SALVIA SEED AND EFFECTS
Salvia divinorum is a legal, soft-leaved, green plant seed, native to Southern Mexico, which contains a powerful psychoactive chemical known as Salvinorin seed. Salvia has traditionally been used by the Mazatec natives for healing and divination. In essence, Salvia has been described as causing a state of “divine inebriation”. The plant has been surrounded by curiosity in the scientific world for it doesn’t fit easily into any existing pharmacological class.

Salvia divinorum effects has been used by healers (curanderos), or shamans if you will, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Salvia’s unique qualities allow the healer seed to travel into the supernatural world so that he may uncover the true cause of the patient’s trouble. Consumed in a ceremonial fashion, salvia induces a visionary trance state which permits deeper and supernatural thought or existence.

Q. Okay, tell me about smoking.
A. Smoking is probably the most common method for 'Western' users. Dried salvia leaf is readily available from commercial sources and can be smoked without further preparation in tobacco pipes, joints, or water-pipes or bongs. Salvia must be smoked hot (hotter than tobacco is) in order for salvinorin to be vaporized. The smoke is inhaled fast and hot, deeply into the lungs. Several hits in quick succession are usually required. The smoke is irritating and probably has the same sort of health risks as tobacco smoke - cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, and heart and blood vessel disease. When smoking it is a good idea to have a sitter present although many smokers do not take this advice.

Q. What is the usual dose?
A. One or two large crushed leaves (¼–½ gram). Individual requirements will vary.

Q. How strong is smoking?
A. It varies greatly depending on the dose.

Q. How long does the experience last?
A. When smoked, the first effects are noticed within 1 minute, rapidly developing to a peak which lasts 5 - 10 minutes, then gradually diminishing over the next 20 - 30 minutes. From beginning to end, the entire experience lasts 30 minutes to one hour. Best not to drive for at least several more hours - just in case your reflexes or judgement are impaired longer than you think they might be.

Q. Do Salvia divinorum leaves vary in potency?
A: Leaf quality and potency can vary tremendously. When purchasing leaves, it is usually best to purchase the most potent grade of leaf that you can afford. This is especially true if the leaves will be smoked, because the more potent the leaves are, the less smoke you will need to inhale.

Q. Salvia divinorum is often sold by the ounce. How many dried leaves are in an ounce?
A. This can vary quite a lot. An average, large, mature leaf weighs about 1/3 gram dry. However, a typical harvest of leaves will include leaves of all sizes. A typical ounce usually contains 100 - 200 leaves. It is generally best not to estimate dose by leaf count, but rather by weight.

Q. How many smoked doses are in an ounce of leaf?
A. It varies, depending on the potency of the leaf and the sensitivity of the individual. A person of average sensitivity should be able to achieve moderately strong effects from 1/2 gram of average potency leaf, or 1/4 gram of stronger material, such as "Sierra Mazateca Prime Harvest." To achieve the full effects from a given quantity of leaf, it is very important to use the proper smoking technique.

Q. How about oral use?
A. Oral use by means of chewed and swallowed leaves, or by means of a water-based salvia drink are the traditional methods of use by the Mazatec healers. These methods have much to recommend them including safety and suitability for learning from the 'teacher plant'. When salvia leaves are chewed and held in ones mouth a long time, salvinorin is absorbed directly by the tissues lining the mouth. Swallowed salvia is much less effective, although the traditional Mazatec water-based drink, which is swallowed, is effective if enough leaves are used in its preparation.

Q. Does oral salvia work as fast as smoking?
A. Definitely not. When ingested orally, the first effects begin in 10 -20 minutes. The effects build to a peak fairly quickly, reaching a plateau which can last anywhere from 30 minutes to one and a half hours. The effects then gradually subside over an additional 30 minutes to one and a half hours. From beginning to end, the entire experience can last anywhere from one to three hours. Best not to drive for at least several more hours - just in case your reflexes or judgement are impaired longer than you think they might be.

Q. What method of ingestion produces the best effects: Smoked or oral?
A: Different people have different preferences. You should experiment with both methods and find your own preference. Smoking provides a relatively short, but potentially very intense experience, whereas sublingual absorption provides a substantially longer lasting and somewhat more gentle experience.

Q. Will cooked salvia have any effect?
A. Yes. For some people, but usually the effect will be quite mild, only just above threshold level. Here is a report of an experiment and  recipe that provided  a pleasant mild experience (level 2 to level 3 on the SALVIA scale.
Materials:

• 4 freshly picked very large leaves from good plants were cut into strips. The leaf material weighted 9.92 G.
• 4 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large clove of garlic , coarsely sliced
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• a small piece of frozen ginger root (about 2 cm. wide and 1/2 cm. long)
• a pinch of ground chili pepper

Preparation: The cut up leaves were mixed with the sliced clove of garlic and the extra virgin olive oil and this mixture was stir fried in a wok-style fry pan. The pan had a Teflon lining and stir frying was done with wooden spoons (thus the leaves were not in contact with metal while being fried (it is not known if this makes a difference). The mixture was stir fried until the garlic slices turned medium brown darker than golden brown but definitely not charred).  Once the garlic had turned brown the leaves, garlic and the oil in which the mixture had been fried were all transferred to the refrigerator for later consumption. Note: the time the leaves spent sitting in the oil in the refrigerator may have aided salvinorin extraction into the oil phase.  Several hours later the bowl was taken out of the refrigerator, the frozen ginger root was grated onto it and a pinch of chili powder and 1 tsp. of soy sauce were added for flavoring. These were mixed and the entire contents of the bowl, including all the oil was eaten (not kept under the tongue like a chewed salvia quid but rather eaten like any food would be).  The sauté was consumed on an empty stomach (which may have been necessary for its rapid absorption).  A repeat of this experiment during which the fried leaves were not refrigerated prior to consumption yielded only minimal effects (level 1 to 2) for one individual and no effects for a second person. There have been other reports of both success and failure from sauteed Salvia. It is possible that one reason not everyone is successful in obtaining a salvia effect from the sauté may be differences in leaf potency. With weaker leaves  a higher dose would be required. If you try this, eat all the oil the leaves were fried in along with the leaves, as the oil probably contains much of the salvinorin.  Probably the best results (assuming average quality leaves eaten by an individual with average sensitivity to Salvia) would be obtained with a dose of about 15 to 20 grams of fresh leaves sautéed as described  Comments: The effects I experienced the first time was level 2 to 3 and the second time level 1 to 2. The recommendation to increase the leaf dosage was made in the interest of being able to achieve a somewhat higher level for myself and a discernible level for someone less sensitive to salvia than I am. I believe I am more sensitive to salvia than about 2/3 of people.

Q. What type of plant is Salvia divinorum?
A. Salvia divinorum is a type of sage. Generally, sages belong to the genus Salvia. There are about 900 different Salvia  species, including many ornamental garden sages and Salvia officinalis, the common cooking sage. Salvia is a genus in the mint family  (Lamiaceae) Salvia divinorum is literally the sage (Salvia) of the diviners (divinorum). The plant has a characteristic weak 'mousy-but-minty'  aroma. It is a native of a small area in Oaxaca, Mexico, growing in mountainous lands where the Mazatec Indian people dwell.