Variety

      Variety

Salvia divinorum, a powerful psychotropic plant native to the Oaxaca mountain region of Mexico, is just one of the nearly 1,000 different strains of salvia. Salvia divinorum is by far the largest genus of the lamiaceae family, with the estimated number of species ranging from 700 to 1,000. Members include perennials, shrubs, and annuals; however, the only species found to induce such powerful psychedelic effects is salvia divinorum. There are several varieties to obtain salvia divinorum.

Salvia divinorum is sold either in dried leaves or in the form of an extract. Dried leaves will always vary in strength, so a fluctuation in effects and intensity are to be expected. Many people claim they find it rather difficult to achieve desired effects from plain dried leaves due to the large amount of leaves needed to gain desired effects. When you want to use Salvia following the quid method, you will need to purchase dried leaves.

Many people prefer using extracts because results are reached much easier due to less salvia needed to be smoked or ingested. Most users agree that the effects are also stronger. Extracts can be very powerful and should always be used with extreme caution! There is a risk of using too much extract and having adverse effects. Extracts can be found in two varieties:

• Crude extract: often followed by an x (5x, 10x etc.). This type of extract is made by mixing a crude salvia extract with salvia leaves. 5x means: the extract obtained from four units of crude salvia extract, mixed with 1 unit of leaves. This product can vary a lot in potency because the potency of the leaves varies as well.
• Standardized extracts: a standardized extract is one in which the active compound, salvinorin A, is extracted from the plant and purified, then afterwards it is redeposited back onto the dried leaves. A standardized extract contains pure crystalline salvinorin A, a very rare compound that few people have ever seen and even fewer people have ever produced. It takes a fair amount of chemistry knowledge and skill to produce pure salvinorin A, so a standardized extract may cost a little more, but it is well worth the money spent.

Salvia extracts generally come in 5x, 10x and 20x concentrations (although other concentrations have been reported). This indicates how many times more potent it is than ordinary dried leaves. Be very careful when using extracts: a single hit of extract may be enough to attain effects from any of these concentrations. Always carefully read the warnings before using Salvia extracts, and follow directions accordingly.

It is never advised to try to produce your own extracts, as it involves working with solvents. If you do not have any experience with it, you may risk poisoning yourself or others. Moreover, most solvents are highly flammable.

Full plants can also be found, with the Hoffman &Wasson plant being the distinguished leader among the clones because of its known potency. Others include Blosser, Paradox and Owens. Seeds are hard to find because salvia divinorum has been propagated, (plants grown from cuttings) and propagated plants are incapable of producing seeds. Another very powerful strain of whole plants is Luna. Luna is a Hawaiian patch of Salvia divinorum, featuring unusually serrated and rounded leaves rather than the normal ovate leaves, and its effects are the most powerful and concentrated Salvinorin A (trans-neoclerodane diterpenoid). The average Mexican strain contains 0.18%, but Luna is 0.26%, substantially higher.

Luna salvinorin A is the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen known to man. It is active at doses as low as 200 µg. Unlike Mescaline and LSD, Salvia does not mess with your serotonin receptors, it is a potent and selective kappa-Opioid receptor agonist, in latent English this translates to powerful dissociative and deliriant effects, or quite simply, powerfully bizarre out of body experiences.