Salvia Divinorum

March 17, 2005 7:46 AM

I was wondering what the side effects and dangers of Salvia Divinorum are. Are there any mefites out there with experiences and/or information related to this plant?

Specifically, what are the risks related to consumption of Salvia Divinorum? I've taken a look at the Erowid Vaults, but they weren't too clear on what the worst case dangers are. It's also known as Mexican Mint.
Thanks for your help.

posted by dazed_one to science & nature (15 comments total)

I'm not sure that there are so many horrible dangers, others than those that come with smoking anything -- you're damaging your lungs, you could accidentally start a fire.

In my many-years ago experience, it provided a mild high with some hallucinatory imagery. As a side-effect, I felt the same kind of confused, frustrated wooziness that I felt the time I smoked a huge amount of tobacco out of a hookah. (I'm a non-tobacco smoker, usually.)

Honestly, the salvia wasn't all that fun. I had an anxiety-related hallucination and found myself wishing I'd done it alone instead of with a large group of friends. I never lost touch with reality, but it wasn't the kind of high that I like and that left me uneasy. After trying it once, I wound up giving it to my brother.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:59 AM on March 17, 2005

There was a MeFi thread on this a while back, here.
posted by chill at 8:02 AM on March 17, 2005

Erowid's first off-site link to a primary resource is Daniel Siebert's site. He's sort of the Alexander Shulgin of salvia divinorum. That's probably a good place to look--better than Erowid's vault, at least. There's nothing relevant in the FAQ, though.

The only risks I've ever encountered with salvia are the same ones you get with any hallucinogen: it makes you incompetent. You need a sitter. Salvia is disassociative enough that it's quite easy to forget that you're a human being as opposed to, say, a mattress. So you want someone around to make sure you don't do anything stupid. I assume you mean more of health risks, though....and for that all I can suggest is that smoking plant material is never good for you or your lungs.
posted by jbrjake at 8:07 AM on March 17, 2005

Googling turned up a FAQ at Erowid that I missed on a quick perusal of the vault, and in case you missed it too, here it is:

Oral Toxicity If one drinks an infusion or chews the leaves, it is more difficult to take an overly large dose. There are no reports yet of physically toxic reactions (hospitalizations or serious problems due to pharmacological reactions). The current view is that the leaves are effectively 'non-toxic' and that it would be difficult to eat or chew enough to cause serious injury or lasting adverse health reactions. Generally, no lasting side-effects are reported from consuming S. divinorum. On rare occasions people get mild nausea from oral consumption. The acute effects can cause people to be dizzy and uncoordinated.

posted by jbrjake at 8:12 AM on March 17, 2005

To notice any effects beyond a subtle euphoria, I've had to use a wind-proof torch lighter on commercially sold 10X extract (and a water pipe so I wouldn't sear my lungs). It seems, at least anecdotally, that the plant needed to burn at a higher temperature than a Bic-type lighter can produce to activate whatever it is that's hallucinogenic. At a small dosage, maybe .1-.2 g, I vividly remember a cavalry of red ants, each carrying a unique volume of encyclopedia, charging into my ears under the command of Robert Duvall's character from The Apostle. If you manage to achieve those kind of dissociate effects, they’ll probably be benign and won't last longer than fifteen minutes; then you'll be left mildly confused for a few hours. In my experiences anyone of a reasonably sound mind using a sitter and measured dosages shouldn't have any trouble experimenting with salvia but won’t find much enlightenment either.
posted by glibhamdreck at 8:44 AM on March 17, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

I smoked it with a bic lighter out of a bong. I took two huge hits, filling my lungs with as much smoke as I could.
The result was mildly dissociative, in that I turned into taffy in a taffy puller. This was a combination of somatic, aural and visual (eyes open or closed) sensation. A small part of me was inclined to shrug it off and get up, but the little guy on my other shoulder advised against it. The experience wasn't entirely pleasant or euphoric, due to some motion-sickness sennsations associated with being taffy on a taffy pulling machine.
I imagine that salvia could be very enlightening if you were spiritually inclined, had a goal, fasted for a day or two beforehand, and smoked more than I did, igniting it at a higher temperature (I've read about what glibhamdreck refers to regarding ignition).
Once was enough, IMHO.
posted by gnz2001 at 9:05 AM on March 17, 2005

I should think Erowid has a lot of resources re: Salvia.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:46 AM on March 17, 2005

What I've read on Erowid indicates the sort of results most people have talked about above, but past the breakthrough point, very scary.

Not recommended for people without a lot of experience with hallucinogens or with any doubt in their mental stability.
posted by ITheCosmos at 10:22 AM on March 17, 2005

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You need to smoke a decent amount though (two or three big hits) and like others have said burn it hot. If you don't get much smoke, not much will happen. For 90 seconds you trip balls like the peak of an acid trip. You'll feel cold and hot at the same time, wanting to take off your shirt 'cause you're so hot. You might want to open a window and jump out like I wanted to but decided against. Your legs might feel so hot that you'll think you wet yourself. In addition to that, you'll see things too. You'll probably laugh a lot too. That'll last 90 seconds like I said and then you'll be mildly high (think dope...) for the next hour. That's it. Fun group activity to tell you the truth; watch your friends trip out and then get more or less normal again in a matter of a minute.
posted by pwb503 at 11:29 AM on March 17, 2005

What everyone else said:

1. Likely health dangers are due to smoke inhalation, although typical consumption is only two or three lungfulls, and I doubt you'd want to do it very often. The smoke is also quite hot, as high temperatures are required to get the maximum effect.

2. Likely other dangers are, like jbrjake said, due to the disassociative nature of the high. With anything above a threshold dose, do not expect to speak with others coherently, stand on your own, or necessarily occupy the same universe as those around you.

3. Psychological danger is always caveat emptor. If you have a history of any mental or emotional irregularity, it is not recommended to take any psychedelic at all.

Fun stuff, but very powerful.
posted by plexiwatt at 11:35 AM on March 17, 2005

Tried it with the usual: 10X + Butane lighter+ Bong.
Far and out the only time I've completely felt out of control... Lasted about 10 minutes, where I rode a carousel with sprouting flowers while telling my wife that I couldn't handle it. Fun stuff indeed. Tried it just once...Highly hallucinogenic. Have a sitter, I repeat, have a sitter. And don't forget to sit down before the hit.
posted by lorbus at 12:00 PM on March 17, 2005

Really intense paranoia for me that lasted no more than a few minutes - blah. The after affect was fine and actually kind of nice.

Yeah - get a sitter.
posted by jopreacher at 12:18 PM on March 17, 2005

Better still, lie down before you commence smoking. You're less inclined to try and stroll.

It also has a habit of disccociating you back to long forgotten childhood memories.

Dissociating here is to be distinguished from halucinating.

When you halucinate, you almost always have the sense that what you see isn't real.

With Salvia, you forget how you get to the crazy place it took you. So you buy into its reality 110%
posted by Fupped Duck at 12:23 PM on March 17, 2005

With anything above a threshold dose, do not expect to speak with others coherently, stand on your own, or necessarily occupy the same universe as those around you.

And expect to quite possibly to be in a blind panic.

My friends' experiences with smoking Salvia have been--with few exceptions--some of the most frightening drug experiences they have ever had and none were pleasant. As I said in that other thread which chill linked, it is not a recreational drug and, as the magical herb maven at Tenzing Momo said, it is not a friendly teacher. Not at all.

The lucky part is, however, it doesn't last more than a matter of minutes. If it is smoked.
posted by y2karl at 4:50 PM on March 17, 2005

Thanks for the responses people. I guess I can't mark a "best answer" until I try it. Anyways, thanks again.
posted by dazed_one at 7:45 AM on March 18, 2005