t’s easy to walk by a Salvia divinorum plant without noticing it’s there. It looks much like any other flowering shrub: mostly inconspicuous green leaves, sometimes adorned by long purple and white flowers. Pretty, but not spectacular. Yet, this average-looking shrub has a special power: It produces a unique psychoactive terpene called Salvinorin A, considered to be among the most potent hallucinogens of natural origin. So, of course, salvia is not legal in many Western countries.
Within seconds after smoking the herb, consumers are set adrift into an unusual psychoactive experience, where hallucinations, shifts in sensory perception, and changes in your perception of reality are all possible. But, unlike more famous psychoactives, like LSD, the effects of salvia are short-lived. The average salvia trip lasts a mere 20 minutes when smoked, and up to two hours if chewed.
What’s Salvia Divinorum? (Diviner’s sage)
Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive herb native to southern Mexico—and Salvia divinorum is just one type of salvia. The intoxicating plant is a member of the mint family and a relative of “common sage.” Salvia is so common, in fact, that the plants make up the largest genus in the mint family. Scholars estimate that there are between 700 and 1,000 different species of salvia.
Yet, even among such a large family, Salvia divinorum is unique. Most plants in the Salvia genus are non-psychoactive. These non-intoxicating plants are popular choices for flower gardens and decorative landscaping. Salvia divinorum, however, stands out from the crowd. The plant produces a unique class of opioid-like compounds that inspire intense but short-lived hallucinations.
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