Basic FAQs
What is Salvia divinorum?
Is Salvia divinorum legal?
Could salvinorin A be considered a controlled substance analogue?
Is Salvia divinorum controlled in some other way?
Is Salvia divinorum known by any other names?
Are there other species of Salvia that are also psychoactive?
EFFECTS & USE FAQs
What are the effects of Salvia divinorum?
What is the duration of Salvia divinorum's effects?
What is the Salvia Experience Scale that I've heard about?
Does Salvia divinorum produce any side-effects or a hangover?
What are the main things to consider when first trying Salvia divinorum?
What health risks might be associated with its use?
How is Salvia divinorum consumed?
I've heard that Salvia divinorum is not orally active; is this true?
Why does Salvia divinorum produce psychoactive effects?
Are there medications that should be avoided while taking Salvia divinorum?
I can't seem to get any effects from Salvia divinorum; why is this?
Will Salvia divinorum use show up in a drug test?
Are there any medicinal uses for Salvia divinorum?
RESOURCES & REFERENCES
Where can I learn more about Salvia divinorum?
What if I have more questions about Salvia divinorum?
References
BASIC SALVIA FAQs
What is Salvia divinorum?
Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant in the Labiatae family (sometimes called the "mint family"). So far as is known, it is endemic only to the Mazatec region of the Sierra Madre mountains in Oaxaca, Mexico, also known as the Sierra Mazateca (Ott 1996). Some Mazatec curanderos and curanderas (medicine men and women, frequently referred to as shamans) use S. divinorum as an aid to prophecy in healing rituals. The plant's species name, "divinorum", is said to mean "of the seer" (Ott 1996), and refers to its traditional use in medicinal divination (learning the cause or identification of an illness).
Interestingly, Dr. Albert Hofmann--who along with R. Gordon Wasson investigated the plant in Mexico in 1962--remarked: "... Salvia divinorum... is a wrong name, bad Latin; it should actually be Salvia divinatorum. They do not know very good Latin, these botanists. I was not very happy with the name because Salvia divinorum means "Salvia of the ghosts", whereas Salvia divinatorum, the correct name, means 'Salvia of the priests'." (Grof & Hofmann 2001).
However, Salvia divinorum was named by the botanist Carl Epling, who probably had a better handle on Latin than Albert Hofmann. Hildegarde von Bingen's Liber divinorum operum, translates as "Book of divine works". Although there was a rush to publish the identity of the plant, the naming debate is more of a trivial footnote than a substantive problem with its botanical name.
For more information on the early history of S. divinorum, see The Early History of Salvia divinorum by Leander J. Valdés III. For a good overview of traditional ethnographic use, see Valdés' excellent Ethnopharmacology of Ska Maria Pastora. For a botanical description of S. divinorum, as well as photos of it growing in its native habitat, see The Botany of Salvia divinorum (Labiatae).
Is Salvia divinorum legal?
As of March 2009, Salvia divinorum, and/or its primary active chemical salvinorin A, were specifically scheduled or controlled in several countries. In 2002, Australia was the first country to officially schedule S. divinorum and salvinorin A. Other countries that now control the plant (and sometimes salvinorin A) in some manner are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden.
There are over a dozen states in the U.S. that have placed some level of control on S. divinorum, and several more states have pending legislation. For more information about S. divinorum's legal status, see Erowid's Salvia Law Vault.
Could salvinorin A be considered a controlled substance analogue?
Salvia divinorum's primary active chemical, salvinorin A, is not chemically similar to any other Schedule I or II compound and thus is not covered under the United States' Federal Controlled Substance Analogue Act of 1986. At one point the DEA had text posted to their web site about S. divinorum suggesting that salvinorin A is chemically similar to other scheduled compounds; however, the author of that text was clearly confused and didn't understand the chemistry involved. For more information about this issue, see the related Ask Erowid question. The DEA eventually removed thespurious statements from their web site. In other countries or under state laws, S. divinorum may qualify as meeting some criteria for "analogue"-type control, but we are not aware of any prosecutions on this basis as of March 2009, and worldwide, there have been very few known arrests for S. divinorum. One of them occurred in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the plant is not illegal; the arrested individual was charged on the basis of a more general law restricting the sale of intoxicatingsubstances; however, a jury found him not guilty in January 2009. In recent years, users of S. divinorum have posted videos of themselves under the influence to YouTube, with the mainstream news media occasionally also broadcasting these clips. It seems likely that this practice has contributed to the motivations of those making efforts to schedule the plant.
Is Salvia divinorum controlled in some other way?
In the United States and other countries, there are other regulatory organizations that could potentially impact the legality of sales and/or distribution of Salvia divinorum. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has control over what substances may be sold as foods or medicines. It appears that the FDA does not have any specific rules related to the consumption of herbs via smoking; it is possible that this is historically due to the lax (and bizarre) situation with tobacco. So far as we are aware, the FDA has not placed Salvia divinorum into any category related to consumption (i.e., generally recognized as safe; not for use in food; not for use in alcohol; etc.).
However, on April 3, 2000, the FDA published notice in the Federal Register stating its intention to act against the producers of "various products that are being manufactured, marketed, or distributed as alternatives to illicit street drugs" intended for recreational use, and the notice defines "recreational use" as: "to get high, to promote euphoria, or to induce hallucinations". Although Salvia divinorum's effects are unique and unlike any other drug, licit or illicit, there are some companies that market it in a manner that compares it to illicit drugs. According to the FDA notice, it is possible that these products may be considered to be unapproved and/or misbranded drugs in violation of the Food and Cosmetic Act (Hanna 2001). In these situations it is clearly the method of marketing that is being targeted; the plant and its active compound are still not controlled by the FDA.
Is Salvia divinorum known by any other names?
Traditional names for the plant include "ska Pastora" (Shepherdess' herb), "ska María Pastora" (Mary Shepherdess' herb), "hojas de la Pastora" (leaves of the Shepherdess), "hojas de María Pastora" (leaves of Mary Shepherdess), "hierba María" (Mary's herb), "yerba de María" (herb of Mary), and "la hembra" (the female). R. Gordon Wasson proposed that S. divinorum might represent the ancient Aztec herb pipiltzintzintli ("most noble little prince"). There are some modern psychonauts who call it "mint" or "sadi" (short for Salvia divinorum). However, most commonly it is simply referred to by its genus name, "Salvia".
NOTE: "Ska" may be translated as either the "leaves" or the "herb" - ska (María) Pastora = the leaves (or herb) of (Mary) the Shepherdess. "Hierba" and "yerba" are variants of the same word.
Are there other species of Salvia that are also psychoactive?
Although there are hundreds of different species in the genus Salvia, many of which are available at nurseries and garden shops throughout the world, to date none of these have been shown to contain the same salvinorin compounds that are found in Salvia divinorum. S. divinorum is considered a "specialty plant" and it is highly unlikely to be available through a local nursery or garden shop. Some have argued that Salvia splendens (which contains the neo-clerodane diterpenoid compounds salviarin and splendidin) is also psychoactive, but the effects are thought to be more Valium-like (very mildly sedating) and not visionary. An informal, controlled study that looked into the putative activity of S. splendens showed that there were no more effects from this Salvia than from the placebo herb (Sage Student 2009). Others insist that it is indeed psychoactive, and the paper that identified kappa-opioid activity of salvinorin A suggested that there may yet be more to the story about splendens:
Interestingly, a three-dimensional search of the National Cancer Society Database using the pharmacophore features and geometries derived from salvinorin docked with the KOR model produced splendidin... Splendidin was originally isolated from Salvia splendens... (Roth et al. 2002).
The common culinary sage, Salvia officianalis, has been said to provoke "intoxication and giddiness" if smelled for a prolonged time (Duke 1987 in Ott 1993). Indeed, S. officianalis does contain terpenoid thujone compounds, which are psychoactive components also contained in Artemisia absinthium (used in the infamous alcoholic preparation absinthe). While it is possible that there may be more psychoactive Salvia plants, today's state of knowledge places S. divinorum as one of a kind. If one sees a plant that is merely labeled "Salvia" in a store, it is highly unlikely that this plant is S. divinorum.
EFFECTS & USE
What are the effects of Salvia divinorum?
Salvia divinorum produces unique effects that are difficult to accurately describe by comparing them to those produced by other psychoactive plants or drugs. The psychoactive chemical in S. divinorum is salvinorin A; while some people have proposed that there may be other minor chemicals that affect its action, recent pharmacological binding tests of known chemicals in the plant suggest that this is unlikely (Prisinzano & Rothman 2008). Effects vary, based on dose and method of ingestion. Effects range from very light, at lower doses, to overwhelmingly strong at higher doses. While S. divinorum's effects are usually grouped with other visionary-class psychoactives such as smoked DMT, its effects are so radically different that such comparisons often lead to misunderstandings. Some effects that have been reported include:
Uncontrollable laughter
Visual alterations or visions
Loss of physical coordination
Experiencing multiple realities
A contemplative sense of peace
Sense of profound understanding
Dream-like veneer over the world
Seeing or becoming part of a tunnel
Contacting other people/spirits/entities
Experiencing a "non-Euclidean" geometry
Feeling of being underground or underwater
Sense of flying, floating, twisting, or turning
Feeling of being immersed in an energy field
Loss of sense of awareness as an individual
Feeling of being connected to a larger "whole"
Appearing to travel to other places and/or times
Becoming inanimate objects (a wall, stairs, a couch, etc.)
Feeling as though one has entered into the "realm of the dead"
Viewing patterns or shapes that are tube-like, snake-like, or worm-like
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Despite the fact that Salvia divinorum is, on rare occasions, marketed as a "legal marijuana substitute", the effects that it produces are not generally perceived as being like those of cannabis. However, many miscellaneous herbs are touted as "marijuana substitutes" without any significant similarity to cannabis effects. S. divinorum is not considered a "party drug", as its effects are not particularly conducive to social interaction, tend towards the non-verbal, and can often be extremely disconcerting and frightening. Those experienced with Salvia divinorum generally use it in quiet settings for introspective contemplation and meditation. The expectations and interests of those using it for the first time vary considerably, but often include seeking the novelty of a new psychoactive experience. From most reports, only a small portion of those who get a strong salvinorin A experience return very often to that strange space.
What is the duration of Salvia divinorum's effects?
The duration of effects depends on the method of consumption and the amount consumed. It has been reported to last from about 15 minutes to over 3 hours. Generally, when smoked, Salvia divinorum's effects come on quickly, peak for 5-20 minutes, and then begin to subside. With the oral and sublingual methods, it takes longer to first feel the effects and they last longer. Although a small number of people report effects lasting over 4 hours from oral/quid use, the large majority of people find most effects taper off before 2 hours. More details regarding duration and intensity are presented below under the question "How is Salvia divinorum consumed?"
Below are four excerpted trip reports that give first-hand impressions of the Salvia divinorum experience. More such reports can be found around the net, in the Erowid Experience Vaults,SageWisdom.org, and the Lycaeum Trip Archive.
What is the Salvia Experience Scale I've heard about?
The Salvia Experience Scale is something described in Daniel Siebert's FAQ. It is a scale from 1 to 6, increasing from light to strong, with the mnemonic S-A-L-V-I-A: Subtle, Altered, Light, Vivid, Immaterial, and Amnesic. For more information about this scale, click the link above.
Does Salvia divinorum produce any aftereffects or a hangover?
There is no commonly reported next-day hangover after smoking Salvia divinorum. Although there is the relatively rare mention of people feeling dizzy for up to a few hours after consumption, more often people report a positive-mood afterglow lasting between a few hours and a couple of days.
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What are the main things to consider when first trying Salvia divinorum?
It is important for anyone thinking of trying a new psychoactive to try to acquaint themselves with whatever medical contraindications and potential risks are currently known about the substance. Once the decision has been made to try Salvia divinorum, perhaps the most important things to think about when planning a trip are: Have a Sitter, Create a Safe Space, Plan Your Time, Prepare Your Aesthetic Environment, Think About Medications, and Know the Effects.
Create a Safe Space
The space where the experience will take place should have dangerous objects put away and should be surveyed for potential accidents. If there are any candles burning, a person moving around deep in a trance might accidentally start a fire. Experienced Salvia divinorum users strongly suggest that the best way to take S. divinorum is lying comfortably in bed in a dimly lit room. Do not smoke S. divinorum while standing. There should be nothing potentially dangerous around (fire, knives, guns, glass), and the phone should be unplugged or turned off so that one won't be disturbed.
Plan your Time
Think carefully about when your next obligation to the outside world will occur and choose carefully a time that will not require driving or other activity for a period appropriate to the route of ingestion. Experienced users often choose to plan entire days for their work with powerful entheogens so that there is no obligation between the time they wake up and when they go to sleep. An individual using Salvia divinorum should not operate a car or heavy machinery until the effects have fully receded. One should wait until one is completely "down" and no longer experiencing any effects, and then wait another hour to be safe before driving or operating machinery.
Prepare your Aesthetic Environment
Along with creating a safe space to be in, it is also important to pay attention to the visual and audio aspects of the environment. Some people prefer silence, and others like various sorts of "mood" music (generally without vocals). Many experienced users prefer to be in softly lit rooms.
Think about Medications
As with all other strong psychoactives, its important that the user consider carefully the herbs, supplements, and medications that they have ingested within the last few days. While there is little known about cross-reactions between Salvia divinorum and other herbs and medications at this point, mixing medications can lead to unexpected results. Competitive opioid antagonists that include kappa opioid receptors among their target receptors, such as naltrexone (and to a lesser extent, naloxone) will block the effects of salvinorin A.
Know the Effects
New users should acquaint themselves with the general effects of Salvia divinorum so that they are not expecting cannabis-like effects. S. divinorum has the potential to be extremely powerful.
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What health risks might be associated with its use?
The leaves of the plant have been used by Mazatec Indians for hundreds of years without any reported health risks and no evidence of addiction. Salvia divinorum's popularity amongst contemporary psychonauts increased slowly through the 1980s and early 1990s and then more rapidly since the first "X" extracts began to be marketed in 1997. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report Use of Specific Hallucinogens: 2006: About 1.8 million persons aged 12 or older used S. divinorum in their lifetime, and approximately 750,000 did so in the past year. (OAS,SAMHSA 2008) Despite those numbers, many people only try it once or a few times, and decide that they don't need to experiment further or they just dislike the effects. This sort of experimental use is not very likely to have any serious detrimental effects caused directly by the plant's compounds, regardless of how it is ingested. There is a single case on record of 17-year-old Brett Chidester, a S. divinorum user who committed suicide. There is no evidence one way or the other that he was under the influence of S. divinorum when he took his life. His parents blamed his suicide in part on his use of S. divinorum, and over three months after he died, a medical examiner added this use as a "contributing factor" to his death (Chidester 2007). Even if Chidester's use of S. divinorum did contribute to his decision to take his life, considering the millions of people who have used the plant without killing or hospitalizing themselves, it is clear that such a reaction is extremely rare.
People who smoke the plant on a regular basis might have some concern about potentially detrimental effects on the lungs. There is increasing evidence that any inhaled particulate matter is unhealthy. However, such use is extremely unlikely to cause damage comparable to chronic cigarette smoking. We have never heard of a "daily" smoker of Salvia divinorum, let alone someone who smokes it many times per day. Those who use the concentrated "X" extracts may benefit from not having to inhale as much smoke; the more potent the extract, the less smoke that needs to be inhaled. Perhaps the biggest problem with more potent extracts is that users are more likely to accidentally smoke a stronger dose than they intend to. Overly large doses can be extremely frightening, can cause one to stumble around unaware of one's surroundings, or can sometimes cause blackouts. Clearly it could be dangerous to do such doses alone and particularly if one is near busy streets, swimming pools, fire, large bodies of water, glass objects, etc. It is always better to take S. divinorum at "ground level" (we heard of one person lunging toward a balcony in a second-story hotel room, who had to be restrained by his sitters).
Addiction
There is no evidence that either the plant or salvinorin A is habit-forming or physically addictive.
How is Salvia divinorum consumed?
Infusion
Most ethnographic accounts state that the Mazatecs make an infusion by rubbing leaves together and squeezing the leaf-juice into water. A couple of reports state that the leaves were first crushed on a metate (a flat stone). One ethnographic report described the preparation of a dose by merely piling up the leaves in pairs, face to face, and then rolling them into a cigar-shaped bundle, chewed, and swallowed (Blosser 1991-1993 in Ott 1999). Unfortunately, as far as a "dose" goes, the available ethnographic data usually relates the number of leaves used per dose (frequently stated as so many "pairs" of leaves, due to the Mazatec penchant for counting them in this manner). Such information may not be too useful because leaves can vary quite a bit in size, with some leaves being five or more times the size of others, depending on growing conditions, and the potency of leaves can also vary dramatically from plant to plant.
With regard to infusions, the number of leaves used to prepare a single dose reported in the ethnographic literature has ranged from 6 to 240 (Ott 1995). One paper (Ott 1999) described two doses as being a "large double-handful of leaves (plant tops, stems and all)"; another paper mentioned using 20 to 80 or more pairs of leaves, and helpfully also gave the weight of the fresh leaves as ranging between 50 and 200 grams (Valdés et al. 1983).
Contemporary studies into the chemistry and pharmacology of Salvia divinorum have discovered that the traditional infusion preparation is the least efficient method of consuming the plant. The plant's active chemistry is not soluble in water, and it is speculated that it may be partially deactivated via the stomach. Comparatively large amounts need to be consumed, if it is taken this way. On the other hand, effects--which begin after about 15 minutes (Valdés et al. 1983; Ott 1999)--may last longer than via other routes of ingestion; over 2.5 hours in one report (Valdés et al. 1983), and up to 3 hours 20 minutes in another case (Ott 1999).
Modern psychonautical investigations have found two more effective methods of consuming the plant:
The Quid
The quid method produces a somewhat shorter duration of effects than the oral infusion. With this approach, one takes fresh leaves, rolls them into one or two "cigars", and then chews them while not swallowing the juice or saliva in one's mouth. In this manner, the active chemistry of the plant is absorbed via the mucous membranes in the mouth, which is a much more efficient method than absorption via the stomach. When taking the leaves as a quid, the effects tend to last about an hour. The following has been reported as an effective dosing procedure using fresh leaves as a quid:
Ten leaves averaging 3.4-4 inches wide and 9 inches long (and weighing 25-26 grams) have the midribs removed. These are rolled into two 'cigars' of five leaves each. Laying in quiet darkness, the first cigar is placed in the mouth and held there, chewing it slowly with my front teeth. I do not swallow at all. After about 10 minutes I spit this out into a bowl, and start chewing the second cigar. Effects usually commence within about 5 minutes after beginning to chew the second cigar. I spit this cigar out after a 10 minute chew. The experience lasts about 45-60 minutes (from start to finish). (Aardvark 1998)
Smoking
A shorter duration of effects can be obtained by smoking the dried leaves of Salvia divinorum.Repeated experimentation has resulted in a general consensus that using a bong is one of the most effective ways to smoke S. divinorum leaf because one can get large breaths full of the smoke quickly. There have been some reports of people smoking S. divinorum leaves rolled into "joints", occasionally with effective results (and in a few cases people prefer this method). However, in the majority number of cases, people have reported little or no effects from smoking joints of leaves. Terence McKenna recommended using a "gravity bong "as an even better way to smoke the dried leaves, saying "This does not fail."
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A regular pipe lies somewhere between a bong and a joint, in effectiveness. People have suggested that using a pipe with a large bowl and a short stem is the best choice, as there is room for burning a lot of dried leaf this way, and the salvinorin A has less chance to condense out into the pipe when traveling though a short stem. With smoking, the effects come on much more rapidly, within a couple of minutes, and they are gone in about 20 minutes. Several "bong hits" in rapid succession--each held in for about 20 to 30 seconds--generally is enough for effects; effects produced depend on the amount smoked, the potency of the leaf, and the sensitivity of the individual smoking. A dose range of 250 mg to 500 mg of dried leaf, when smoked via a bong, should be sufficient for most people using leaf of average potency (that is, leaf which contains 2 to 3 mg or salvinorin A per gram of dried leaf). It has been noted that salvinorin A needs a lot of heat to vaporize, and it is suggested that one hold the flame over the dried herb for the whole time that one is inhaling. Some people have reported better results when smoking by using a mini-torch style lighter.
Why does Salvia divinorum produce psychoactive effects?
In 1982 the chemical salvinorin was isolated from the plant in Mexico by Alfredo Ortega (Ortega et al. 1982). Two years later in America, Leander Valdés isolated the same compound--along with its desacetyl derivative--naming these divinorum A and divinorum B (Valdés et al. 1984). Since Ortega was the first to isolate, his name got priority, and the compounds became known as salvinorin A and salvinorin B. Valdés later described the additional compound salvinorin C (Valdés et al. 2001). All of these compounds are chemically considered to be neo-clerodane diterpenoids. Ortega did not look into the activity of his compound, but Valdés tested both a full-spectrum extract, as well as salvinorin A alone, on mice. From these tests, he concluded that salvinorin A was likely to be the primary psychoactive compound in the plant.
On June 6, 1993 (exactly nine years before this FAQ was first written), Salvia divinorum researcher Daniel Siebert vaporized and inhaled an extract that contained nearly 2 mg of salvinorin A, and confirmed via human bioassay that this was indeed the primary psychoactive compound. Later experiments by Jonathan Ott noted a 100 microgram threshold dose of salvinorin A in acetone and DMSO taken buccally (held in the mouth against the cheek), and that there was definite psychoactivity when taken in this manner at 250-500 micrograms, with visionary activity when taken in this manner above 1 mg (Ott 1996). It is now generally considered that Siebert's initial dose of 2 mg vaporized was too high, and most people who use the pure compound via the vaporization route prefer a dose of 600-1,000 micrograms (or just over 1/2 of a milligram up to 1 milligram). Salvinorin A is clearly a potent compound. Salvinorin B, which only appears in the plant at perhaps 4% of the amount of salvinorin A, was found to be inactive both in animal testing (Valdés 1994) and in humans at doses comparable to and higher than those where salvinorin A shows activity (Siebert 2004). While it was at one time speculated that salvinorin C--which appears in the plant at only about 10% the amount of salvinorin A--may be even more potent (Valdés et al. 2001), a human bioassay of salvinorin C showed it to be inactive (Siebert 2004).
Until the summer of 2002, the pharmacological action of Salvia divinorum was entirely unknown. The chemical had been tested on 43 known bioreceptors with no significant inhibition (Siebert 1994; Sage Student 2009). In August 2002, the Roth group published their findings that salvinorin A is a potent kappa-opioid receptor agonist (Roth et al. 2002). Because most other visionary drugs work on the serotonin system (specifically the 5-HT-2a receptor), earlier attempts to characterize salvinorin A's action failed. By using cloned cells which expressed a variety of neurotransmitter receptor types, bathing them in a solution containing salvinorin A, and then using radio-labeled chemicals called ligands known to bind to a given receptor, the Roth group was able to see if the salvinorin A kept the other chemicals from "sticking". Because the binding "affinity" for the radio-labeled ligand was known, the amount the salvinorin A it blocked produced a numerical value which then could be used to rate how much salvinorin A stuck to the receptor. Dr. Roth's lab is one of the most active in doing this type of neuropharmacological receptor screening and more info about this type of work can be found at http://pdsp.med.unc.edu. Appropriately enough, Siebert was a coauthor on this interesting and highly technical paper.
Salvinorin could also be active at a large number of other sites, but assuming this research standsup, it surprisingly does not substantially affect many of the other receptor types that most psychedelic-class psychoactives work on. As the name suggests, other opioid receptor agonists are analgesics (pain killers) and it certainly seems possible that salvinorin A acts at more than just this single receptor type.
We are not yet at the point in psychopharmacological science to be able to properly answer the question of "why" or exactly "how" something causes effects on the mind. There is still a wide knowledge gap between the pharmacology of the brain and the workings of the mind. For more information about this issue, see Erowid's article on Salvinorin's Kappa Opioid Activity.
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Are there medications that should be avoided while taking Salvia divinorum?
Whether or not Salvia divinorum mixes well with other psychoactive drugs seems to be largely a question of "taste". Some people have had terrifying, over-the-top experiences with such mixtures. Others have had wonderful, blissful experiences. Before mixing any psychoactive compounds, it is always a good idea that one first gets to know the effects of each compound on its own, and how he or she responds to various doses. In any case, a prudent individual interested in combining compounds would always start with lower-than-normal doses of each compound. Some compounds are synergistic--they work together to create a larger effect than would be expected (and hence smaller amounts should be taken). It is currently unknown if there are any risks associated with combining S. divinorum with other drugs.
Some people have reported a "potentiation" of effects when it is taken with the seeds from the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)-containing plant Peganum hamala (Syrian rue), which is frequently used in ayahuasca analogues. Why this would be the case is unclear, since salvinorin A is not an amine (and thus would not be expected to be metabolized by the MAO enzyme). To date, we are not aware of any medications that have been reported as being contraindicated by people who have combined them with S. divinorum or salvinorin A, but this does not mean that such bad combinations don't exist. As noted earlier, naltrexone and naloxone will block the effects of salvinorin A.
I can't seem to get any effects from Salvia divinorum; why is this?
Some people have reported that it takes a few tries before one gets to "know" the plant. Eventually, after several attempts, some people report being able to "break through". It almost seems as though in some cases one has to learn to "understand" the effects. When using the quid method, people report that trying a larger amount and chewing for a longer time can help. If a person is smoking the leaves in a pipe, switching to a bong might be beneficial. Some people have said that they became more sensitive to the effects of Salvia divinorum after having smoked cannabis, and others have suggested that drinking a beer or two beforehand might help one to relax and increase one's ability to notice the plant's effects. (Nevertheless, it seems wise to have experienced and become familiar with the effects of S. divinorum on its own, prior to mixing it with an other drug, and it is probably a bad idea to get drunk and then start smoking S. divinorum.) If an individual has tried both chewing and smoking the leaves several times, and has not achieved effects, he or she might want to try a sublingual extract or one of the smokable fortified "X" extracts (see descriptions below).
It also appears clear that some people, as with all psychoactive substances, are just more resistant to the effects and require higher doses to achieve marked alteration in thinking and perception than others. As always, experienced users recommend starting low and slowly and methodically increasing the dose over time.
Will Salvia divinorum use show up in a drug test?
For a long time, there was no known test that would indicate someone had used Salvia divinorum. Initial interest in developing such a test was shown by the United States military. Then in 2005, processes were published showing how to detect salvinorin A via blood, urine, and saliva tests (Schmidt et al. 2005; Pichini et al. 2005). In any case, the testing procedures to detect the use of salvinorin A are not common, and salvinorin A is not structurally similar enough to any substance that is usually tested for to cause a false-positive result for another substance. Since it is not associated with addiction, heavy use, or use on the job, it seems unlikely that it will become commonplace to test for S. divinorum use anytime in the near future.
Are there any medicinal uses for Salvia divinorum?
Along with the traditional divinatory use of Salvia divinorum, the Mazatecs also employ the plant for several medicinal applications:
1. It helps one defecate and urinate. It stops diarrhea (the plant apparently is believed to regulate eliminatory functions).
2. It is given to the sick, old or dying to revive them or alleviate their illness. People who are pale, white and almost ready to die (they have "anemia") may recuperate on taking la María.
3. It may be taken to relieve headaches and rheumatism (however, when taken in the high doses that induce visions, it often leaves one with a headache the following morning, according to the curandero).
4. There is a semi-magical disease known as panzon de barrego (sic), or a swollen belly, which is supposedly caused by a curse from a brujo, or evil sorcerer. The victim's midsection swells up due to a "stone" that has been put inside them. Taking the Salvia causes elimination of this "stone" and the belly shrinks down to size. The researchers met an old shaman who showed them his wrinkled middle and said he had cured himself of the "disease" by the use of "la María". Don Alejandro confirmed the "illness" and the "cure" (Valdés et al. 1983).
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Salvia divinorum may be more likely to become used as an aid in underground psychotherapy, or perhaps the finding of its kappa-opioid receptor affinity will spur other areas of medical use, but at this time (March 2009), there is no accepted medical use by any major medical association.
Nevertheless, one psychologist wrote a 2001 article for the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology about the effect that Salvia divinorum had on one of his patients. The case involved a woman who used S. divinorum orally 2-3 times per week and found a complete remission of her depressive symptoms, despite being warned against using it by her doctor.
Ms. G volunteered that she has also benefited from occasional intoxicating oral doses of Salvia divinorum, consisting of from 8-16 leaves of the herb (approximately 2 to 4 grams), claiming that this herb had engendered a kind of "psychospiritual" awakening, characterized by the discovery of the depth of her sense of self, greater self-confidence, increased feelings of intuitive wisdom and "connectedness to nature" (Hanes 2001).
Those who use Salvia divinorum as a tool for spiritual or psychological insight have reported the difficult-to-quantify "health benefits" of stress reduction, centering, a greater understanding of the world and their place in it, and/or a feeling of connectedness to the universe.
A religious group in Canada has used low doses of Salvia divinorum as an aid to their meditations (see MAPS Bulletin 9(1): 36 and MAPS Bulletin 10(1): 6-7).
RESOURCES & REFERENCES
Where can I learn more about Salvia divinorum?
There are several books that are entirely dedicated to the plant. The first one, which appeared in 1996, was Salvinorin: The Psychedelic Essence of Salvia Divinorum by the late D.M. Turner. This book is now out of print, but it can be viewed on the web at by clicking the link above. Another good book is Salvia Divinorum and Salvinorin A: The Best of The Entheogen Review 1992-2000, edited by David Aardvark. This may be the most detailed book on the modern psychonautical use of S. divinorum written to date. And there is a small book that focuses solely on growing the plant titled The Salvia Divinorum Grower's Guide by Sociedad para la Perservacion de las Plantas del Misterio, which can be purchased by clicking the link above.
Books that contain chapters on Salvia divinorum include Albert Hofmann's LSD: My Problem Child, Jonathan Ott's Pharmacotheon, Christian Rätsch's The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (in the original German and an English translation), and Dale Pendell's Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft. An excellent brief overview of the plant was written by Jonathan Ott for the bilingual journal Eleusis (Ott 1996). The article can be read online by clicking the link above, and a more detailed article by Ott appeared in the journal Curare (Ott 1995), which can be read by clicking the link above.
Three issues of Salvia Divinorum magazine were produced, and may be available for purchase from www.salvia.us/new/magazine.htm.
What are good web sites about Salvia divinorum?
The most comprehensive single site is Daniel Siebert's Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center, which contains a wealth of current information.
Information and links to other online resources can also be found at the Erowid Salvia divinorum Vault. Additionally, you might visit the archives at "Ask Erowid" for more data on S. divinorum. The Lycaeum has some documents and links, but has not been updated or maintained since 2001. And, a web search for "Salvia divinorum" on any search engine should turn up additional sites with data on this plant, although many of these will be vendors. This FAQ does not include a more comprehensive list of current links because sites change URLs so often. Visit any of the links above for more current links to other sites.
REFERENCES
* Aardvark, D. (2005) Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A: The Best of The Entheogen Review 1998-2000.http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/salvia_divinorum_and_salvinorin_a.pdf
* Bigham, A.K. et al. (2003) "Divinatorins A-C, New Neoclerodane Diterpenoids from the Controlled Sage Salvia divinorum," Journal of Natural Products 66(9): 1242-4.
* Blosser, B. (1991-1993 in Ott 1999, see below) Personal communications to Jonathan Ott and paper submitted to the defunct Integration: Journal for Mind-Moving Plants and Culture.
* Chidester, K. (2007) Brett Chidester--Stolen Angel (blog), http://brettchidesterrip.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html.
* Prisinzano, T.E. & R.B. Rothman (2008). "Salvinorin A Analogs as Probes in Opioid Pharmacology, " Chem Rev 108(5): 1732-43. www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=7465.
* Roth, B.L. et al. (2002). Salvinorin A: A potent naturally occurring nonnitrogenous kappa opioid selective agonist. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99(18): 11934-9.
* Sage Student (2009) The Salvia divinorum FAQ, v. 2.87 (Jan 10, 2009), www.sagewisdom.org/faq.html.
* Schmidt, M.S. et al. (2005). "Determination of Salvinorin A in body fluids by high performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization," J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 818(2): 221-5. www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=7394.
* Siebert, D. (1994) "Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A: New Pharmacological Findings," Journal of Ethnopharmacology 43: 53-6.
* Siebert, D (2003) "The History of the First Salvia divinorum Plants Cultivated Outside of Mexico," The Entheogen Review 12(4): 117-8. www.sagewisdom.org/salviahistory.html.
* Siebert, D (2004). "Localization of Salvinorin A and Related Compounds in Glandular Trichomes of the Psychoactive Sage, Salvia divinorum," Annals of Botany 93: 763-71. www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=7473.
* Valdés III, L.J. et al. (1983) "Ethnopharmacology of Ska María Pastora (Salvia divinorum, Epling and Játiva-M)," Journal of Ethnopharmacology 7: 287-312.
* Valdés III, L.J. et al. (1984) "Divinorin A, a psychotropic terpenoid, and divinorum B from the hallucinogenic Mexican mint Salvia divinorum," Journal of Organic Chemistry 49: 4716-20.
* Valdés III, L.J. et al. (2001) "Salvinorin C, a New Neoclerodane Diterpene from a Bioactive Fraction of the Hallucinogenic Mexican Mint Salvia divinorum," Organic Letters 3(24): 3935-7. American Chemical Society.
* Valdés III, L.J. (2002) Personal communication.
* Zhah. (2008) "Lost in Jonathan Ott's Footsteps: Acetone Tinctures of Salvia divinorum," The Entheogen Review 16(4): 132-6. www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_article1.pdf.
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