Salvia Divinorum Guide: How to Use and Effects
If you’re looking for an herb that can help in self-reflection, meditation or contemplation, then you might probably be interested to know more about Salvia divinorum.
What you need to know about Salvia divinorum
If you’re interested to try this herb, beware about false information spreading around. There are some people, media and vendors trying to exaggerate its effects and risks. Today in our legal high reviews, let’s talk about this herb to shed some light on some confusion spreading around about it.
Often called the visionary herb, Salvia divinorum can help someone reach an introspective awareness state.
It is a species of sage, one of the 1000 species of Salvia globally. But of all, this spotlight herb is the only one that has vision inducing effects. This herb can also make a lovely houseplant aside from being known for its psychoactive properties.
Also called Sage of the Diviners, Salvia divinorum can produce a divine inebriation state. That is one of the reasons it has been used in many healing and religious ceremonies in Oaxaca, Mexico.
A perennial herb of the Labiatae family, the plant grows in the forests of Sierra Mazateca. It thrives in high-altitudes and humid areas and in ravines. It can grow up to a meter and with hollow stems, white flowers and large leaves.
What are the effects of Salvia divinorum? How do you use it?
Salvia divinorum has different effects. They aren’t the same as with alcohol, but just like the latter, it can also alter coordination. That is why people aren’t advised to drive under its influence.
This herb contains salvinorin A, which is a chemical substance responsible for the mind-altering effects of the plant. However, Salvia divinorum’s salvinorin A isn’t related to others from any psychoactive drugs. And just like other visionary compounds, this isn’t an alkaloid, but it is very potent. On the other hand, many studies have shown that this compound isn’t toxic; in fact, no one has died due to an overdose.
When it comes to dosing, several hundred micrograms can have an effect, but using it for at least one milligram can be too much for many people. For this reason, it must not be used unless its dosage has been measured accurately with a chemist’s scale.
On the other hand, the leaf of the herb is said to be 100X weaker than the compound, which is why Salvia leaves can be safer to use and also gentle on the body.
How to use
Salvia divinorum can be smoked, chewed or used as a tincture.
In many cases, the threshold or starting dose of the compound is 200 mcg and around 1 mg is the common upper limit for its use. However, the amount of the extract, plant material or tincture for every dose varies according to the strength of what’s used.
For the chewing method, you need to roll dried leaves, which are rehydrated in water, or fresh leaves, and people turned them into a quid before chewing every five minutes for 30 minutes. It can also be placed under the tongue. If looking for a middle level dose, users need 6 grams of dried leaves or 30 grams of the fresh leaves.
For smoking, a middle level dose is 0.5g of the dried leaf.
For the same dose, smaller amounts are needed from extract-enhanced products, but must be proportional to their claimed strength, such as 20X.
What can you expect?
The effects kick in within the first three minutes when vaporizing or smoking Salvia, but usually will decline within 30 minutes from the time of ingestion.
On the other hand, the quidding method is claimed to have a longer duration and gradual onset of effects.
For example, a person can feel nothing within the 20 minutes following ingestion. Any effects felt can also be diminished by noise or light. The peak effects will last for up to an hour. The same goes for a purified tincture, except it has a faster onset than quidding.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, Salvia is a safe herb as long as it’s used in a safe way. This herb can help someone achieve fascinating and enriching experiences. Knowing about what to expect and how to use Salvia divinorum, you can equip yourself with better knowledge about it. Now, if you’re interested to use it, you can choose any of the methods shared in today’s legal high reviews of Salvia divinorum.