Test Drive: Salvia Divinorum

Salvia Divinorum, AKA: Salvia (which is the Genus name) Sally D, Diviner's Sage, Sage of the seers, Magic Mint and Maria Pastora, is a hallucinogenic plant. The active compound in Salvia is Salvinorin A. Salvinorin A Is a bit different than other hallucinogens for many reasons. First Salvinorin A is a diterpenoid not an alkaloid. It acts on the inside of cells not the outside of cells. Its is released from the plant at 464°F when smoking. What the hell does all this mean? I'm gonna smoke some and find out!

Consumption / Effects

So... 464°F thats hot, I found that most people use a butane torch to smoke salvia. Also a Bong is nice because the smoke is cooled down and less harsh. I had neither one of these so I went out and bought them. I wanted optimal performance man. I got a gram of 5x Extract from Bouncing Bear Botanicals. I started with a pinch in the bong and roasted it. Lift Off! My arms started to feel weightless or like they were floating. I went for a second hit. Then I got up and moved to a different chair. When I sat down I had this feeling of pressure and a sensation kind of like buzzing. It seemed like the side of the room I was on was squished and the other side of the room was tall, kind of like a chute that gets bigger. After a little bit the intensity goes down. The Visual effect is hard to explain, its kind of like animation or an effect you would apply to a photo. The effects seem to last about a half hour total on me. I like Salvia. It’s a very interesting state of mind. When the effects wear off I come right back to the state of mind I was in before.

Law

A number of states have introduced bills to make Salvia illegal. On August 28th 2005, Missouri was the first state to make Salvia a scheduled substance. Delaware did the same on May 2nd 2006. Louisiana passed a bill against Salvia but it specifically excludes the "possession, planting, cultivation, growing, or harvesting" of these plants if used "strictly for aesthetic, landscaping, or decorative purposes." Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming have all started some bill to outlaw Salvia in one way or another. Some are still moving and some appear to be dead. Erowid has a list of State and National laws here.

Growing Salvia

The picture to the right is my Salvia Plant. It comes from Oaxaca, Mexico and is harvested by the Mazatec Indians. Then they are sent to Bouncing Bear Botanicals and then ordered by people like me. She just came in the mail and was a little banged up when she got here, but I think with the proper care we can get her back to full health. Salvia likes a humid atmosphere. It's good to mist a Salvia plant throughout the day. This keeps it moist and helps it adapt to a new atmosphere. Bouncing Bear suggests to do this for a couple weeks to get the plant adapted. Slowly decrease the amount of misting over the course of a few weeks. They like to be around 60 - 70°F. Salvia can grow up to 8 feet if it is supported. The plant will fall over if not supported. Some times it will break, other times they just bend. If it lands on a patch of fresh, moist soil it will take root and grow from there. This is how the plant spreads in the wild because it almost never produces seeds. This is why most plants are clones or cuttings.