in the town of Loudonville. In Maryland, a teenager left behind a suicide note, describing his entire outlook on life diminishing after using the drug.

"The things that he said were the same things that my son was telling me," said the Houston father, who is now keeping a close eye on his son, the business school student.

He said his son has been sleeping in the same room with him and his wife, so that his behavior could be monitored.

Texas state Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, of Waco, told Local 2 Investigates that he is introducing a bill in the January Legislature that would ban the sale of Salvia to anyone under the age of 18.

"It's very colorful," he said. "It's packaged like bubble gum is, or candy."

Anderson said he was motivated by the fear of kids getting behind the wheel or driving bicycles while under the influence of Salvia.

"They lose the sense of touch, they lose the sense of pain," he said. "They often times don't remember the event, and so you have a date rape situation a possibility there."

The Drug Enforcement Administration refers to Salvia as a "drug of concern," but no federal legislation addresses it.

Regardless of whether it is legal or not, one Houston smoke shop owner said he will pass on what could amount to lots of fast, easy cash.

"It's really bad, and it's legal. I can't believe they made it legal," said Thomas Nguyen, owner of Southern Smoke Shop on Beechnut. "It's basically all my ethics," he said about his decision to tell customers he has no plans to carry the herb.