Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Salvia divinorum Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Genus: Salvia Species: divinorum Binomial name Salvia divinorum Salvia divinorum (also known as diviner's sage or simply salvia) is a psychoactive plant, a member of the sage genus. The plant is grown by the Mazatec indigenous people of the Oaxaca mountains in isolated, moist and secret plots. It has been used by their shamans for centuries for healing during spirit journeys. The primary active hallucinogenic chemical is known as Salvinorin A (there are also B and C forms.) Salvinorin A is unique in that it is an agonist of neuroreceptors largely ignored by other known drugs. It is an extremely powerful drug, but generally controllable. Usage and Effects Traditional Use The traditional Mazatec method for ingesting salvinorin involves chewing a ball of 15-20 fresh salvia leaves for an extended period of time. Leaf preparations Salvinorin is not very concentrated in the salvia leaves, and the body metabolizes salvinorin relatively quickly; therefore one must smoke a great quantity of salvia leaves in a short amount of time to experience any effects from the drug. Many people have therefore prepared fortified salvia leaves for smoking; that is, leaves to which a concentrated extract of salvinorin-A has been added, in order to minimize the overall amount of smoking required. Vaporization and Smoking Salvinorin is ideally taken as a vapor using a very small quantity of leaf through a vaporizer, but only if the potentcy of leaf is known and the leaf can be accurately weighed. Otherwise, the dried leaves are typically smoked in a water pipe, to cool the smoke. The activation temperature required to release the salvinorin-A from the plant material is quite high and requires an intense direct flame, typically from a butane torch lighter, making smoke that is too hot to inhale directly. Extract of highly concentrated salvinorin may be taken sublingually or smoked. Subjective Effects Most users find that the effects of salvinorin are not very conducive to socializing or getting high at parties; in fact, while under the influence most people tend to find any external stimuli distracting. Most people perceive a small dose as clearing the mind and impairing coordination. Many find a small dose useful for meditation or simply being in the world. Consciousness is retained until the very highest doses, but body control, awareness of externalities, and individual personality disappear at modest ones. Large doses have more dramatic effects. Taking a moderate to large dose (which requires smoking an extract of Salvinorin-A) induces a trancelike state, in which the user may experience fully formed visions of other places, people, and events. "Bad trips" are rare but do happen. The effects do not last long relative to other recreational drugs, with the main experience lasting only 5 minutes. Salvia seems not to affect about one in ten people at all. Chemistry The active constituent is believed to be a chemical called salvinorin-a, C23H28O8. Its presence in the body is not detectable by current drug tests. It appears not to habituate. In fact, with experience, some gain a reverse tolerance, where less of the chemical is more subjectively powerful than a lot. Salvia seems to have somewhat of a dissasociative effect, and like other dissasociatives, hallucinations are percieved most often only in a dark room or closed eye environment. Legal status Until the late 1990s, not many people knew about salvia. The advent of the Internet and the realization that the plant was not as of yet scheduled engendered numerous Internet mail order businesses who sold dried salvia leaves, sometimes for exorbitant prices. The general public became increasingly aware of salvia in 2002. As of June 1, 2002, Australia became the first country to ban salvia and salvinorin. [1], [1] In late 2002, Rep. Joe Baca (D-California) introduced a bill in the United States House of Representatives to schedule salvia as a controlled substance, and the DEA has indicated on its web site that it is aware of salvia and is evaluating the plant for possible scheduling. Civic and government action to ban salvia is often characterized as a knee-jerk reaction to what they perceive as yet another evil drug coming along to steal the minds of the innocent, gullible youth. Press accounts of efforts to ban salvia often quote law enforcement and government officials who exhibit a grossly inaccurate knowledge of the drug's effects, and frequently characterize the "high" as "chewable marijuana", or as identical to LSD and PCP [sic]. [1], [1] Botany Unlike other sages, Salvia divinorum produces very few seeds, and the seeds it does produce seldom sprout. It appears to have very little histocompatibility variation, so the pollen from a plant genetically identical to the style fails to reach the ovule. It is propagated by cuttings and by falling over and growing new roots. External links Erowid Salvia Divinorum Vault Lycaeum page on Saliva Divinorum The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center The Entheogen Forum This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.