FAQ

1. What is Savia Dinorum?
Salvia Divinorum is one out of over a thousand species of sage. However, besides salvia divinorum, there are no other species of sage that would be considered as vision inducing. Salvia is one plant of a very big group of plants (Labiatae) and there are a lot of mint plants in the group. Salvia divinorum is also a great plant to have inside your house to keep the place decorated to meet your standards. A lot of people grow salvia just to spice up their home décor but the majority of salvia plant growers are growing it due to the interest they have in the psychoactive effects that it holds.
Salvia as a Drug
 Most people use salvia plants to get high. The high that you get from salvia divinorum will differ severely from the high that you would get from alcohol but there are some similarities. Just like alcoholic beverages, salvia can impair your hand eye coordination and proper decision making. You will have to make sure that you never drive while you are using salvia because it could be very dangerous as you can become impaired from salvia.
 Even though salvia is a serious drug and using it can be dangerous, it is a lot safer than most drugs. It is not a narcotic and not really addictive. Most users will only opt to using the drug once and a while and there are not really any cravings for it but rather just people choosing to feel that high once and a while. As long as it is used with common sense, there will not be any fatal consequences that will follow.

2. Is Salvia Legal?
When you are interested in trying out salvia divinorum to experience the high, you will want to make sure that it is something legal. Salvia is a legal plant and can be used but there are some restrictions. You will want to make sure that you educate yourself on the laws for salvia usage.
US Laws
 In the United States, salvia is considered to be a controlled substance in many states. There are 10 states which categorize salvia as a controlled substance. Out of the whole country, two states have made salvia illegal as well – those are Louisiana and Tennessee. The laws for Louisiana and Tennessee state that salvia is only illegal if it its purpose is to be consumed in your body. To look at local laws, salvia is not allowed in Suffolk County (located in New York) but that is all. Everywhere else in the United States fully allows salvia – even for personal usage.
International
 Looking across the world, there are quite a few countries which have banned salvia completely. There are 8 different countries (including Australia and Japan as two major ones) which have made salvia completely illegal. It is also not allowed to be sold in Spain either but possessing or using it is allowed. Some countries do not allow you to import salvia divinorum unless you are prescribed from your doctor. With the majority of the world, salvia is legal to own and use with intent of getting high.

3. Is salvia divinorum safe?
Salvia divinorum is safe.

4. What are the effects of Salvia divinorum?
Salvia divinorum produces unique effects that are difficult to accurately describe by comparing them to those produced by other psychoactive plants or drugs. The psychoactive chemical in S. divinorum is salvinorin A; while some people have proposed that there may be other minor chemicals that affect its action, recent pharmacological binding tests of known chemicals in the plant suggest that this is unlikely (Prisinzano & Rothman 2008). Effects vary, based on dose and method of ingestion. Effects range from very light, at lower doses, to overwhelmingly strong at higher doses. While S. divinorum's effects are usually grouped with other visionary-class psychoactives such as smoked DMT, its effects are so radically different that such comparisons often lead to misunderstandings. Some effects that have been reported include:

• Uncontrollable laughter
• Visual alterations or visions
• Loss of physical coordination
• Experiencing multiple realities
• A contemplative sense of peace
• Sense of profound understanding
• Dream-like veneer over the world
• Seeing or becoming part of a tunnel
• Sense of total confusion or madness
• Contacting other people/spirits/entities
• Experiencing a "non-Euclidean" geometry
• Feeling of being underground or underwater
• Sense of flying, floating, twisting, or turning
• Feeling of being immersed in an energy field
• Loss of sense of awareness as an individual
• Feeling of being connected to a larger "whole"
• Appearing to travel to other places and/or times
• Becoming inanimate objects (a wall, stairs, a couch, etc.)
• Feeling as though one has entered into the "realm of the dead"
• Viewing patterns or shapes that are tube-like, snake-like, or worm-like

You also can use “nemoil”.

9. How long can I store my Salvia divinorum incense for without it losing potency?
Probably for decades. The active principal, salvinorin A, is quite stable and can be stored at room-temperature. For long term use, we recommend storing it in a dark location, such as a drawer or cupboard, so that it is not exposed to the potentially harmful effects of UV light. The Anti-Static bag will provide additional protection against light and maintain freshness with its re-sellable feature.


10. How is Salvia divinorum consumed?

Infusion
Most ethnographic accounts state that the Mazatecs make an infusion by rubbing leaves together and squeezing the leaf-juice into water. A couple of reports state that the leaves were first crushed on a metate (a flat stone). One ethnographic report described the preparation of a dose by merely piling up the leaves in pairs, face to face, and then rolling them into a cigar-shaped bundle, chewed, and swallowed (Blosser 1991-1993 in Ott 1999). Unfortunately, as far as a "dose" goes, the available ethnographic data usually relates the number of leaves used per dose (frequently stated as so many "pairs" of leaves, due to the Mazatec penchant for counting them in this manner). Such information may not be too useful because leaves can vary quite a bit in size, with some leaves being five or more times the size of others, depending on growing conditions, and the potency of leaves can also vary dramatically from plant to plant.

With regard to infusions, the number of leaves used to prepare a single dose reported in the ethnographic literature has ranged from 6 to 240 (Ott 1995). One paper (Ott 1999) described two doses as being a "large double-handful of leaves (plant tops, stems and all)"; another paper mentioned using 20 to 80 or more pairs of leaves, and helpfully also gave the weight of the fresh leaves as ranging between 50 and 200 grams (Valdés et al. 1983).

Contemporary studies into the chemistry and pharmacology of Salvia divinorum have discovered that the traditional infusion preparation is the least efficient method of consuming the plant. The plant's active chemistry is not soluble in water, and it is speculated that it may be partially deactivated via the stomach. Comparatively large amounts need to be consumed, if it is taken this way. On the other hand, effects--which begin after about 15 minutes (Valdés et al. 1983; Ott 1999)--may last longer than via other routes of ingestion; over 2.5 hours in one report (Valdés et al. 1983), and up to 3 hours 20 minutes in another case (Ott 1999).

Modern psychonautical investigations have found two more effective methods of consuming the plant:

The Quid
The quid method produces a somewhat shorter duration of effects than the oral infusion. With this approach, one takes fresh leaves, rolls them into one or two "cigars", and then chews them while not swallowing the juice or saliva in one's mouth. In this manner, the active chemistry of the plant is absorbed via the mucous membranes in the mouth, which is a much more efficient method than absorption via the stomach. When taking the leaves as a quid, the effects tend to last about an hour. The following has been reported as an effective dosing procedure using fresh leaves as a quid:

Ten leaves averaging 3.4-4 inches wide and 9 inches long (and weighing 25-26 grams) have the midribs removed. These are rolled into two 'cigars' of five leaves each. Laying in quiet darkness, the first cigar is placed in the mouth and held there, chewing it slowly with my front teeth. I do not swallow at all. After about 10 minutes I spit this out into a bowl, and start chewing the second cigar. Effects usually commence within about 5 minutes after beginning to chew the second cigar. I spit this cigar out after a 10 minute chew. The experience lasts about 45-60 minutes (from start to finish). (Aardvark 1998)
Smoking
A shorter duration of effects can be obtained by smoking the dried leaves of Salvia divinorum. Repeated experimentation has resulted in a general consensus that using a bong is one of the most effective ways to smoke S. divinorum leaf because one can get large breaths full of the smoke quickly. There have been some reports of people smoking S. divinorum leaves rolled into "joints", occasionally with effective results (and in a few cases people prefer this method). However, in the majority number of cases, people have reported little or no effects from smoking joints of leaves. Terence McKenna recommended using a "gravity bong "as an even better way to smoke the dried leaves, saying "This does not fail."

A regular pipe lies somewhere between a bong and a joint, in effectiveness. People have suggested that using a pipe with a large bowl and a short stem is the best choice, as there is room for burning a lot of dried leaf this way, and the salvinorin A has less chance to condense out into the pipe when traveling though a short stem. With smoking, the effects come on much more rapidly, within a couple of minutes, and they are gone in about 20 minutes. Several "bong hits" in rapid succession--each held in for about 20 to 30 seconds--generally is enough for effects; effects produced depend on the amount smoked, the potency of the leaf, and the sensitivity of the individual smoking. A dose range of 250 mg to 500 mg of dried leaf, when smoked via a bong, should be sufficient for most people using leaf of average potency (that is, leaf which contains 2 to 3 mg or salvinorin A per gram of dried leaf). It has been noted that salvinorin A needs a lot of heat to vaporize, and it is suggested that one hold the flame over the dried herb for the whole time that one is inhaling. Some people have reported better results when smoking by using a mini-torch style lighter.

Comparison of Consumption Methods
As with any new substance, those who choose to experiment in a cautious and intelligent manner with Salvia divinorum will start off with smaller doses and work their way up. Many people find the quid method to be more enjoyable, due to it having a slower onset and longer-lasting effects. The rapid effects of smoked S. divinorum can be overwhelming and confusing. One drawback from any oral consumption is that the plant's leaves can be quite bitter. Oral ingestion is less efficient and thus more expensive for those not growing their own plants, so many choose to experiment with smoking first.

Jonathan Ott (1995) has described "the probable descending order of potency" as follows: sublingual salvinorin A -> vaporized salvinorin A -> chewed leaf, quid -> chewed leaf, swallowed -> infusion of leaf.

Ott did not include smoked Salvia divinorum in his rating scheme, stating: "[E]ven 'though as few as 1-2 leaves may be active... for most people the effect is much milder than by oral ingestion (albeit of greater quantities). In a test with 20 people, each of whom was given a 'joint' of dried Salvia divinorum leaves to smoke (containing 1-2 leaves), roughly half felt nothing at all. Of the half who did feel the effects, all reported quite mild effects, except for 2 individuals, who had potent visionary effects" (Ott 1995).

It is too bad that the weight of the dried leaves wasn't presented with this information, since basing dosage data on the number of leaves is less than precise; leaves can vary in size from less than an inch (1 cm) to 15 inches (35 cm) long, and up to 5 inches (12 cm) wide. These experiments do indicate, however, that smoking a joint is not a very effective method. People have had much more effective results using a bong, where a larger quantity of smoke can be inhaled at one time. Ott also didn't include data related to any of the concentrated "X" extracts mentioned below, presumably as these were not commonly available when he conducted his studies.

To sum up, bong-smoked leaf, or smoked "X" extracts of various strengths, or vaporized salvinorin A, all tend to come on much more quickly and don't last too long. And, all of these tend to use a relatively small amount of leaf material. The quid method has a slower onset and longer duration, and uses a larger amount of leaf material. And the infusion has the longest duration, and uses the largest amount of leaf material. Depending on what solvent is used, prepared sublingual extracts can use a fairly small amount of leaf material, up to about the same amount as that which is contained in a quid of fresh leaf. Ott (2005) found that 100 micrograms to 1 milligram of pure salvinorin A was active sublingually in a solution of acetone or DMSO. (Yes, Ott actually used acetone orally. "Acetone is present in bananas," he quipped when asked about this practice.) However, others have reported that they were unable to replicate Ott's success using either acetone or DMSO. Many have found 4 to 10 milligrams or more of salvinorin A to be active sublingually in a solution of 190-proof ethanol (sometimes diluted by 50% with hot water, just prior to use).