Salvia Divinorum (Diviner’s Sage) is a perrennial herb in the mint family, native to the Oaxaca region of Mexico and used for spiritual practices by the Mazatec natives that reside there. It contains the psychoactive compounds Salvinorin A and Salvinorin B.

Among psychedelic medicines, Salvia is probably the least talked about in the therapy world. Which is odd to me, given how profound and effective low-dose Salvia can be in helping to achieve therapeutic goals. There are a number of benefits to the use of this plant:

• Salvia is federally legal, and legal in the state of Maine for those over the age of 18

• The experience, when dosed correctly, is very gentle and manageable

• The experience is relatively short - a single dose lasts about 15 minutes

• There is no comedown or day-after effect from salvia, other than a general afterglow

• The primary psychoactive compounds, Salvinorins A and B, have no known interactions with medications

• There is almost zero potential for addiction, physical or psychological, to salvia

• The low-dose salvia experience is generally very easy to integrate

Traditionally, Salvia was administered by chewing and swallowing the leaves, which induces a trance-like state for about an hour. Smoking very small amounts of dried leaf or extract is a more immediate and controllable way to start working with Salvia (though was not a part of traditional use), and both routes of administration can yield powerful and therapeutic effects.

It is important to stress that the qualitative benefits described above pertain to LOW-DOSE salvia use. High-dose Salvia experiences can be uncomfortable and even frightening, and a quick search on YouTube yields hundreds of videos of people using Salvia incorrectly. Salvia’s effects vary dramatically depending on dosage and route of administration. 

My work with Salvia Divinorum is influenced heavily by the work of Christopher Solomon, a somatic Salvia therapist. If you’re interested to learn more about this plant and its therapeutic use before reaching out to me, I highly recommend his website, which has great articles, podcasts, lectures, and the Salvia pipe that I use for myself and clients.