Use Wisdom When Using the Herb Salvia Divinorum

This is the most controversial herb at the time this is written. There is U.S. federal law about it but there are state laws about it. It is illegal to use in 21 states. It is a psychoactive drug like LSD or mescaline. It alters behavior, mood, perception, and thinking. Although it’s largely used recreationally, it has also been utilized in traditional South and Central American rituals. The dried leaves are smoked from a water pipe or pipe or drunk infused into tea.

It is a recreational drug that produces a high. It does so differently than other common addictive drugs. For example, opioids, such as heroin and oxycodone, target a specific opioid receptor in the brain that’s linked to the pleasure response. In contrast, salvia divinorum affects a different opioid receptor that isn’t connected to the pleasure response that contributes to addiction. Salvia, as a result, is generally not considered an addictive substance.

Let us see what WebMD says about it since they try to be as neutral, objective and scientific as they can be. They say it is known by many other names like Divine Mexican Mint, Diviner's Mint, Diviners Sage, Divinorin, Divinorin A, Herb-of-the-Virgin, Herba de María, La Hembra, Menthe Magique, Mexican Sage Incense, Sadi, Magic Mint, Sally-D, Salvia, Salvinorin, Salvinorin A, Sage of the Seers, Mexican Sage Sauge Divinatoire, Ska Maria, Ska Maria Pastora, Yerba de Maria and Yerba Maria.

WebMD says:

Salvia divinorum is an herb in the mint family [and the sage family]. It has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies by the Mazatec Indians, a native people who live in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Mazatecs believe it is an incarnation of the Virgin Mary.

Salvia divinorum is used most famously as a recreational drug. It produces hallucinations when inhaled, when the leaves are chewed, or when extracts are placed under the tongue. It is widely available through smoke shops and on the Internet in concentrated form. It is used in cigarettes and incense. Salvia divinorum possession and use is legal in most states in the US, but the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is reviewing it for possible controlled substance regulation. It is considered illegal in some states including Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Salvia divinorum is also taken by mouth as a medicine for diarrhea, headache, joint pain (rheumatism), stomach bloating, and as a tonic and end-of-life remedy. It is taken to regulate urination and bowel movements.

I have a great deal of experience with yoga and meditation. For the most part drugs are not nearly as effective as the above due to homeostasis-- the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. It is also called the sling-shot effect. This means that the short term effect is opposite of the long term effect.

Like for example you drink alcohol that is a social lubricant that relaxes you. But it has a long term effect of making you more tense and stressed out. You can take marijuana to become more relaxed and have the long term effect of being the opposite of relaxed and being more worried.

Now you have heard that exercise is very good for your health. It has a short term effect of stressing you out, increasing your heart rate and increasing your respiration or breathing rate. The reason that it is so healthy for you is that it has the long term effect of relaxing you, decreasing your heart rate and decreasing your breathing rate. See What Your Resting Heart Rate Can Teach You.

So yoga or meditation has a slower acting effect but can take you much, much further. In fact The Beatles used a lot of drugs and saw the effect it could have on them. Then Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became their teacher and taught that they would do a lot better without using any drugs. He got them to instead to practice TM or Transcendental Meditation. Maybe by using a lot of drugs first was able to get it out of their system.

It cannot be detected in a drug test. Smoking it gives off carcinogens just like smoking cigarettes. It has a bitter taste but eating it can have a mellower, deeper and long lasting effect. Since it inhibits dopamine release, it also has little potential for addiction. In Canada it is illegal to sell but not to possess. They say it helps with meditation but I still think it has a bad effect by using it as a modifier.

It can have a disoriented effect on people and it can have other bad effects so they suggest that you have a sitter watching you in case you need help. It may have good effect on cancer or AIDS where the stress is very strong.

The following is about cannabis or marijuana that is legal in some states. It also tells about using the plant that has no psychoactive effects. The documentary is still going on.

This “Sacred Plant” can revolutionize medicine, healing and human freedom… but doctors are criminalized for talking about it. It says:

This documentary focuses on a “sacred plant” that holds the promise for a global revolution in medicine and health. This one plant is encoded with chemistry that can help treat cancer, restore physical activity through inflammation reduction, and can even eliminate chronic pain in many people, making deadly opioid drugs virtually obsolete.

Alongside dozens of other experts and survivors, I was interviewed for this documentary series due to my science expertise in the realm of food forensics and medicinal botanicals. In this interview (that you won’t want to miss), I reveal why the future of medicine will be largely based on this single plant....