Shortly after I began feeling the physical effects, the hallucinations began. I felt as though my head had split in two and a patterned stream began flowing from both sides of my face. This stream was a “harlequin pattern” of large brown and white diamonds that flowed away from me and began to form the “boundary” of an infinite three-dimensional space. These diamonds continued to tessellate to an infinite point and I felt as though I were suspended above this expanse, hanging like a figure head hangs off the bow of a ship. The psychoactive compound Salvinorin A was isolated in 1982, but it was another twenty years before researchers identified its precise mechanism of action.
The main agonist (or “tripper”) of Salvia divinorum is Salvinorin A. It also has a very unique chemical structure, unlike other hallucinogens found in nature, such as psilocybin, peyote, and DMT. Salvinorin A is also, of course, different chemically from lab-made hallucinogens — such as LSD and ketamine. At Johns Hopkins, scientists X-rayed the brains of those who had vaped Salvinorin A . They confirmed that Salvinorin A acted like other psychedelics, such as psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD, by making new connections in the brain. Now, you may not be a tribal sage, but maybe you wanna know a bit more about the wide range of vision-inducing substances?
It’s one of the only natural psychedelics that isn’t listed on the UN Narcotics Convention. As your body relaxes, it feels as though your mind starts to “separate” from the body — leading to out-of-body or interdimensional experiences. Salvia is very different from LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin. In lower doses, both drugs can produce hysteric laughter and cause the vision to “vibrate” salvia trip explained or “wiggle”.
Experience
However, the intense shift in reality that comes from salvia is sometimes enough to reframe your life and your existence in a way that can lead to ego death-like experiences. Salvinorin A is the most powerful natural hallucinogen in the world. Some synthetic psychedelics, such as LSD, are stronger — producing psychoactive effects at doses as low as 20 micrograms — however, these drugs are difficult to compare. Although a salvia trip is relatively brief, the experience can feel much longer because of the plant’s ability to distort your sense of time and space, making minutes feel like hours as your mind explores surreal states of being. The decision to volunteer for the study was a small contribution toward a better of understanding of one of the world’s strangest hallucinogenic drugs, but it also ended up being one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.
What Does Salvia Feel Like?
Still, I would describe it as a pleasant and visually striking experience. Now all that remains to be seen is what Barrett and his colleagues saw in my brain as I was chasing psychedelic tunnels. The first thing I noticed was the feeling of my body dissolving.
- On his trip to the Sierra Mazateca mountains, Dr. Addy gained some insight into the Mazatecs’ relationship with the stuff.
- They refer to the leaf as “Herb of Mary, the Shepherdess.” They believe the plant to be an incarnation of the Virgin Mary.
- Remembering that salvia is destroyed if swallowed, it’s best to hold the tea in the mouth for a few moments to absorb it before you swallow it.
- Any interaction with people on the outside world is entirely out the window.
Salvia: What are the effects?
In 2008, a report by the New York Times pointed to an abundance of online videos of people experimenting with salvia as “exhibit A” in the push to make the substance illegal throughout the United States. The stigma around salvia is also due to the nature of the trip itself, which is characterized by its vivid hallucinations and intense dissociative effects. Almost everyone I know has either tried salvia or knows someone who has, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who enjoyed the experience. Due to the disorienting effects of Salvia divinorum, it is strongly advised to have a sitter present when taking it. This is particularly important for first-time users and anyone experimenting with higher doses or more effective methods of administration (e.g. vaporizing). Sharp objects and other hazardous items should be removed from the area.
The most important thing, however, was to make sure that I remained absolutely still during the trip since even slight movements in the MRI machine can ruin the brain scan. Fortunately, one of the more common effects of salvia is a sense of not having a body, which renders users immobile. According to Clifton and Doss, I stayed still as a rock throughout the trip. In the past 25 years, only a handful of human research trials on the effects of salvia have been conducted.
However, people do not know what the long-term effects of salvia use might be. For this reason, it is not appropriate to consider it a safe drug. Salvia also has a low addiction potential, and people have not reported overdoses. Despite its clear differences with other “classic” psychedelics, Salvinorin A is still one of the new rockstars of pharma because of its real potential to treat addiction. Ibogaine (a cousin of Salvinorin A) has shown efficacy as a treatment of cocaine and opioid abuse, in a preclinical model.