WHAT IS SALVIA DIVINORUM
Salvia Divinorum is a psychoactive mint, used in traditional spiritual practices by the Mazatec people of Mexico and is legal in both Mexico and the United States. However, four states have banned Salvia Divinorum’s leafy greens, making its possession—like that of heroin or cocaine—a felony. Salvia divinorum is a species of sage (the genus Salvia). There are approximately 1000 species of the plant World-wide, but Salvia is the only vision-inducing species known. Salvia is a member of a very large family of plants known s the Labiatae, and because mint is a well-known member of this family, Divinorum is sometimes referred to as the mint family. Salvia divinorum makes a beautiful house plant; however, most individuals who grow this plant do so for the sole purpose of Salvia’s fascinating psychoactive effects. This plant grows in large groupings to well over 3 feet in height. Its large green leaves, hollow square stems and flowers are its characteristic features. The botanical name Salvia divinorum means “Sage of the Diviners.” Under the right conditions, taken in the right way, Salvia produces a unique state of “divine inebriation.” For over hundreds of years, it has been used in religious and healing ceremonies by the Mazatec Indians, who live in the province of Oaxaca, in Mexico. However, there has been a recent interest among young adults and adolescents to re-discover ethnobotanical plants (such as Divinorum) that can induce changes in perception, hallucinations, or other psychologically-induced changes. Since S. Divinorum or any of its active ingredients are not specifically listed in the Controlled Substances Act, some on-line botanical companies and drug promotional sites have advertised Salvia as a legal alternative to other plant hallucinogens like mescaline. Salvia’s plant material is smoked for the induction of "mystical" or hallucinogenic experiences.
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BRIEF HISTORY The hallucinogenic properties of Salvia have long been known to the natives of Mexico’s Sierra Mazateca range. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the last century that anthropologists and drug researchers learned of the herb and the potential of Salvia Divinorum. The drug Salvia Divinorum didn’t even earn its first Nexis mention until 1991—and even then as a throwaway reference in a Vancouver Sun article about cooking with sage. A hokey 1998 television documentary about the plant Salvia produced a flurry of Nexis mentions in the British press. The next Nexis hit came in 2000 in a squib picked up by the University Wire about Salvia use on the University of North Dakota campus. This is another drug new to mainstream drug use. It wasn’t until the following year, 2001 that Salvia started to breakout in the press with 35 mentions. By the year 2005, it recorded 67 and has steadily increased. In 2007 Salvia earned 27l mentions and in the four months of 2008 it has almost equaled that mark. Soon you will have to wear blinders to avoid coverage of Salvia Divinorum. Although most of the coverage on Salvia Divinorum appears to be negative, no one in the press has yet made a good case for criminalizing Salvia’s sale and use. According to some users, who claim they only use Salvia once a week, report that it is not addictive. In fact, Salvia Divinorum is a legal plant in most countries, including the US. However, Missouri, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Delaware are the only states in the US that prohibit Salvia’s use. Australia, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, and South Korea are the only countries that have enacted legislature making possession of Salvia divinorum and/or salvinorin an illegal. Spain prohibits the sale of Salvia divinorum, but not possession or use. In Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Estonia, it is illegal to import Salvia without a relevant prescription from a physician. Quick Menu
SMOKING The most common way of consuming Salvia is smoking because the effects are a lot stronger when smoked, but be careful—they can be overwhelming. We strongly advise you to start with a low dose to test your sensitivity for Salvia for your first experience. DOSAGE Salvia leaves: ¼ gram – 1 gram It is important to try to inhale the entire dose in as little inhalations as possible. Inhale slowly and deeply and keep the smoke in your lungs for 20 seconds or more before breathing out. This way the smoke is absorbed more efficiently by the lungs. Try not to pause between inhalations, so that the full dose is smoked in a short period of time. If you wait too long between inhalations, the salvinorin will be metabolized faster than it is ingested. Effects will come on within one or two minutes, reach their peak after 5-10 minutes and then gradually subside. The total duration of the experience can be 20 minutes to one hour. If you have difficulties obtaining effects from normal leaves, you should try extracts. The main advantage is that it is easier to consume the entire dose in a small number of inhalations. Another method of ingestion is vaporization, which heats up the leaves without burning them, so it is smoother on the lungs. However, most marijuana vaporizers are not suitable for Salvia, because they do not reach the required temperature. Vaporization can also be dangerous because it produces little smoke. Therefore it is difficult to judge how large a dose is inhaled. ORAL USE Although swallowing Salvia is quite inefficient, chewing can give an interesting, although different experience, from that obtained from smoked Salvia—more gentle and longer. The Salvinorin A is slowly absorbed by the sublingual mucosa and into the bloodstream. The effects will come on more slowly (after 10-20 minutes), reaching a peak quite quickly, and then continue for around 30 minutes. In the next 30 to 90 minutes the effects will slowly fade. A good way of using salvia Divinorum orally is by making a “quid”. This is a small ball or cylinder of rolled up Salvia leaves. This can be done with fresh or dried leaves. Use between 8 and 20 leaves (2-8 grams of dried leaves) and put these in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the water and roll the leaves up into a ball. It is possible to add sugar or honey to improve the quite bitter taste. Put the quid in your mouth and chew slowly, once every 10 seconds. If possible, keep the juice that forms in your mouth, without spitting or swallowing. For maximum effect, keep the quid under your tongue in between chews. The first 10 – 15 minutes you will feel little effects. It is important to keep on chewing. After approximately 30 minutes, spit out the quid. You should feel the effects by know. They will remain at this level for around 30 minutes, than slowly fade. It can be a good idea to use a mouth wash containing menthol and alcohol before taking the quid. Treat your mouth with the mouth wash, carefully brushing the tissue of the mouth and tongue (also under the tongue). Rinse well and start chewing.
SALVIA EXPERIENCES- WHAT TO EXPECT These experiences range in intensity from subtle to extremely powerful. This holds true for chewed leaves, smoked leaves, and for oral tinctures, such as “Sage Goddess Emerald Essence. Your individual body chemistry, together with the amount you take and the way you take it plays a big role in the strength of the effects. Salvia experiences differ from those produced of other visionary drugs or herbs, and it has many advantages as follows: When Salvia is smoked the effects come on very quickly, in less than a minute, however, the effects are only strong for 5-6 minutes, and then they quickly taper off over another 20-30 minutes. HEALTH RISKS ASSSOCIATED WITH SALVIA DIVINORUM Even though there are no reports of Salvia divinorum being either physically or psychologically addictive, it is not advised to use Salvia too often as it may become a habit hard to break. Also the unique experience Salvia can give may become more difficult to obtain, when used too often in a short period of time. Although Salvia Divinoum does not have any negative side-effects, a small number of people report headaches, irritated lungs and insomnia after smoking Salvia. These effects are believed to be caused by the combustion products that are inhaled when smoking any plant material, and not so much by Salvinorin. It is nearly impossible to overdose on salvia, when used normally. The lethal dose is not established, but scientists believe it is very high. You are likely to pass out well before you come anywhere near a fatal overdose. Only when using a large dose of pure salvinorin, the risks are a lot higher. This should be avoided. Combining drugs is usually a bad idea. Although there are no known interactions between drugs or medications and Salvia, you should always be very careful, because unexpected effects may occur. The major health risk when using Salvia is that a person might lose awareness and cause physical injury to himself or others. Therefore it is very important to have a sitter present at any time when using Salvia Divinorum. FINAL THOUGHTS ON SALVIAAs with any drug, especially hallucinogens, there comes much controversy. There are those who argue that Salvia should be banned, comparing it to LSD, while others argue that although Salvia divinorum is a naturally occurring plant, famed for its hallucinogen qualities, it is believed that it could be part of the answer to treat serious illnesses like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Such a breakthrough is, of course, a number of years away, but this is an interesting turn of events for the little plant with a patchy history. Those for banning Salvia argue that nothing is known about either the long-term health issues relating to its use and this vacuum of information can lead to some potentially dangerous assumptions being made. They are also concerned about the rising use of Salvia in teens, and the various problems associated with using a hallucinogen.
Opponents of more prohibitive measures against Salvia argue that such reactions are largely due to an inherent prejudice and a particular cultural bias rather than any actual balance of evidence, pointing out inconsistencies in attitudes toward other more toxic and addictive drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. The worldwide number of alcohol related deaths is calculated at over 2,000 people per day, in the US the number is over 300 deaths per day. While not objecting to some form of legal control, in particular with regard to the sale to minors or sale of enhanced high-strength extracts, most Salvia proponents otherwise argue against stricter legislation. Those advocating consideration of Salvia divinorum's potential for beneficial use in a modern context argue that more could be learned from Mazatec culture, where Salvia is not really associated with notions of drug taking at all and it is rather considered as a spiritual sacrament. In light of this it is argued that Salvia divinorum could be better understood more positively as an entheogen rather than pejoratively as a hallucinogen. Other entheogenic plants besides Salvia Divinorum with continuing traditions principally of spiritual use include peyote (and other psychoactive cacti), iboga, virola, ayahuasca (an admixture of plants containing DMT + MAOI), and various types of psychoactive fungi. In fact, US legislation as it stands specifically allows two of these to be used in a spiritual context. The Native American Church is allowed to use peyote and Uniao do Vegetal (or UDV) is permitted ayahuasca. Although not consistently granted (varying from state to state), the principal grounds for such concessions are constitutional, with further grounds following from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Most people involved in the debate agree that more information is needed about the drug Salvia Divirnorum. But the few attempts to better understand Salvia have been part of research on its potential as a therapeutic. However, as with any substance, not just Salvia Divinorum, whether natural, legal or otherwise, it is always recommended that you use caution before experimentation! NarcoMundo.com gives an individual the opportunity of feeling good, feeling free, and feeling relaxed with Herbal Highs, Herbal Ecstasy and Legal Highs, without worrying about breaking the law.
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