AKRON, Ohio -- A local middle school student recently came dangerously close to dying after getting high with his friends.

It wasn't crack or smack or any other illegal drug that nearly did him in.

NewsChannel5's Jonathan Costen reported that the drug is a seed that's easy to find and perfectly legal, but it can ruin your life.

Officials said a student at Erwine Middle School told a friend about a way to get high by using a plant called jimsonweed. It can be found virtually everywhere, like along the interstate or even in the back yard.

The seeds from the pod are hallucinogenic.

"And one friend said, 'Gee, my mom and dad have some of those seeds down in their basement," said Detective Tom Hooper, of the Summit County Sheriff's Department.

Hooper said that nine children swallowed the seeds, but most of them stopped because the seeds tasted bitter. He said that one boy kept taking the seeds to get high, and he swallowed about 200 seeds.

"He finally started to see bricks move and see lights change, color (change) and things like this," Hooper said.

The student's blood pressure dropped dangerously low, and he was rushed to the hospital.

The incident has some parents concerned.

"My son goes to school here, and he knows not to take any drugs," parent Donna Beavers said. "It's disturbing, because I think they know better. If they know they're getting high, they know it's wrong, and that makes me nervous because I don't want my kids to try it.

"I'm not sure how to handle it, and I know I would never do anything like that," one student said.

But there are kids who will attempt to get high using jimsonweed. What frustrates officials is that the seeds are legal in Ohio because the Substance Control Act does not cover them.

Hooper wants legislators to change that.

"These seeds will kill people," he said. "Kids use these, and they will die."

Hooper said the seeds can cause hallucinations for days or send a person into a coma.

Only three states have outlawed the drug.