Salvia

Description

Salvia Divinorum is a bushy plant that is a member of the sage family the leaves of which contain the hallucinogenic compound – Salvinorin A.

Normally Salvia is sold as a green, dried, powdered leaf. It is also sold as ‘extracts’; these are condensed products made from the leaf and normally come as 5x or 10x. These are advertised as five times and ten times as strong as leaf respectively. You can also get 15x and 40x strength extract. So a 1 gram tube/envelope would be 10 grams dried and processed for consumption. Labelling does not necessarily mean that every gram contains precisely standardised concentrations of salvinorin A. Extract strengths and preparation methods vary and commercial products may be poorly characterized.

The quality of these extracts is variable and consumers have to trust the seller to extract the product effectively and safely. We have had anecdotal evidence that suggests this can be very variable indeed, with even experienced users finding the ‘trip’ frighteningly heavy and ‘real’. The loss of perception that what is occurring is a chemical experience and not a world turned inside out has been reported by experienced users of hallucinogens.

Salvia is smoked, normally in a bong or pipe but sometimes rolled with tobacco. It can be chewed and orally absorbed. The smoke is normally held in for long periods to obtain the full effect. Smoking with a water pipe seems to produce the most immediate and extreme effects.

Salvia is a strong hallucinogen that is also physically powerful. Within seconds of the smoke being inhaled users will feel the effects, which include visions, increased heart rate (possibly anxiety related), hearing changes and a sometimes scary sensation of ‘speed’.

Human studies indicate onset within seconds, peak effects around 1-2 minutes and substantial resolution within 30 minutes however with larger doses this will be longer and residual after-effects can last longer. Sublingual or oral-mucosal use can have a slower and longer profile lasting potentially around an hour or more.

Some users report hearing ‘familiar’ or ‘evocative noises or sounds’ and voices when the drug is used in the dark and with high doses this can lead to a full ‘out-of-body’ experience.

Salvia does not appear to have high dependence or compulsive use potential. Its effects can be intense and sometimes (potentially often) aversive. Research to date has found little evidence of a typical pattern of repeated use or dependence. However this does not mean problematic use is impossible

Pharmacology

The main active chemical component of Salvia Divinorum is salvinorin A, a naturally occurring neoclerodane diterpene. Unlike most classical hallucinogens, salvinorin A contains no nitrogen and does not produce its effects primarily through the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor.

Salvinorin A is a highly potent and selective κ-opioid receptor (KOR) agonist. KORs are part of the brain's endogenous opioid system and are normally activated by naturally occurring peptides called dynorphins. Activation of KORs alters signalling in several brain regions involved in perception, mood, reward and sensory integration. This is thought to account for much of salvinorin A's unusual combination of hallucination, dissociation, changes in body awareness and alterations in the perception of time and space.

This makes salvinorin A pharmacologically different from drugs such as LSD and psilocybin, which primarily produce their psychedelic effects through activation of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. Salvinorin A can therefore produce a very intense altered state without directly activating the principal receptor responsible for the effects of classical serotonergic psychedelics.

Salvinorin A is also unusual among opioid receptor agonists because it is non nitrogenous and produces a markedly different subjective effect from conventional opioid drugs such as morphine or heroin. It should not therefore be assumed that because salvinorin A acts at an opioid receptor it will produce typical opioid effects such as euphoria, analgesia or respiratory depression.

When inhaled, salvinorin A is absorbed very rapidly through the lungs and reaches the brain quickly. Its effects can begin within seconds, peak within a few minutes and largely resolve within around 30 minutes. It is also rapidly metabolised, including conversion to the inactive metabolite salvinorin B, which contributes to its short duration of action. Swallowed salvinorin A has very poor oral activity because it is rapidly metabolised in the gastrointestinal system; absorption through the mouth and lungs is much more effective.

The short duration should not be interpreted as meaning that the experience is mild. Salvinorin A can produce profound and abrupt alterations in perception, body awareness and behaviour, including intense dissociation, loss of awareness of one's surroundings and temporary inability to control movement. These intense short hallucinations may be particularly vivid, unexplainable, colourful or dreamlike but also intense and distressing. Once the effects have ended it’s common for users to feel tired, dizzy and not remember details of the experience.

Research into salvinorin A is also of scientific interest because it provides a way of studying the KOR/dynorphin system and consciousness without relying on the serotonergic mechanisms involved in classical psychedelics. A number of synthetic salvinorin analogues have subsequently been developed to investigate KOR pharmacology and possible therapeutic applications, although these remain experimental.

Harm Reduction

• Because the drug comes on so quickly and with such force, many users find the experience daunting and scary. Accompanying this can be a racing heart and increased breathing.
• Some users also report nausea and loss of balance. Users should have a safe, comfortable place to sit or lay when using the drug. If you want to experience a dose of Salvia it is advisable to have a ‘sitter’ because some users attempt to get up and walk about while intoxicated. This can happen even to people aware of the effects of hallucinogens.
• It is not advisable to use this drug for the first time in a club or at a festival because of its differing and sometimes disturbing effects on different people.
• Salvia is also sometimes used in a dark and quiet room because users believe this brings out the disassociative effect. However, first time users should not attempt this alone because the results can be disturbing. The higher concentrations (x10, 15,40) should be avoided by inexperienced users.
• Read any information you can before you embark on a ‘trip’. This may be a very intense experience.
• The strength of salvia products can be difficult to predict. Commercial extracts may be labelled as 5x, 10x, 20x or higher, but these labels do not necessarily represent a standardised concentration of salvinorin A. Different products can therefore produce very different effects even when they have similar labels.
• A calm environment can reduce distress. Salvia can produce intense experiences of being in another place, becoming a different object or losing awareness of one's body. Reassurance from a sober person and a quiet, familiar environment may help if the experience becomes frightening.
• People with a history of psychosis or severe mental health difficulties should be particularly cautious. Salvia can produce profound perceptual disturbances and disorientation, and there are reports of prolonged psychiatric symptoms following use, although serious persistent effects appear uncommon.
• Interaction data is very limited and not much is known about combining this substance with others. Care should be taken with any mixes while taking less the your normal amount of each.

History

Salvia divinorum is native to the Sierra Mazateca region of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it has a long history of use among Mazatec communities. It is known by names including ska Pastora and hojas de la Pastora ("leaves of the Shepherdess"). Traditional use was associated with healing and divination, with Mazatec curanderos and curanderas using the plant during ritual practices intended to diagnose illness or gain insight into its cause.

The history of its traditional use before the twentieth century is not completely clear. The first detailed published ethnographic account is generally attributed to the ethnologist Jean B. Johnson, who described its use among the Mazatec in 1939. Earlier references to unidentified visionary plants have sometimes been proposed as references to Salvia divinorum, but these identifications remain uncertain.

In traditional use, the fresh leaves were generally chewed and swallowed or crushed and prepared with water. This differs substantially from the modern recreational practice of smoking dried leaves or concentrated extracts.

In 1961, ethnobotanist R. Gordon Wasson became one of the first Western researchers to document the plant's effects after participating in its traditional use in Oaxaca. In 1962, Wasson and Albert Hofmann collected flowering specimens that allowed botanists Carl Epling and Carlos Játiva to formally describe the plant as a new species, Salvia divinorum.

The main active compound, salvinorin A, was isolated and identified in the early 1980s. Research during the 1990s established its unusually powerful psychoactive effects, and in 2002 researchers identified the κ-opioid receptor as its principal molecular target. This discovery was particularly significant because salvinorin A was the first known naturally occurring, non-nitrogenous compound shown to produce psychoactive effects through the κ-opioid receptor.

Salvia subsequently became available outside Mexico as a recreational hallucinogen, particularly from the 1990s onwards. Dried leaves and concentrated extracts began to be sold through specialist shops and later online. The development of potent extracts and smoking as a route of administration substantially changed the pattern of use compared with traditional Mazatec preparations.

Law

• Not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
• Controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. Under the Act, possession for personal use is not an offence, but the following activities are:
  • Production (including for personal use);
  • Supply or offering to supply;
  • Aggravated supply or offering to supply (near schools, prisons etc. or using someone under 18 as a courier);
  • Possession with intent to supply;
  • Importation for personal use;
  • Exportation;
  • Possession in prisons (and other custodial institutions).
• More detailed information on the Act can be found here.