What is salvia?
Salvia are attractive flowers, worth cultivating in a home garden, and easily grown in a rich, light soil. The annuals and biennials may be sown in the open early in spring. The herbaceous kinds are increased by dividing the roots; the shrubby varieties by cuttings of the young wood planted under glass in March; while the stove species require to be placed in heat. They flower in August in the open. Heights vary, according to the kinds, but S. Coccinea and S. Patens, which are most commonly met with in gardens, grow to a height of 2 ft.According to the New York Times the flowering plant has become popular potent hallucinogenic herb.
"a decade ago, the use of salvia was largely limited to those seeking revelation under the tutelage of Mazatec shamans in its native Oaxaca, Mexico.
Today, this mind-altering member of the mint family is broadly available for lawful sale online and in head shops across the United States."
Aired June 24, 2003 – 07:41 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to bring in our “House Call” right now. Federal agents are concerned about the growing use of an herb that can alter perception and induce visions. The little-known herb is available on the Internet. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is looking into it. He’s here this morning at the CNN Center. Salvia, is that right, Sanjay? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Salvia Divinorum, Bill. Yes, it’s an ancient drug but kind of recent here in the United States. It’s an hallucinogen herb that emerged in the U.S. about three years ago. But now, health experts are issuing some cautions about it. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA (voice-over): It’s not illegal yet, but the Drug Enforcement Agency thinks it may be as dangerous as cocaine, heroin and LSD. It’s known by the rather innocuous, almost spiritual name of Salvia Divinorum. It’s part of the mint family but rese
Go to your local plant store and you are likely to get a small green, almost fernlike plant in a small clay pot. But that is not the Salvia we are talking about. The Salvia that we are talking about is more commonly known as Salvia Divinorum, a powerful psychedelic plant from the wilds of Mexico. Typically chewed or smoked, Salvia Divinorum is becoming quite the popular little plant with psychonauts the world over.
Salvias (also known as sages) have acquired their new fame, due to the fact they flower for a long period; they perform well in hot, dry conditions and they supply with an unbelievable variety of fragrance, flourish habit and color. Salvia has flowers of bright colors, often scented foliage. By the end of the season, they reach a height of 1.50 to 1.80 meters. There are others that do not grow that tall and they can be used at the front edge of flowerbeds. Their popularity has been growing very fast in recent years. Their main constituents are: essential oil, thujone, cineol, camphor, borneol, bornyl esters, a-pinene and salvene. There are some of them like Spanish sage that lacks thujone, but contains more cineol and camphor. Sage is grown in Central Europe since the Middle Ages. The sage assortments used as spice stem from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Although Genus Salvia is not limited to the Old World, Sage species from Central and South America, habitually have a much sweete
