Are there other psychopharmacologically active salvia species?
A. Yes. It appears that number of different salvia species have different forms of psychoactivity. In addition some other members of the mint family (to which genus Salvia belongs) are psychoactive (‘psychoactive’ means that a substance effects mood, alertness, thinking, emotion, or perception, most psychoactive substances are not hallucinogenic), for example there is a Central Asian mint known as ‘intoxicating mint’ (Lagochiles inebriens) whose leaves are reportedly toasted and then brewed into a sedative tea. There is an unclassified salvia species called “Xiwit” by the Nahuatl people of Sierra de Puebla, who use it as a dream inducer. It apparently is not S. divinorum. The many strains of the common cooking sage S. officinalis contain thujone which (along with alcohol) is the main ingredient that gives absinthe its characteristic psychoactivity. Thujone (also found in wormwood and juniper) is believed by some to cause brain damage. Best to use cooking sage as a condiment — but not
