NOTE ON THE ELECTRONIC VERSION (3/26/09) The second edition of Salvia Divinorum and Salvinorin A was last updated in 2002. Because of this, information about the laws surrounding Salvia divinorum in this book should be considered out-of-date, as should information about vendors of Salvia-related products. For more current information on the legal situation surrounding this plant, see www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_law.shtml and/or www.sagewisdom.org/legalstatus.html. A web search will turn up numerous current vendors of Salvia- related products. Dedicated to the memory of D.M. TURNER October 5, 1962 – January 24, 1997 …I saw a pulsating purplish light that changed to an insectlike shape, per- haps a bee or moth, and then changed to a pulsating sea anemone. It ex- panded into a desert full of prickly pear cacti, and remained so for sev- eral minutes…Suddenly, however, I was in a broad meadow with brightly colored flowers. I had just crossed a stream by way of a small wooden bridge. Next to me was something that seemed to be the skeleton of a giant model airplane made of rain- bow-colored inner tubing. The sky was bright blue and I could see a woods in the distance. I found my- self talking to a man in a shining white robe… — LEANDER J. VALDÉS III “Salvia divinorum and the Unique Diterpene Hallucinogen, Salvinorin (Divinorin) A” (1994) SALVIA DIVINORUM AND SALVINORIN A The Best of The Entheogen Review 1992–2000 Second Edition ER MONOGRAPH SERIES, NO. 2 David Aardvark, Editor The Entheogen Review POB 19820 Sacramento, CA 95819-0820 This book is sold for informational purposes only. Neither the editor or publisher will be held accountable for the use or misuse of the information contained in this book. Manufacture, possession, or sale of a controlled substance is a crime that can result in a lengthy prison term and sig- nificant fines. At the time of this book’s printing, neither Salvia divinorum nor salvinorin A was scheduled in the United States of America. However, other countries—such as Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Belgium, and South Korea—have various sorts of prohibitions against the plant and/or chemical. Regulation attempts have been made on the city and state levels at various times over the past few years in the USA. Laws can and do change at anytime; check for the current statutes where you live. Salvia Divinorum and Salvinorin A The Best of The Entheogen Review, 1992–2000, Second Edition Copyright 1998–2002 by The Entheogen Review First edition printed December 1998 First edition (updated) printed May 1999 Second edition printed May 2001 Second edition (updated) printed May 2002; April 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be repro- duced or stored in any form whatsoever without prior written consent of the author, editor, or publisher. Reviews may quote brief passages without written consent as long as proper credit is given. Project Editor: DAVID AARDVARK Manuscript Editor: MELISSA IRWIN Design & Layout: SOMA GRAPHICS Published by: The Entheogen Review ISSN 1066-1913 POB 19820 Sacramento, CA 95819-0820 www.entheogenreview.com TABLE OF CONTENTS A NOTE ON THE TEXT 9 CHAPTER ONE The Early Years 11 CHAPTER TWO Consumption Methods 21 CHAPTER THREE Hyperspatial Maps 45 CHAPTER FOUR Extraction 73 CHAPTER FIVE Salvinorin A & More 81 CHAPTER SIX Combinations 103 CHAPTER SEVEN Cultivation 113 CHAPTER EIGHT Reviews, Interviews, Commentary & Press 133 APPENDIX A Sources 171 APPENDIX B The Internet 185 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 INDEX 231 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 249 8 A NOTE ON THE TEXT Most of the information presented herein comes from the first nine years of The Entheogen Review’s publication. Dur- ing the first six years ER was published and edited by JIM DEKORNE; it is predominantly due to his efforts that it is possible for this work to be made available now. We’ve done our best to include everything that has ever appeared in past issues of ER related to Salvia divinorum. Some of this information is dated, but we feel that it is still interest- ing from a historical perspective. Some information is now known to be incorrect or incomplete, in which case we have provided additional annotations in the form of endnotes. As well, we have made minor editing changes to the origi- nal text in a few places, for the sake of accuracy, stylistic continuity, and clarity. Each entry’s title has been retained, (noting the volume, number, and year that the entry ap- peared) for those who wish to reference the original. We’ve also included the small amount of material that has ap- peared in past ERs on Coleus species, due to their possible traditional use by the Mazatec. We have maintained the chronology of the entries’ appearance within each chap- ter, so that the oldest information appears first, and the newest information appears last. Occasionally an entry doesn’t fit neatly into any single chapter, due to multiple topics being covered, and we apologize for this. Predominantly composed of contributions from intrepid psychonauts worldwide, this is a book born from modern experience. As such, we have not devoted much space to the traditional ethnography or history of Salvia divinorum. Those interested in learning more about these areas are directed to the numerous sources listed in the ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. 9 10 THE EARLY YEARS 11 It’s like a mirror with no frame: some don’t see it at all; some do, but don’t like what they see. It’s like cat paws, soft cat paws pressing, or like a bunch of bird tongues lapping the mind. Or like tiny fingers, the way ivy fingers reach out to climb a wall… — DALE PENDELL Pharmako/Poeia (1995) COLEUS (1/2: 1992) Salvia divinorum is, in the minds of the Mazatecs, only the most important of several plants, all Labiatae, that they regard as members of the same “family.” Salvia di- vinorum is known as la hembra, “the female.” El macho, or “the male,” is Coleus pumila, of European origin. Then there is el nene, “the child,” and el ahijado, “the godson,” which are both forms of Coleus Blumei. Some Indians insist that these others are likewise psychotropic, but we have not tried them; others say these are merely medicinal (WASSON 1962). The curandero also had several horticultural specimens of Coleus spp. growing near his house. Wasson has re- ported that the Mazatecs believe Coleus to be a medici- nal or hallucinogenic herb closely related to S. divinorum (Wasson, 1962). However, Don Alejandro said the plants were not medicinal and his daughter had bought them at the market because they were pretty (VALDÉS et al. 1983). (Coleus blumei and C. pumila) and all of their garden va- rieties have strong psychoactive qualities…About fifty of the brightly colored leaves are either chewed and swallowed, or crushed and steeped in water which is 12 later drunk…Like Salvia divinorum, coleus is a member of the mint family, so the psychoactive chemistry of the two plants is probably identical or at least similar (SUPERWEED 1970). Since no one seemed to know about fresh Coleus and since nothing other than a JOHN MANN book I have claimed fresh Coleus worked like a mini-mushroom trip, I tried it. Bitter, very bitter. I bought a giant plant for four bucks (such a bargain), set some candles up, got my vision-request/pur- pose clear, ate 80 medium leaves and waited. Nothing. Five, ten minutes, nothing. Twenty, nothing. Forty, nothing. I ate a meal after an hour. I doubt that I ate too soon. I truly don’t think it was working. Spread the word. — A.L., CA At an entheogen conference in Hawai’i last August, I was un- able to elicit any definitive response to a question about whether or not Coleus is a psychoactive plant. No one seemed to know, though there was a vague comment that one species was active while the other wasn’t. There were huge Coleus plants growing everywhere on the grounds of the conference site, and I now re- gret not making the modest proposal that at least some of us try them out. In the wake of that lost opportunity, readers with hard data are encouraged to share it with us. — JIM DEKORNE SALVIA DIVINORUM AND PLANT TEACHERS (1/2: 1992) I’ve continued my studies into Salvia divinorum, except that sometimes I think that it is the S. divinorum that is investi- gating me. I can say that it is the plants that have con- sciousness—that are the source of consciousness, and that animals got consciousness from eating plants—say that and not really be metaphorical. It astounds me. — D.P., CA 13 SALVIA DIVINORUM (2/1: 1993) For the past year or so I’ve been growing a Salvia divinorum plant—snipping the mature leaves when it was appropri- ate and freezing them until I had enough for a trip. Re- cently I took about 150 leaves1 from the freezer, macerated them in a VITA MIX blender with water, strained the mash, and obtained about 24 oz of dark green liquid. This was enough for three of us to drink one cupful apiece. It was fairly bitter (but not totally awful), and produced no nau- sea. It is said that the experience is subtle and must be done in darkness and total silence—we did this. After 45 minutes of trying to discern whether or not I was “feeling anything,” I gave up. The effects (if any) were so subtle as to be indistinguishable from my own imagination.