What is it?Salvia divinorum is a rare perennial herb from the Sierra Mazatec region of Mexico. It has been used for healing, meditation, and exploring consciousness because of its psychoactive effects. It contains the extremely potent salvinorin A, which is thought to be the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen. Mazatec shamans and healers have used the herb throughout their history and it has only been available in the US since the mid 1990's.
How is it used?Traditionally it was used for healing and ritual by the Mazatec people. Typically it was ingested in a ceremonial manner orally by either chewing leaves or making a tincture-type mixture of leaf juices. Now, in the US and all over the world, the most common method of ingestion is smoking. Leaves are dried out and smoked in a pipe or bong. For some it is difficult to obtain desired effects with plain leaves and they need extracts which are also sold online. An extract is enhanced potency leaf and strengths range from 5X to 25X. 5X strength extract is 5 times stronger than normal leaves, so 1 gram of 5X extract is equivalent to 5 grams of normal leaves. Another way to ingest Salvia is to chew quids (sublingual ingestion), which are bundles of fresh leaves. The user must chew up the leaves and hold them in their mouth to be absorbed through the inside of the mouth.
What is an experience like?A Salvia divinorum experience is very unique and different from that of all other psychoactives. There are six different experience levels ranging from mild to extremely strong (Read more about the 6 levels
here). A strong experience obtained from smoking can produce a full visionary state where the user enters a completely new reality which they believe is real and may be unable to control their body. Common experiences include a sense of profound understanding, living as a inanimate object, loss of ego, traveling to other worlds or through time, and uncontrollable laughter. Most find this state overly intense and sometimes become overwhelmed with fear but others find this to be a useful state of consciousness inducing bliss or understanding. Primary effects from smoking usually last for around 5-10 minutes. Chewing produces a longer, less intense effect that usually lasts around 30-60 minutes.
Where can I get it?Salvia divinorum is available to buy all over the Internet in various forms. Some form include dried leaves, extracts, tinctures, and live plants. Prices for dried leaf range from $20-$80 per 1 oz (28g). Extracts usually go for around $20-$50 per gram depending on the strength. Here at Salvia Source we offer live plants and you can buy extracts and support us, so be sure to check out our
Shop.
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Knowledge Section