THE SLEAZE REPORT

                      NEWS THAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT

                             "TOAD LICKERS"

       Just when you thought America's drug crisis couldn't get any worse,
  hopheads have found  a  new  way to get high that's so bizarre it sounds
  like a sick joke; They lick toads!

       Before you even think about laughing,  consider  this: Toad licking
  is a felony, just like taking heroin or LSD!  "You take a toad, shake it
  about and agitate it," explained Berkeley, Calif., Police  Chief  Ronald
  Nelson.

       "That makes  it  emit  a chemical through its skin.  "Then you lick
  the chemical off the back of the toad."  Explained  Dr. Alan Tani of the
  San Francisco Poison  Control  Center, "Some toads exude  hallucinogenic
  substances as well as toxins as part of their defense."

       The most  commonly  used  toad for U.S. drug-takers is the Colorado
  River toad, found in the Southwest  and  Mexico.  It  gives  off  a drug
  compound called bufotenine.

       "We hear  of  youngsters  who  do this fairly frequently,"  said  a
  California probation officer.  "Kids  sniff  glue of paint, but say that
  makes you so numb you can't think or  talk. PCP also makes you unable to
  function. But the kids say that toad licking gives you  a  trip  without
  paralyzing you.

       "It isn't as strong as LSD, but it's free." However the toadlickers
  don't realize they're playing a dangerous game.

       A Drug Enforcement Agency official, who asked not to be named, said
  he didn't know  of  anyone  arrested yet for toad licking, but he added,
  "Bufotenine is in the same category  of illegal drugs as heroin and LSD.
  It's a felony to possess it and a felony to use the drug."

                       !!! RIVET RIVET !!!

  This highly regarded report comes from your favorite newspaper
  "The National Enquirer."