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, see SageWisdom.org.

There is no commonly reported next-day hangover after smoking Salvia divinorum and occasional reports of a positive-mood afterglow lasting betweeen a few hours and a couple of days.

I have heard quite a few people mention the "afterglow." I have heard a *very* few people mention a dizzy feeling after for a few hours (but really not too many people). I have felt sort of "out of it" myself for an hour or so after being down--just a little bit cloudy mentally. Generally speaking, it seems pretty free of any sort of negative side effects.

It is important for anyone thinking of trying a new psychoactive to try to acquaint themselves whatever medical contraindications and problems are currently known. Once the decision has been made to try the substance, perhaps the most important things to think about when planning to try Salvia divinorum are: Have a Sitter, Create a Safe Space, Plan your Time, Prepare your Aesthetic Environment, Think about Medications, & Know the Effects.

Have a Sitter An individual planning to take Salvia divinorum should have a non-inebriated "sitter" present at all times. Under the effects of S. divinorum, people have been known to get up and walk around, completely unaware of their surroundings with a 'blank' look in their eyes. It is possible that someone in such a mental state might walk into traffic, off a ledge, etc. People have been known to stumble about, knocking over and subsequently breaking glass objects. A non-inebriated friend (preferably one who is familiar with the effects of S. divinorum and/or other psychoactive drugs) should act as a 'sitter', to protect one's physical body while one is in the S. divinorum 'trance'. In some cases the trance is considered a light one, and it can be broken by noise or by turning on the lights and opening one's eyes. Frequently the trance will come back, if one returns to quiet and darkness. In extreme cases, someone under the influence of S. divinorum may become agitated and need to be calmed down or restrained. It is very important to have a trusted, non-inebriated sitter present during all S. divinorum voyages, and particularly so during the early voyages when one is getting used to the effects of the plant. The sitter should know that in the majority of cases, even if the person who has taken S. divinorum is 'freaking out', such a condition does not last long and it is best to remain as calm as possible, try to non-verbally reassure the tripper at first, and keep them from leaving the pre-defined area, and verbally reassure the person if necessary. Within 10 to 60 minutes, the situation should improve. Inexperienced sitters should be encouraged to read for themselves about the effects and the basics of 'guiding'. There is some information at www.erowid.org/psychoactives/guides/guides.shtml, which can help the sitter have a better idea of what their role may entail. A search in the Erowid Experience Vaults on the term 'sitter' will turn up a number of accounts of S. divinorum use that might also be helpful to read.

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 S. 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 Salvia divinorum while standing. There should be nothing potentially dangerous around (fire, knives, guns, glass), and the phone should be taken off the hook 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 S. 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.

Know the Effects New users should acquaint themselves with the general effects of Salvia divinorum so that they are not expecting cannabis-like effects. The plant they are working with has the potential to be extremely powerful.

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. Although there have undoubtedly been tens of thousands of people who have now tried S. divinorum (if not more), many people only try it once or a few times, and decide that they don't need to experiment further or 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.

Problems of Smoking 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 S. 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 may cause black outs. 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 the sitters).

Accidents The most common adverse events reported so far associated with using Salvia divinorum are simply accidents such as bruises, cuts, and burns from falling or dropping a lighter or pipe.

Traumatic Experience Perhaps the second most likely adverse effect of using Salvia divinorum is having a difficult psycho-spiritual experience. As with any strong psychoactive, acute anxiety reactions from unexpected or unwanted experiences can lead to lasting feelings of dysphoria in a small number of users. Although lasting anxiety is uncommon, the primary treatment is discontinuing use of Salvia divinorum and other entheogens and symptomatic treatment for anxiety such as relaxation, rest, regular excercise, sleeping well, and talking about one's feelings.

Oral Toxicity If one drinks an infusion or chews the leaves, it is more difficult to take an overly large dose. There are no reports yet of physically toxic reactions (hospitalizations or serious problems due to pharmacological reactions). The current view is that the leaves are effectively 'non-toxic' and that it would be difficult to eat or chew enough to cause serious injury or lasting adverse health reactions. Generally, no lasting side-effects are reported from consuming S. divinorum. On rare occasions people get mild nausea from oral consumption. The acute effects can cause people to be dizzy and uncoordinated.

Addiction There is no evidence that the plant or its primary active compound in isolation, salvinorin A, are habit forming or physically addictive. Those who use S. 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. One psychologist wrote an article for the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (2001; 21: 634–635) about how his patient who was using S. divinorum found it to be useful for combatting the symptoms of her depression. See http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=1316. A religious group in Canada has been using low doses of S. divinorum as an aid to their meditations. See www.maps.org/news-letters/v09n1/09136sou.html and www.maps.org/research/Salvia/sdmeditation.html and www.maps.org/news-letters/v10n1/10106upd.html..

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 is believed to 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)", and another paper mentions using 20 to 80 or more pairs of leaves, helpfully also gave the weight of the fresh leaves as being about 50 to about 200 grams (Valdés et al. 1983).

Contemporary studies into the chemistry and pharmacology of Salvia divinorum have discovered that the traditional infusion preparation is perhaps 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 larger 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:

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 Salvia 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 used to recommend a "gravity bong" as an even better way to smoke the dried leaves, saying "This does not fail."

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 the primary active compound, 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 report better results when smoking by using a mini-torch style lighter.

Comparison of Consumption Methods As with any new substance, those who choose to experiment in a cautious and intelligent manner with Salvia divinorum will start off with smaller doses and work their way up. Many people find the quid method to be more enjoyable, due to it having a slower onset and longer-lasting effects. The rapid effects of smoked S. divinorum can be overwhelming and confusing. One drawback from any oral consumption is that the plant's leaves can be quite bitter. Oral ingestion is less efficient and thus more expensive, so many choose to experiment with smoking first.

Jonathan Ott (1995) has described "the probable descending order of potency" as follows: sublingual salvinorin A -> vaporized salvinorin A -> chewed leaf, quid -> chewed leaf, swallowed -> infusion of leaf

Ott did not include smoked Salvia divinorum in his rating scheme, stating: "[E]ven 'though as few as 1–2 leaves may be active... for most people the effect is much milder than by oral ingestion (albeit of greater quantities). In a test with 20 people, each of whom was given a 'joint' of dried Salvia divinorum leaves to smoke (containing 1–2 leaves), roughly half felt nothing at all. Of the half who did feel the effects, all reported quite mild effects, except for 2 individuals, who had potent visionary effects. (Ott 1995)."

It is too bad that the weight of the dried leaves wasn't presented with this information, since basing dosage data on the number of leaves is less than precise (leaves can vary in size from less than a centimeter / inch to 15 inches (35cm) long) and up to 5 inches (12cm) wide. These experiments do show, however, that smoking via a joint is not a very effective method. People have had much more effective results using a bong, where a larger quantity of smoke can be inhaled at one time. Ott also didn't include data related to any of the concentrated 'X' extracts mentioned below, presumably as these were not commonly available when he conducted his studies.

To sum up, bong-smoked leaf, or smoked 'X' extracts of various strengths, or vaporized salvinorin A, all tend to come on much more quickly and don't last too long. And, all of these tend to use a relatively small amount of leaf material. The quid method has a slower onset and longer duration, and uses a larger amount of leaf material. And the infusion has the longest duration, and uses the largest amount of leaf material. Depending on what solvent is used, prepared sublingual extracts can use a fairly small amount of leaf material, up to about the same amount as that which is contained in a quid of fresh leaf. Ott found that 100 micrograms to 1 milligram of pure salvinorin A was active sublingually in a solution of acetone or DMSO (Ott 1995)Note; others have found 4 to 10 milligrams or more to be active sublingually in a solution of high-proof ethanol (diluted with 50% hot water, just prior to use).

Yes, Ott actually used DMSO and acetone orally. "Acetone is present in bananas." he quipped when asked about this practice.

Some authors have said that salvinorin is not at all active when swallowed, but this appears to be a misunderstanding. One traditional mazatec use of Salvia divinorum involves swallowing a liquid infusion / tea which causes strong effects lasting several hours.

Daniel Siebert attributes low activity of infusions, solutions and leaves of salvinorin to inactivation of the compound in the stomach (Siebert 1994), but has never mentioned a mechanism for this inactivation. Leander Valdés postulates a possible mechanism for inactivation (if it occurs) as "I can theorize a possible deactivation mechanism - acid catalyzed hydrolysis of the acetate in the stomach, converting salvinorin A to salvinorin B plus acetic acid (and possibly base catalyzed hydrolysis in the intestines). But taking an infusion of leaves can give a pretty strong experience which can last several hours (up to 4-6 or so)." Ott speculates (Ott 1995) that pure salvinorin would not be well absorbed and in a discussion of the issue of oral inactivation, Valdés goes on to say:

"How can this happen if the compound is inactivated in the GI tract? My work with getting Salvinorin A into a suspension for dosing mice and its potency when given intraperitoneally (where it has to cross a membrane), leads me to believe the low activity when taken orally is due to poor absorption rather than inactivation. There may be some inactivation by the mechanisms I gave above, but I think the big problem is absorption of the compound.

Taking the infusion gives a dose that is slowly absorbed as the liquid travels through the GI tract. I go into this in great detail in my 1994 paper, but the idea that the problems with salvinorin A are due to poor solubility hasn't caught on.

Sublingual solutions, etc., put the compound in a very small amount of solvent next to membranes. This isn't so in the GI tract.

Problems with absorption are very common in the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical pills and liquids people take include some very complex delivery systems. I think that Don Alekandro's infusion was the Mazatec version of one of our fancy delivery systems. It is crude and inefficient, but there are a lot of leaves available in the Sierra Mazateca, and the infusion produces effects which last several hours, which is a lot longer than other methods of taking the plant. Granted, the effects of oral ingestion are not as intense as the reported peak effects of smoked salvinorin A, but this type of experience is not what the Mazatec shaman is after. They want a "separate reality," not an unintelligible one." (LJ Valdés 2002)

However, its important to note that one of the primary references on the weakness of oral activity is a self report by Daniel Siebert about taking 10mg of pure salvinorin A. This oral dose of salvinorin may be too low to make any definitive comments about oral activity or absorption.

The idea that only fresh leaves can be used probably comes from the fact that traditionally the Mazatec Indians only used fresh leaves to make their infusions. The Mazatecs were apparently unaware that the plant could be dried and smoked. Interestingly, they also may have considered Salvia divinorum to be a fairly 'weak' plant -- not surprising considering the method that they did use to consume it, which is one of the least effective methods. Not only can dried leaves be smoked, but dried leaves can also be reconstituted with water and used as a quid. A 'dose' in this manner may be about 2 to 10 grams of leaf material, before it has been reconstituted with water (soak the leaves for 5–10 minutes to reconstitute them). Soaking dry leaves in water will increase their mass by 8-12 times.

The idea that the active compound is unstable comes from an early investigation by Albert Hofmann. He took some material preserved in alcohol from Mexico back to Switzerland, to study it in his lab. Apparently this material was inactive when he eventually looked into it, leading him to believe that the active compound must be unstable. Hofmann may have simply had too few leaves for an active oral infusion (Wasson 1962). In fact, when stored carefully, dried leaves seem to retain their potency for long periods of time (well over a year). Also salvinorin A, when kept cool, dark, and dry, also seems to hold its potency. It has been found, however, that salvinorin A dissolved in ethanol and exposed to sunlight can lose its potency, and it is also possible that this sort of environment is what led Hofmann's sample to degenerate.

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 written), amateur botanist Daniel Siebert vaporized and inhaled an extract that contained about 2 mg of salvinorin A, and confirmed via human bioassay that this is 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 600–1000 micrograms (or just over 1/2 a milligram up to 1 milligram). Salvinorin A is clearly a potent compound, yet it has been 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). Human bioassays of salvinorin C remain untried to date. Salvinorin B, which only appears in the plant at perhaps 4% of the amount of salvinorin A was found to be inactive in animal testing (Valdés 1994), and unpublished research indicates that this has also been shown inactive in humans at doses comparable and higher to those where salvinorin A shows activity. So far, no one knows why salvinorin A is psychoactive.

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 2002). In August 2002, Roth et al published their findings that Salvinorin A is a potent kappa-opioid receptor agonist (Roth 2002). Because most other visionary drugs work on the serotonin (specifically the 5-HT-2a receptor) system, 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 with salvinorin A in it, and then using radio-labeled chemicals known to bind to the given receptor, they were able to see if the salvinorin kept the other chemical from 'sticking'. Because the binding 'affinity' for the radio-labeled ligands was known, the amount the salvinorin blocked it produced a numerical value which then could be used to rate how much salvinorin stuck to the receptor. Dr Roth's lab is one of the most active in doing this type of neuropharmalogical receptor screening and more info about this type of work can be found at http://pdsp.cwru.edu/nimh/5ht.html. 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 stands up, 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 we certainly expect that salvinorin A acts at more than just this single receptor type.

The fact is that 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 gap between the relatively simple (!?) pharmacology of the brain and the workings of the mind. For more information about this issue, see Erowid's article on Salvinorin's Kappa Opiod Activity.

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 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). Since the pharmacological action of salvinorin A is not yet well understood, it is unknown if there are any risks associated with combining it with other drugs. Some people have reported a "potentiation" of the effects of S. divinorum when taken with the seeds from the mono-amine 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 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.

Some people believe 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 become 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.

There are currently no known tests for the use of Salvia divinorum or salvinorin A. Salvinorin is also not structurally similar enough to any tested substance to cause a positive result for any other substance. Since it is not a scheduled compound nor is it associated with any addiction, heavy use, or use on the job, it seems unlikely that any such test will be forthcoming in the near future.

The traditional Mazatec use of Salvia divinorum, as discussed in papers by Valdés et al., involves medicinal use as well as the better-known divinatory use. In Valdés et al. 1983, the authors describe the following medical uses:

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".

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 (September 2002), there is no accepted medical use by any major medical association.

There is one case report currently published in the mainstream medical literature, the abstract can be found in the erowid reference vaults at: erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=1316. The case involves a woman who used Salvia 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)

The best way to grow Salvia divinorum is to choose a place outdoors that is mostly shady, cool, and humid. While S. divinorum can be grown in hot sunny locations (once acclimated), it does not thrive in these situations. Using shade cloth may be appropriate. Soil should be rich and well-draining. If grown in containers, the largest container possible is the best choice, as S. divinorum likes to have a lot of root room. One person has even suggested that plastic "kiddie pools" make good pots. In dry areas, an automated misting system that comes on for one minute every hour (during daylight hours), or even two or three times per day, is one of the best ways to provide the humidity that S. divinorum loves. S. divinorum can grow quite tall, and may need to be supported with stakes eventually. Alternately, cuttings can be taken from the tops of the plants, the two side branches at the node below the cutting will become the new growing tips, and the plant will bush out. S. divinorum loves to get frequent foliar feedings with fish emulsion fertilizer; such feedings produce lush, large, deep-green leaves.

The biggest problem that people have growing Salvia divinorum plants occurs within the first few weeks of obtaining the plant. S. divinorum doesn't like extreme changes in its environment. The shock of sending the plants through the mail can have adverse effects, and the odds of such effects increase the longer that the plant remains in the mail stream. For this reason, it is preferable to have the plants shipped via the fastest service offered. Some vendors offer S. divinorum as unrooted cuttings; such cuttings are even more likely to suffer when shipped, as they have no roots to bring in water, but should be very inexpensive.

If an individual purchases an unrooted cutting or makes cuttings from established plants, he or she will need to know how to root the plant. Many people find that rooting Salvia divinorum is extremely easy, simply placing one end of a cut stalk in a glass of non-chlorinated water and leaving it for a couple of weeks. But others find their cuttings wilt and die without following more careful rooting technique. Rooting plants is generally something that is done indoors. It is preferable to use bottled, distilled water and a sterile cutting tool. A cutting with at least two "nodes" on it (where the new stems are produced as side-shoots) is placed into a glass of water, and the water is changed once a day. It is best to take the cutting just below a node. Another way to increase the speed of bushing is to take cuttings with side branches, root them in water, and then plant them in soil with the side branches buried.

The plant likes misting several times a day; keeping it in a humid location such as in a bathroom where a shower is frequently used may be a good idea. Some people use humidity tents, but the plant can become dependant on these environments, so they are not recommended. Misting frequently is adequate even in extremely dry locations. Within a 10 to 14 days or so, small white roots start pushing out of the stem. When these roots have reached about a 1/2 inch in length, the plant is potted in a rich, well-draining soil. The soil should be kept moist (but not soggy).

More information and links about growing Salvia divinorum can be found in Erowid's Salvia divinorum Vault, SageWisdom.org, and in the Salvia Divinorum Grower's Guide, which can be purchased from www.specmind.com/sdgg1.html.

Salvia divinorum rarely sets seed, and when it does these have a low viability (Hanna 1998). There are a few vendors that on rare occasions have had seeds for sale, but due to the scarcity these are usually quite expensive. If one is interested in a challenge and has the money to burn, growing S. divinorum from seed might be an enjoyable activity; and since most of the plants that are commercially available are from one of two clones, seed-grown plants will help to increase the genetic diversity of the plant. Most people, however, settle for growing cuttings.

Leaves are best harvested when taking some won't cause too much stress to the plant. For smaller house plants, leaves can be picked every once-in-a-while, and stored up. For larger outdoor plants, leaves can also be picked every so often, but many growers prefer to wait until the end of the "growing season", after the plants have gotten just about as big as they are going to. Generally this is sometime between October and December, before the plants start flowering (in some climates). Stripping many of the leaves off before winter and letting the plant overwinter (in those areas that don't freeze) with fewer leaves seems to work well for people wishing to generate a large mass of leaves at one time. Leaves can be laid in single layers onto cookie sheets, and dried in an oven set at the lowest possible heat. Check them frequently so as not to burn them. For storage purposes, dried leaves can be run through a strainer creating a rough powder, and then packed into glass jars. Alternately, they could be placed whole and dry into Zip-Loc-style baggies. Stored leaf should be kept cool, dark, and dry.

There are many vendors for Salvia divinorum plants, most of which can be found via a web search. Prices for live plants range from about $7.00 on the low end, to about $40.00 on the high end. There are two plant clones that are commercially available: clones of the original "Wasson/Hofmann" plant, and clones of a plant brought to the USA by Bret Blosser, which are sometimes referred to as "the palatable clone". This plant was thought by Blosser to be less bitter than the more common "Wasson/Hofmann" clone. Some folks who have grown both clones and noticed no difference in taste are of the opinion that the name of this so-called "palatable clone" was merely marketing hype by the first company that sold it. It is true that those selling the palatable clone will frequently charge more for this plant. However, it is also possible that much of the taste of any plant has to do with the environment in which it is grown. Other than which of the two commercially-available clones to choose, the only differences between vendors of live plants will be price, size, and health of the plants. Since the big "trick" to growing S. divinorum is getting the plant to adjust to whatever new growing condition it is placed in, smaller plants may actually acclimate better than larger ones.

One way to find a potentially good vendor is to visit the herbal merchants' rating system at www.gliderspen.net/cgi-bin/rate/merchantR.cgi. Also, Erowid keeps a record of complaints it receives about vendors at: http://www.erowid.org/vendors/vendors_complaints.shtml. This sort of rating process can be of help to everyone involved, buyers and sellers alike. Remember that just because someone says that they're the only company offering a certain product, doesn't mean that's necessarily true. And, just because a company says that they offer the lowest prices, this also isn't necessarily true. Be wary of claims of "consistently high potency" leaf, especially if such leaf costs substantially more than other vendors charge.

Folks who are conscientious about not upsetting the traditional culture surrounding this plant may wish to purchase leaves grown in the USA. Such leaves are usually more expensive, because the folks in Mexico can be exploited as cheap labor and the plant has naturalized there in some locations. But ripping out a sacred plant from its native habitat for commercial gain is no doubt offensive to some people, and perfectly good S. divinorum leaf is grown commercially in Hawaii. Also note that, although some companies may claim to offer standardized products, there is no independent testing company that is checking out such claims to make certain they are true. Public feedback may be the best gauge to see who sells the highest quality products at the lowest prices, which is why the herbal merchant's rating URL and other sites like it can be valuable resources.

It is quite easy to create an extract that has a high concentration of salvinorin A, and this can indeed be done with commonly available solvents, and without a chemistry background or sophisticated lab equipment. Obtaining highly purified salvinorin A is also relatively easy. However, such highly purified extracts require more sophisticated scales to weigh properly, which most people don't have access to. Any chemical which is strongly psychoactive below a few milligrams has to be handled incredibly carefully. Because of this, we will not be discussing purification and recrystallization methods in this FAQ.

Of the commonly available solvents, acetone is considered the best to use, due to the fact that salvinorin A is so absurdly soluble in it. However, people have used high proof isopropyl alcohol successfully too, as well as warm or hot high-proof ethanol (although salvinorin A tends to precipitate out of room temperature, cool, or cold ethanol). Nevertheless, all alcohol is flammable, and since an electric heat source would be required for alcohol extractions, acetone is the solvent of choice when making extracts. Although acetone is also flammable, it can be used cold. Never work around any source of flame or spark when using flammable solvents (don't smoke while you are working), and always work in a well-ventilated area. Note that since motors for some fans can create sparks, large fans should be used further from the work area, specialized hoods should be used, or solvent work done outside. The other major issue is to make sure that any acetone used is free from other, heavier oils and solvents.

A simple extract is made by grinding the dried herb to a powder, placing this in a glass jar (with a lid), and filling it with enough acetone to submerge the powder and rise up half again as high in the jar. For example, if the powdered herb takes up two inches of height in the jar, then the acetone should rise to a three-inch mark on the jar (including the two inches taken up by the powdered herb). The lid for the jar is placed on tightly, and the jar is shaken several times over the course of an hour or two. Then the leaf material is strained though a coffee filter, with the liquid draining into a large glass baking dish. The acetone is allowed to evaporate off outside, away from any source of spark or flame. Some people will cover the glass baking dish with a piece of cheesecloth, to make sure that nothing is blown into the dish. The resulting goo may have a salvinorin A content between 10% and 20%, and has been referred to as "black wax". Some people will use this sublingually on its own. Others will mix it with high-proof ethanol to create a sublingual tincture. Others will redeposit it onto dried Salvia divinorum leaf to create an "X" extract, and this method of processing is what many vendors selling "5X" or "10X" extracts use.

NOTE: Before powdering the dried leaves, some people have found it useful to soak the whole dried leaves for about 10 minutes in a bowl of cold water (and then redry them prior to powdering and extracting with a solvent). Since salvinorin A is not soluble in cold water, this allows some of the other stuff in the leaf to be removed, prior to making the extract. Hence, one ends up with a slightly cleaner, slightly more potent extract.

[@@@ This section has not been checked.. verify percents.. ]

There is no definitive information about the range of quantities of salvinorin A in Salvia divinorum leaf, although there is some information about this.

This was looked at systematically by John Gruber. The range they found was 0.89 mg per gram of dried leaf to 3.70 mg/g, but most were in the mid-range (about 2.5 if I remember correctly) (Gruber 1999). Many other reports from other non-published underground researchers have reported content percentages higher than 2.5 in dried leaf that was considered "good quality", including reports of 4-5mg per gram of dry leaf, but since the methods are not published for these informal reports it is impossible to know how pure these extracts were.

Salvinorin A .9 - 3.7 g/kg dry leaf - Gruber
Salvinorin A 1.78 g/kg dry leaf, authors estimate 2.0 - 2.5 gram per kilo dry leaf - Valdés 1984
Salvinorin B: measured 74mg/kg dry leaf, estimated 10% of Salvinorin A content
Salvinorin C .. "C comprises only about 10% of the pharmacologically active fraction" (Valdés et al. 2001). Although Valdés only isolated 30mg pure Salvinorin C, he estimated it may exist as much as 10x that amount and is unstable when extracted.
5-hydroxy-7-4'-dimethoxyflavone: 17mg / kg dry leaf - Valdés private communication. Also reports other flavonoids not identified.
loliolide ~5mg / kg dry leaf - Valdés
Note: Work done by Valdés is only a lower bound because he was doing identification and not taking all steps to maximize the amount of materials identified.

An individual can probably make an extract that is nearly as good as most of the commercially-available products, with only a small amount of time and effort. Especially if plants are grown instead of purchased, homemade extracts are the least expensive option. Once established, Salvia divinorum can grow to fill any available space, since the plant is so easily propagated by cuttings. In a single growing season—with a space as small as 30 square feet—it is quite possible that a person could produce more leaf than they would use in a lifetime.

Often purchasing leaf in bulk and doing a home extraction is much less expensive than buying the commercially-available extracts. A pound of dried Salvia divinorum leaf purchased from wholesalers in Mexico can be had for about $100.00. Some commercial vendors resell such leaf for over $100 USD per ounce!

There is no way to know the salvinorin A content of specific leaves without testing them; and once they are tested (i.e. extracted and quantified), those specific leaves are no longer being offered for sale. The best that a vendor might be able to do is make a fairly uniform "leaf powder" in bulk, and then test a portion of this to see what the whole might be indicative of, with regard to salvinorin A content. It is very unlikely that many (if any) commercial vendors are doing such testing on a regular basis. As well, the appearance of the leaf isn't likely to have any relationship to its potency; very potent leaf may have insect damage, discoloration, or other imperfections. Hence, "grade A" leaves (i.e., those that look good from a "cosmetic" perspective) may not be any more potent than lower grade leaves or leaf powder, and indeed they may be less potent. The bottom line is that—regardless of what some vendors claim—there is no way to know for certain the potency of the leaves that one buys unless those leaves themselves were tested. Salvinorin A content of leaves is known to be variable, and it is not known what conditions lead to a high salvinorin A content. Tests reported on in the literature described a range from 0.89 mg to 3.70 mg of salvinorin A per gram of dried leaf (Gruber 1999), and recently vendors have been claiming to offer leaf as potent as 4.5 mg (Lady Salvia 2002). It simply isn't possible that vendors are testing all of the leaf that they sell to insure that the potency is consistently this high: buyer beware.

There are two types of extracts that dominate the market at the moment: liquid extracts or "tinctures"—generally used sublingually, and the "X" extracts (such as 5X and 10X)—which are generally used for smoking purposes.

Liquid extracts are not too commercially prevalent, but several companies do produce them. The following sites—which may not be a complete listing—offer liquid sublingual extracts: (please note that vendor listings are not endorsements, but are intended to provide documentation of the current (2002) small Salvia divinorum market)

The primary benefit of purchasing a sublingual extract, rather than making one, would be if the product were standardized and one knew what the amount of salvinorin A per dose was. With pure salvinorin A dissolved in high-proof ethanol, a "dose" can contain from 4 to 10 mg or more (with effects clearly getting stronger, the higher the dose).

If a sublingual tincture is made with high-proof ethanol (pure, food grade ethanol is best, since any water added decreases the solubility of salvinorin A), it would be expected to contain an amount of salvinorin A, which would be uniform throughout the bottle. Hence, the same dose could be taken repeatedly (but one would not know exactly what that dose was in terms of milligrams of salvinorin A).

The primary question for tinctures is how potent the starting leaves are. If one assumes that purchased or grown leaves will probably contain between 1 mg and 4 mg of salvinorin A per gram of leaf material, and an acetone extract is made from 50 grams of leaf material, the goo left over should contain between 50 and 200 mg of salvinorin A. If a tincture is targeted to contain about 60 mg of salvinorin A per ounce of high-proof ethanol (or 2 mg per ml), then the amount of SD-extract goo that is added to one ounce of high-proof ethanol would have to be adjusted up or down, depending on how potent the goo actually was. Aside from actually further purifying the goo, the only way to do this is via estimate based on bioassay results. This is one reason that it can be useful to purchase tinctures with known amounts of the active compound; comparison of effects can allow one to better estimate the potency of one's own tincture.

Salvinorin A is not terribly soluble in room temperature ethanol—even if it is water-free ethanol (200 proof). The solubility decreases as the percentage of water increases. So, for example, 190 proof grain alcohol like Everclear or Clear Springs, is the next best thing to absolute alcohol. And as the proof goes down ever further, so similarly does the solubility decrease. With any ethanol used (and especially those of lower proofs), people making tinctures frequently choose to warm their tincture in a water bath (using an electric heat source with no sources of spark or flame nearby), in order to make certain that the salvinorin A gets into solution. Some people will use such a warming technique before each use, and especially so if the tincture has been sitting around for a while. And, of course, they shake the tincture well before use too. Tinctures last longest when stored in dark amber bottles, out of direct sunlight, in a dark location.

Most people prefer to dilute their high-proof sublingual tinctures with hot water just prior to using them. High-proof alcohol can really sting (and even burn) one's mouth if held there in undiluted form. A mixture of 50% hot water and 50% pure-alcohol tincture should work adequately. Since most people use drinking-alcohol that is less than 100% alcohol, tinctures are usually diluted to the point where they are effectively 50% alcohol by volume. The tincture is diluted just before it is used (diluting only as much as will be used during that session), and then is held in the mouth for 10–15 minutes. Effects begin in 5–10 minutes and last for about 30 minutes, with a gradual return to "baseline" after another 30+ minutes.

Caution: "X" extracts can be much more potent than regular leaf. They may be desirable for those who have not had success in smoking regular leaf, or they may be desirable for those who wish to minimize the amount of smoke that they inhale. However, due to the potency of such extracts, the intelligent user will always exercise extreme caution when working with these preparations. The doses with "X" extracts are small enough that many people choose to accurately weigh them out prior to consumption.

The first discussion that we are aware of relating information about fortified "X" ("times") extracts was on page 174 of Dale Pendell's 1995 book Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft, wherein he states:

If one is using straight (non-extracted) leaf at "about one-quarter the original weight of the leaves extracted" as Pendell describes, most people would consider this product to actually be a "5X," since it contained all of the virtues of the "four parts" of the original leaves, plus an additional "part" from the one-quarter weight of straight non-extracted leaf that was added back in.

Pendell's description eventually brought forth the entrepreneurial spirit in some folks, and by 1997 there were commercially-available "5X" products. Then later came the 6X, the 7X, the 10X, and—not to be outdone—one vendor offered an 11X, stating, "Yeah, but mine goes to 11." The "X" number is increased by adding less and less straight (non-extracted) leaf back into the equation. As the "X" factor increases, eventually this approach will no longer work, as there is too much gooey stuff and not enough dried leaf, making the extract harder to work with. A straight acetone-to-goo extract (with no leaf added back into it; just the goo) would be considered about a "25X" (based on an average extracted salvinorin A content of 2.5 mg per gram of dried leaf). While Pendell suggested ethanol (or methanol), current opinion is that acetone is a better solvent, since salvinorin A is more soluble in this.

Some 'X' extracts or 'fortified leaf' preparations are offered by a few vendors as standardized preparations with a known amount of salvinorin A per gram of powder. These are made by extracting out and purifying salvinorin A, then redepositing it on a known amount of leaf. This results in an extract that should produce less smoke per milligram of salvinorin ingested. The most compelling value of these is that a known amount of salvinorin can be ingested by weighing the substance carefully for each use. With standardized extracts, it is possible to know that 40 milligrams of a 10X extract is 1mg of Salvinorin A each time.

Although home extracts are often as good as those made by commercial vendors, such extracts have been criticized by vendors selling standardized extracts (see below), who state that these "crude" extracts "concentrate the tars and other potentially harmful components of the leaf". However, these extract certainly do not have any more harmful components than were in the original leaf that they were extracted from (unless some toxic solvent was used in their preparation that wasn't completely removed in the process). For example, if one needed to smoke 400 mg of "straight leaf" to get a 1mg dose of salvinorin A, and now one needs to smoke 40 mg of a 10X extract, one is getting the exact same amount of "tars and other potentially harmful components of the leaf". Since there is less smoke being produced per milligram of salvinorin, less particulate matter is likely to be inhaled, thus causing less irritation to the throat and lungs.

Although it is true that some standardized extracts may not have as much non-active wax and chlorophyl as the non-standardized extracts, the "health benefit argument" for standardized extracts is probably a red herring, in that most people do not smoke any form of Salvia divinorum so frequently that they really need to be concerned about the level of potential carcinogens that they might be inhaling. Consider, for example, that an average non-filtered tobacco cigarette weighs over 800 mg, or about 2–3 times the amount that is smoked in a "dose" of straight dried S. divinorum leaf. It certainly doesn't hurt to minimize the amount of potential carcinogens that one inhales, but it seems unlikely that infrequent S. divinorum smoking would noticeably impact long term health.

Vendors selling standardized extracts have also claimed that non-standardized extracts have "inferior burning characteristics". Experienced S. divinorum smokers report that the non-standardized 5X to 10X products from reputable retailers burn well and this too seems like a marketing red herring. Extracts higher than 10X do get "gummy" enough that they don't as burn well, but they are still likely to be quite effective. Generally, extracts over 10X become harder to work with because they are too concentrated. The reason that fortified-leaf X-extracts are used is that they are easier to handle, measure, and smoke and over 10X they are more like handling straight extract with its unwanted characteristics.

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 www.erowid.org/library/books_online/salvinorin/salvinorin.shtml. Another good book is Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A: The Best of The Entheogen Review 1992–2000, edited by David Aardvark. This is perhaps the most detailed book on the modern psychonautical use of S. divinorum currently available [from www.entheogenreview.com]. There is a book in German that provides a brief overview of all aspects of the plant, including its traditional use, titled Salvia divinorum—Der Wahrsagesalbei by Jochen Gartz [available from www.nachtschatten.ch]. 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 [available from www.specmind.com].

Books that contain good chapters on Salvia divinorum include Albert Hofmann's LSD: My Problem Child, Jonathan Ott's Pharmacotheon, 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 print journal Eleusis. The article can be read online at http://www.eleusis.ws/en/articles/vel-ott.shtml.

The most comprehensive single site is currently Daniel Siebert's Salvia divinorum Research and Information center, SageWisdom.org. This site contains a wealth of current information, but Sagewisdom is a commercial enterprise selling leaves and extracts and parts of their information and FAQ must be read with that caveat in mind.

Information and links to other online resources can also be found at the Erowid Salvia divinorum Vault, at www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/. Additionally, you might check out the archives at "Ask Erowid" for more data on S. divinorum at www.erowid.org/ask/ask.cgi?A=ListByCat&Cat0=28. The Lycaeum has some documents and links, but is irregularly maintained: leda.lycaeum.org/Taxonomy/Salvia_divinorum.269.shtml. And, a web search for "Salvia divinorum" on any search engine should turn up additional sites with data on this plant.

Generally, this FAQ will not include a comprehensive list of current links because the sites change urls so often. Visit Erowid, the Lycaeum, or SageWisdom for more current links to other sites.

We don't know of many non-English resources about salvia, although we're sure there are many more than we know of.

Espanol: Salvia Utopia
Italiano: Italian Salvia Email List
Russian: Shalfey.ru : Salvia FAQ, growing tips, other documents

If you know of other non-English Salvia divinorum resources, please let us know. If you would like to translate this FAQ, please contact us to let us know.

Yes, there are quite a few such e-mailing lists available at Yahoo.com that anyone can join. These groups have slightly different focuses and different amounts of traffic. Check out:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SalviaD
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SkaMariaPastora
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SalviaD_Alliance
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Salvia-sf San Francisco
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SalviaUK British
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skamaria Italiano

If there are fundamental unanswered questions which you think should be covered by this FAQ, you can submit them to "Ask Erowid", where they may be answered, and perhaps might turn up in a future version of this FAQ.

The current maintainers of this FAQ, as of September 2002, are editors at Erowid.org who can be contacted either at the general corrections address, corrections@erowid.org, or at salvia_faq@erowid.org. Please be as specific as possible and make sure to mention you're talking about the Salvia FAQ.

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This FAQ is the collaborative effort by a small number of anonymous authors who are interested in continuing the tradition of high quality, freely copyable information about psychoactive plants and chemicals. This FAQ is maintained and edited by volunteers at Erowid.

The current maintained URL for this FAQ is: http://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_faq.shtml.

This FAQ is copyright 2002 Erowid.org and may be copied as long as it remains intact with these credits attached. It may be freely printed or used in digital form. Edits and corrections should be submitted to Erowid for review, see the corrections section above for information about how to edit this FAQ.

• 1.0 Jun 6, 2002 - First internal release for review, published by Erowid.org.
• 1.1 Oct 9, 2002 - First publlic release, published by Erowid.org.
• 1.2 Jan 9, 2005 - One vendor removed, fixed a couple of formatting errors.
• 1.3 Feb 2, 2006 - .