Salvinorin A

Salvia divinorum
Skeletal formula of Salvinorin A
Dosage
Differs between its varying forms.
Duration (inhalation)
Total Duration	15 - 90 minutes
Onset	15 - 60 seconds
Duration	15 - 20 minutes
After effects	15 - 60 minutes
Duration (sublingual)
Onset	10 - 20 minutes
Duration	30 - 90 minutes
After effects	30 - 120 minutes

Salvinorin A is the active constituent of the plant Salvia divinorum and is an extremely potent agonist of the kappa-opioid receptor that displays atypical hallucinogenic effects. It has been used as an entheogen by tribes in Mexico for thousands of years by use in the plant Salvia divinorum. Unlike most psychotropics, its structure contains no nitrogen atoms; hence it is not an alkaloid (and cannot be rendered as a salt) but a terpenoid, like THC.

Chemistry

Salvinorin A is part of the terpenoid class.

Pharmacology

Salvinorin A is a potent kappa-opioid agonist. It does not however have any effect on the 5-HT_2A receptor, the receptor targeted by most psychedelic drugs.

Subjective effects

Physical effects

The physical sensation of a salvia trip is almost entirely characterized by what many people refer to as “Salvia Gravity”. This is at least partially present during the mildest of trips and increases proportionally with dosage until it is all encompassing, beginning with a heavy sensation that pulls and tugs at the body.

As this increases, it inevitably becomes so powerful that it swiftly lifts the tripper up and out of their body at extremely high speeds and over vast distances in a direction that doesn't quite make sense. They are pushed or pulled into a space vastly different from anything found on the classic hallucinogens.

For some unlucky people this is sometimes accompanied by the sensation of pins and needles all over a persons skin, which can quickly become very uncomfortable. Most people however will never experience this feeling.

Cognitive effects

While most drugs usually enhance or heighten certain cognitive functions and simultaneously lower others, salvia does not do this. Instead it consistently lowers and suppresses all cognitive abilities and functions. It’s this effect that contributes to salvia being extremely confusing, creating for an experience devoid of introspection. salvia is best described as a substance that does not create profound personal insights, just profound and interesting experiences.

The average first time salvia user generally experiences a mixture of extreme gigglyness and confusion. Paranoia and panic are also very common for the unprepared and this can be accounted for by the fact that k-opoid antaganists have been shown to cause such feelings in people.

The prominent cognitive components of a salvia trip can be broken down into,

• Ego suppression, loss and death - this trip feels particularly intense on a mental level due to the near instant cognitive transition into ego death which can occur very suddenly at moderate to high dosages. This feels as if you are receiving the sensory input of your trip, but not fully conscious enough to think about the implications of it until you come down.
• Cognitive suppression - this can be described as an inability to process information and a slowness of thought accompanied by general confusion and disorientation.
• Language suppression - this can be described as an extreme difficulty in formulating spoken words. Many users go as far as reporting that their thought processes become completely replaced with a completely garbled and nonsensical alien language.
• States of unity and interconnectedness - this can be described as an effect which is only present during states of deep ego death. In comparison to states of oneness found on psychedelics such as DMT and LSD it is described as significantly more forceful, sudden and disorienting.

Visual effects

Distortions

When a user of this substance keeps their eyes open throughout the duration of a moderate - strong trip, a number of open eye distortions and alterations are usually present. These are significantly more simplistic from that of open eye distortions found with other classes of hallucinogen. They seem to play heavily on different sections of your vision and generally include,

• Depth perception distortions - this effect is usually characterized by a total loss of depth perception and a complete flattening of the visual field into a 2-dimensional image. It can also make objects seem further away or closer in distance than they actually are.
• Size distortions - this effect can be described as specific objects with the external environment or the surroundings as a whole changing in physical size and becoming impossibly huge or small in size.

Structures

At moderate to high dosages with darkness or closed eyes, a full array of level 1 - 4 hallucinatory structures. This is an effect which is most commonly found within dissociatives such as ketamine and DXM. They are distinctively different in style however and significantly more likely to be based on mathematical constructs such as vast and elaborate fractals.

In terms of stylistic appearance they also tend to contain significantly more detail to their style, with a greater variety of materials and abstract detail which comprise the structures. This often takes the form of extremely complex machinescapes with intricate interlocking mechanical parts which move between each other in a variety of ways.

Another key difference between the manifestion of this effect within salvia and those found within dissociatives is the extremely prominent sense that you are the structures that you are visually perceiving. This can be described as the sensation that you have become the structure itself and can feel every detail and moving part across itself. In comparison this effect is only present at level 4 within the classical dissociatives but is often present across all levels within salvia.

These constructs and structures are often so huge that they appear to expand across hundreds to thousands of miles and gradually change by means of panning, zooming and rotating slowly into view as more and more detail is gradually revealed. As dosage increases, so does the level of detail and intricacy of these structures. This continues until level 4 when the sensation of seeing the entire universe condensed into an infinitely vast and intricate self transforming machine form becomes present.

Hallucinatory states

Salvia produces a full range of high level hallucinatory states in a fashion that is just as consistent of that of any classical psychedelics. These effects include,

• Transformations - in comparison to psychedelics, the transformations found within salvia are significantly more solid, believable and realistic in appearance. They are commonly manifested as objects within the external environment coming alive or changing in some way and can only occur when the eyes are kept open.
• Imagery - The imagery on salvia is described as more solid than psychedelics and does not seem to be composed of condensed visual geometry as with imagery found within psychedelics and dissociatives. It is often embedded within and across structures and are likely to become solid fractal representations of the original image.
• Hallucinations - this particular effect commonly contains a full array of hallucinations with plots, settings, autonomous entity contact and scenarios. They are common at high dosages and can be described as mostly internal in their manifestation but occasionally external with open eyes. They are both lucid and delirious in their believability, fixed in style and often ominous and a little sinister in style.
• Consistent 2nd person hallucinations - A unique aspect to the hallucinatory scenarios found within salvia are how commonly they are manifested with a 2nd person perspective in comparison to other classes of hallucinogens. This is commonly described as suddenly becoming a random object with common examples often include a conveyer belt, a wall, a book or a specific part of a building.

Auditory effects

The auditory effects of salvia commonly include,

• Auditory distortions
• Auditory hallucinations

Classification

At the present moment the scientific literature is currently classing Salvinorin A as a hallucinogen which fits the criteria as either a dissociative or an A-typical dissociative.

Encyclopedia Psychonautica argues that although salvia shares states of hallucinatory structures and out of body experiences with dissociatives. This is not enough to argue that it falls under the same classification, for example the hallucinatory structures, although similar are vastly different in their style and complexity. Along side of this, out of body experiences with dissociatives are triggered by the way in which NMDA receptor antagonists block signals to the conscious mind from other parts of the brain and quite literally disconnect the user from its body. This is accompanied by a distinctive feeling of dissociation, disconnection and detachment which is simply not present on salvia as it works on an entirely different set of receptors.

The effects of salvia have a completely unique subjective style and pharmacology that is not found within any other category of hallucinogen and is thus an entirely new class of its own.

Natural sources

Salvia divinorum

Salvia divinorum (also known as Diviner's Sage, Ska María Pastora, Seer's Sage, and by its genus name Salvia) is a psychoactive plant which is a potent producer of "visions" and other hallucinatory experiences. Its native habitat is within cloud forest in the isolated Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows in shady and moist locations. The plant grows to over a meter high, has hollow square stems, large leaves, and occasional white flowers with violet calyxes.

Forms of Salvia Divinorum

Fresh leaf

Fresh leaf is mostly used for making a quid of leaves and holding it under the tongue for sublingual absorption. Fresh leaf is preferred for sublingual absorption because it doesn't break up in one's mouth and it's easier to chew.

• Light - 10 g fresh / 2 g dried
• Common - 30 g fresh / 6 g dried
• Strong - 50 g fresh / 10 g dried

Dried leaf

Dried leaf is usually prepared by just taking leaf and leaving it out in the sun. Leaf can also be dried in the oven at about 150 degrees F for however long it takes until they become crispy. Dried salvia leaf is used for smoking. If one plans to use dried leaf for a quid, that person should soak them in water for ten minutes otherwise sublingual absorption can become a disgusting mess. Soaking them in water can lose potency.

• Light : 0.25g
• Common : 0.5g
• Strong : 0.75 - 1.00g

Extracts

Salvia extracts are freely available both online and within local head shops in certain countries. They are sold in varying forms of 5X, 10X, 15X, 80X, etc. This symbolises that the extract being consumed is X times stronger than regular leaves (5X is 5 times as strong as regular leaf). The stronger the extract, the stronger the experience; use are your own risk.

Tincture

This is made by dissolving pure salvinorin-A or a semi-pure form of it into ethyl alcohol. It is meant to be used sublingually by holding a certain amount under the tongue for a period of time. This type of preparation tends to cause longer but weaker effects. It's worth noting that holding strong tincture under the tongue for long periods of time can eventually cause blistering. It is sometimes best to dilute the pure tincture with water although potency may be decreased.

Toxicity and Harm Potential

Lethal Dosage

There has not been any studies to determine the LD₅₀ of Salvinorin A.

Tolerance and Addiction Potential

Anecdotal reports suggest that Salvinorin A has a "reverse tolerance", meaning that less of the drug is needed with each consecutive trip to cause an effect. Tolerance will eventually build up over time however, although this may be years. There is no real addictive potential.

Legal Issues

• Australia : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Belgium : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Croatia : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Czech Republic : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Denmark : Salvinorin A is a Class B drug.
• Germany : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Ireland : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Italy : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Latvia : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Lithuania : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Poland : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Romania : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Spain : Possession and sale is illegal.
• Sweden : Possession and sale is illegal.
• UK : Possession and sale is legal
• USA : Salvinorin A is illegal is some states, but not all.

See Also

• Salvinorin A Trip Reports
• Psychedelics
• Dissociatives
• Atypical