Plant name. Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva, Lamiaceae. Mazatec name: ska María Pastora.
Salvia divinorum is a sage from the mint family that grows wild only in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico. Its leaves contain salvinorin A, a substance that produces a short and very intense altered state. Inhaled, the effect starts within a minute, peaks around the second minute and has largely faded after about 20 minutes (González et al., 2006; Johnson et al., 2011).
Plate I. Flowering stem with opposite toothed leaves; white corollas held in violet calyces, as described by Reisfield (1993). Leaf and flower shown separately at right. Illustration, not drawn from a specimen.
The short version
- The plant spreads by its stems and almost never sets seed. Scientists first described it in 1962. More on the plant.
- Salvinorin A works on the kappa opioid receptor, a different target from psilocybin, LSD or mescaline. It is active at a fraction of a milligram. How it works.
- Extracts are sold as 5x, 10x, 20x and higher. Laboratory tests show those numbers are a rough ranking at best. What the x means.
- The experience is short when smoked and longer when the leaf is chewed. Many people lose track of where they are and what their body is doing. Effects and duration.
- A sober sitter is the most useful single precaution. Safety.
- The law differs sharply between neighbouring countries. In the Netherlands salvia is not on the Opium Act lists, but the national health institute RIVM advised in 2022 that a sales restriction be considered. Legal status by country.
Why this site exists
Most pages about salvia are either shop copy or a short official warning. Neither explains the chemistry, the extract labels or the legal differences in enough detail to make a careful decision. Each page here links to the studies, laws and public health sources it uses, and states what is not known.
The site is published by the team behind Avalon Magic Plants, a Dutch shop that sells salvia leaves and extracts. About this site explains how that works.