Groton - A sailor could get kicked out of the Navy for going inside Cory's Petroleum.

The gas and service station on Route 12, about 2 miles from the Naval Submarine Base, sells pouches of Salvia divinorum, an herb that produces hallucinogenic effects when chewed or smoked.

Salvia is legal for purchase by anyone over 18, but the chief of naval operations has ordered that sailors not use it. They are also prohibited from using so-called "fake pot" products that mimic the effects of marijuana, commonly sold as Spice but also marketed under a variety of names and sold legally to adults.

The Navy placed several southeastern Connecticut locations on the off-limits list for service members, and officers and sailors who go into these establishments can face stiff penalties under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for failing to obey an order.

A yellow box prominent on the base's website names the establishments: Cory's Petroleum, Northern Lights on Long Hill Road, Connecticutz Barber Shop on the Gold Star Highway and Old Glory Music & Entertainment in Old Saybrook. The barber shop is on the list because of reports of drug-related activity and bootleg DVDs. The other three are listed because of Spice and general drug paraphernalia, according to the base.

"Putting something off-limits is not to 'catch sailors,'" said Chris Zendan, base spokesman. "It's to make them aware that these establishments are involved in activity that is unsafe for them and their careers. ... We don't have active shore patrol that stake out the off-limits establishments for sailors. We don't have that."

Salvia and Spice have been available in the United States for years but lately have become trendy among young adults. Teen star Miley Cyrus was recently shown in a leaked videotape smoking Salvia.

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to ban five synthetic cannabinoid chemicals found in these designer drugs, which would make Spice illegal but not Salvia since it is a natural rather than a synthetic product. The DEA considers Salvia a "drug of concern" that may later be banned, according to a spokesman.

The agency has not yet issued the final order banning the chemicals under the Controlled Substances Act. The Navy has a zero-tolerance policy for the substances, and a guilty party faces a reduction in pay or rate, separation from the Navy, a dishonorable discharge and even jail time.

At the Groton base and submarine school, five to 10 people were caught using or possessing Spice in the past year, and all had to leave the service. One sailor was found guilty at a special court-martial in a case involving Spice and one of the off-limits establishments, meaning he left the Navy with a federal conviction on his record, said Lt. Natasha Bode, command services attorney at the base.

"The number of incidents of designer-drug usage is rising at an alarming rate in our Navy," Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said in a statement in January. He noted that 151 sailors were accused of using or possessing Spice or a similar drug in the past four months.

Also in January, the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland expelled seven midshipmen for using or selling Spice. Five cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado have also been expelled, and another 25 are under investigation for using Spice.

No cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London have gotten into trouble for Spice, according to the academy. The Coast Guard has prohibited its personnel from using or possessing substances that produce psychoactive effects, including natural substances and products containing synthetic cannabinoid compounds, such as Spice, Genie, Blaze, Dream, Ex-Ses, Spark, Dark Knight, Yucatan Fire and K2.

At Cory's Petroleum, a gram of Salvia retailed for $44.99 or $59.99. The more expensive version, by Club13 Herbals, advertised on the packaging that it was the strongest extract made, "a tool for self exploration." Cory's had it in natural, peach, watermelon and strawberry flavors, near the fried chicken whose smell permeated the store.

A flier on top of the glass case explained the drug's effects: "When used in small doses the user feels a relaxing state of mind, altered light perception and uncontrolled fits of laughing. When used in larger amounts, intense laughter and meditational epiphanies can occur."

In bold lettering, the flier states that Salvia "will not show up in urine, hair or blood drug tests."

Cory, of Cory's, would not answer questions but said in a voice-mail message that "we sell everything legal."

Old Glory Music & Entertainment used to sell Spice at the Old Saybrook boutique but took it off the shelves in anticipation of the federal ban, according to an employee. Both the owners of Northern Lights and the Connecticutz Barber Shop said they have never sold Spice, Salvia or anything like it.

"We had no idea what was in it," said Robert Cromwell, co-owner of Northern Lights. "Some places are making thousands selling it, but we never felt comfortable."

Cromwell said his store receives calls daily from people looking for it, but the store is sticking with tobacco. The smell of incense permeates the shop on Long Hill Road, where clothing, posters and pipes of all shapes, sizes and colors are sold. The sub base, he said, was not a major draw to opening in the area last year so it would not be worth trying to get removed from the list.

"We're a tobacco shop, and we found a nice, big place to open," Cromwell said. "There wasn't too much competition, and there's so much traffic on the street. We have great visibility. It had nothing to do with the sub base."

The owner of Connecticutz Barber Shop, on the other hand, says the list is hurting his business and he wants off. Jay Brown said his store got into trouble two years ago for illegal DVDs, then he received a letter about the off-limits list with instructions on how to get reinstated by the commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.

"My lawyer replied, and we were told they would have a meeting at the end of 2010, but we've yet to hear anything," said Brown, who added that the shop used to have a "big Navy following."

"It has hurt a lot, that's a lot of clientele we would definitely have," he said.

Brown also heard that the Navy thinks his shop sells Spice, a claim he says is absurd.

"I would never sell anything Cory's is selling," he said. "How would I compete? That's like selling egg rolls when the China House is down the street."

A spokesman for the DEA could not say precisely when the final order will be issued to make the chemicals used in these products illegal. It could be days or weeks, Rusty Payne said.

"Just because something is not illegal, that doesn't make it safe," he said. "We've seen the harm to users, and we've been able to review enough data to determine that this stuff is bad and needs to be controlled."

The ban would last for at least one year before a final decision would have to be made on whether there is enough evidence that these chemicals should be permanently controlled, Payne said.

j.mcdermott@theday.com