Author: Gary Jackson

What Is Salvia? Use, Effects, Risks, and More

Whole aromatic leaves should be used sparingly for just the right amount of flavor. You can also buy sage dried and ground to use in the dishes you prepare. There are some reports of individuals experiencing a loss of sensation on one side of their body or thrashing uncontrollably with motions that appear like convulsions or seizures. Some people have reportedly run into walls and injured themselves, but didn’t feel pain. These reports are currently anecdotal, and no one has yet been hospitalized for problems related to accidental or intentional injury while intoxicated on salvia or for seizures caused by the hallucinogen.

I had lent my gray matter to researchers at Johns Hopkins University for the first imaging study of what your brain does on salvinorin A, a potent, naturally occurring psychedelic produced by a plant called salvia divinorum. I hadn’t felt anything from the first dose, which meant that this time, once the researcher reached zero, I would start feeling the drug’s powerful effects. The fact that salvinorin A selectively targets the network only adds to the confusion, because it’s so different from classic psychedelics in most other respects. Most people in the US and Europe who abuse salvia purchase the substance over the Internet. Various websites may sell seeds, whole plants, cuttings from plants, fresh or dried leaves, or extracts made from the plant, which can be exceedingly dangerous due to much higher potency. Most of the state laws prohibiting the use of salvinorin A were passed in the mid-2000s after videos of teenagers smoking salvia and going catatonic or losing control of their behaviors and emotions began circulating on the web.

What Else Is Salvia Called?

Some sources of Salvia claim that their products have been manufactured with the salvinorin A component at a reliable potency to help control the high. Drinking too much sage tea or consuming sage essential oils can have toxic effects. You should never consume essential oil of any kind, and limit yourself to 3-6 cups of sage tea per day to be safe. Although the potential for sage tea to support cognitive function (brain skills like memory, attention, and problem solving) isn’t yet proven, multiple studies show how sage extract can benefit. In one study, people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease took sage extract for 16 weeks.

This attracted the attention of lawmakers and concerned parents, who sought to ban the substance by comparing it to LSD and other psychedelics. In some states it was the pushback from psychedelic researchers like Addy and Matthew Johnson, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, that saved the drug from being outlawed. In other words, what’s interesting about the team’s results is that they seem to show that salvinorin A isn’t special among psychedelics when it comes to decreasing activity in the default mode network.

Salvia Use: Effects, Dangers & Addiction

Our team aims to be not only thorough with its research, but also objective and unbiased. This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by our trained editorial staff. Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to medically peer-reviewed studies.

Salvia is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic plant that belongs to the sage family. Street names for salvia include Magic Mint, Sally D, Diviners Sage, Seer’s Sage, Shepherdess’s Herb and Purple Sticky™, which is a popular brand name that’s sold in smoke shops. For centuries, salvia has been used in religious rituals in South America for its psycho-mimetic effects, but today it’s often used by young adults who are looking to experience a short-term trip. As with dried leaves, the fresh leaves aren’t considered very potent, but some people may experience a mild effect. The brain imaging study at Johns Hopkins was a first step toward understanding the effects of this bizarre psychedelic.

How to Prepare Sage

Salvia also has a low addiction potential, and people have not reported overdoses. In some places, salvia is a “legal high,” a recreational drug that does not fall under any of the government classifications of illegal drugs. There are certainly concerns with using salvia, mostly due to the intense hallucinations that occur as a result of eating, drinking or smoking the herb. People who have used salvia report emotional swings, anxiety and paranoia, changes in vision, feelings of detachment and losing contact with reality — being unable to distinguish the difference between what’s real and what’s not.

• Mazatec Indians have used salvia for centuries for spiritual divination, shamanism, and medical practices.
• People who are unaware of their surroundings are at great risk of causing or being injured in accidents.
• In the video, the then-18-year-old singer and actress was filmed smoking salvia in a water bong.
• The video brought the spotlight of attention to this drug, and some state legislators began introducing laws restricting the sale and use of this plant.
• In one study, rats with type 1 diabetes had reduced blood glucose levels after taking sage extract.