What is Salvia divinorum?
Salvia divinorum (a.k.a. Diviners Sage, Seers Sage, Hojas de la Pastora, or Ska Maria Pastora) is a psychoactive plant native to the eastern Sierra Madre in Mexico. A member of the mint family, Salvia is used by the Mazatec Indians of that region for its medicinal and vision-inducing properties. Preliminary scientific investigation of Salvinorin A, the plants active principle, suggests a unique chemical structure and great therapeutic potential. Salvia was first introduced to the United States in 1962 and remained virtually unknown until a recent article in the New York Times created public interest in the plant as a legal hallucinogen.
