Drugs:Fact and Fiction/Salvia
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Salvia (Sage) is a common perennial herb that grows throughout the world. The plant grows to be several feet tall and has large light-green leaves. Salvia is a member of the mint family, and is considered a common garden plant. Most common forms of salvia can be found in plant nurseries. They are not hallucinogenic and will only give users a headache if smoked.
Diviner's Sage, Salvia Divinorum, is one of the hundreds of species of the Salvia genus. It is not native to any place - Although it is commonly grown in some parts of Mexico, and now grows wild in some parts of the Sierra Mazatec region.
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[edit] General
Although some users take salvia recreationally at a very low dosage, it is not a "party drug." Daniel Siebert, ethnobotanist and salvia advocate, remarks, "...salvia is not 'fun' in the way that alcohol or cannabis can be. If you try to party with salvia, you will probably not have a good experience." He recommends that it be used for meditation, or other spiritual pursuits. [1]
The active chemical - Salvinorin A - is the strongest naturally occurring psychoactive known to date. It has been used by natives for thousands of years to seek divine spiritual insight. The internet brought the plants psychoactive qualities to attention. In recent years several countries have introduced legislation to make prepared forms of the plant illegal. It remains legal in most of North America because of the lack of media attention, and the very small abuse potential. (See legality section below.)
There is no known lethal dosage of Salvia Divinorum. However, it is very strongly recommended that a trip sitter be present. Because of its short-lasting effects (when smoked), users can take turns being a sitter.
Before setting forth to explore the potential of this drug, please read this entire page!
[edit] Legality
This substance is illegal in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Belgium.[2] It is legal in many other countries, including Germany, France, the United States, except for Kansas, Delaware, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, and Virginia.
[edit] Methods of Ingestion
Salvia can be ingested in several ways that produce varying effects. A large amount of leaves can be chewed thoroughly to produce light but long lasting effects. More common is to smoke prepared extracts where the Salvinorin A has been concentrated to several (Five to twenty-five times) the natural amount by weight. A butane torch is required to produce the temperatures necessary to vapourize Salvinorin A (Although a regular lighter can vapourize the much less potent analogues Salvinorin B - D, producing a slight intoxication).
Generally salvia leaves and extracts are smoked using the same paraphernalia as Cannabis. Bongs are considered best because they give the smoke a chance to cool and will not heat up to extreme temperatures as pipes will (Although if done quickly, pipes work just as well). Joints will not work because Salvinorin A vapourizes at a temperature greater than the combustion point of the plant material.
Raw dried leaves can be smoked, but this requires a large amount. The smoke is very harsh, and unlike most other drugs, Salvinorin A does not have a cumulative dosage effect - If the dosage is not completely consumed within one to two minutes, smoking further will not increase the effects.
When inhaled, Salvinorin takes a great deal of time to be absorbed into the bloodstream, and so the smoke must be held in for upwards of thirty seconds to produce full effects. Upon exhaling, the full effects take hold within seconds and last for approximately five to ten minutes before abruptly halting, at which point the effects of the lesser analogues can be felt for ten to thirty minutes.
When ingested orally, the leaves should be chewed thoroughly for several minutes. The taste is bitter, but the effects are much longer lasting.
[edit] Effects
Salvia is an extremely potent drug. Its effects are considered very scary by many people, and an unprepared individual will quickly learn what they have gotten themselves into. The first effects are an uncontrollable 'ticking' of the eyes, similar to what is felt after spinning in circles. This is followed by a sensation of falling, uncontrollable forced laughter, and a unique feeling of body-shifting.
At this point the true effects and fun begin. Users will lose control of their limbs and become severely dissociated with themselves and their surroundings. Body parts will feel as if though they have moved (For example, the mouth will be perceived as being outside of the face). At a strong enough dosage, the user’s perception of reality will fade and be replaced by a subconscious view. They will lose all connection with their body and simply become an entity in a stellar plane of existence - That is, they will still see, but what they see will be completely unrelated to their surroundings.
What happens past this point changes dramatically from one experience to the next and cannot begin to be described. The experience is similar to dreaming in that any number of scenarios can occur, time can bear no meaning, and the user will often forget why they are in this state - Unaware of what they have done, are doing, and when it will end.
Time dilation can vary the length of the experience to the user anywhere from two minutes to an indefinite period of time (Some users have reported experiencing entire lifetimes as other people or objects). Many user report this as the scariest effect - Not knowing how long they will remain in this experience.
As quickly as the effects set in, they will fade back into reality. The afterglow returns the user to conscious awareness and normal timeframes. It can last upwards of thirty minutes and is described as having a euphoria similar to that of Mushrooms.
To an external viewer, the intense part of the trip rarely lasts more than five to ten minutes.
Salvia is non-toxic. There is no known LD/50 for Salvia, and no deaths or overdoses have occurred from Salvia directly. In 2006, the herb received negative publicity when a young man, Brett Chidester, committed suicide. Chidester had been using Salvia for a prolonged amount of time, and his parents blamed it for his severe depression, vegetative states, and random outbursts. As a result, Delaware passed "Brett's Law", SB259, which prohibits the use or sale of Salvia.
[edit] Dosage
Dosage of salvia depends on the method of ingestion and the potency. Pure Salvinorin A is active at doses of under 250 micrograms (Making Salvinorin almost as potent as LSD).
Extracts can produce very potent trips with as little as 1/4 of a standard bong or pipe bowl. A full bowl will produce very powerful results
Several dried leaves must be used to produce the effects of the extracts.
Because a large amount of Salvinorin is broken down through oral ingestion, several dozen leaves must be chewed to produce full effects.
[edit] Miscellaneous (Important)
- Please respect Salvia. It is extremely potent.
- Salvia exhibits a reverse-tolerance effect - The effects of the drug become stronger with each use. It may take several uses before a user "breaks-though" into the full effects of the drug.
- If you experience no effects from smoking the drugs, there are three explanations. The first is that you did not hold in the smoke long enough. The longer, the better. The second is that Salvia has no effects on you. 5-10% of the population will not be affected by Salvia at all. The third is that you did not hold the flame onto the foilage long enough and the active chemicals were not vaporized.
- Make sure you keep the flame on the salvia and inhale as much as possible with one hit. Salvinorin requires a lot of heat to vapourize, and if you don't supply it you are smoking plant.
