Salvia divinorum may have been around some time and has been in the government radar due to its increasing popularity, but it is its being identified as the substance being inhaled by Disney star Miley Cyrus in a recent video posted on TMZ that fuelled even more interest in the drug.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has an informational paper regarding Salvia, released in 2008. Its street names include Maria Pastora, Sage of the Seers, Diviner’s Sage, Sally-D, and Magic Mint. Salvia divinorum is actually a perennial herb that belongs to the mint family, and is native to certain areas in the Sierra Mazateca region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Its active constituent is salvinorin A, which is the ingredient that brings about its hallucinogenic effects. Nether salvinorin A nor salvia have approved medical uses in the United States.
Salvia is usually chewed or smoked by its users in the United States. Among its reported effects, based on studies, are perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors and shapes, uncontrolled laughter, and hallucinations. Salvia is abused because they have the same hallucinogenic effects brought about by other controlled hallucinogenic substances.
Salvia is sold as seeds, plant cuttings, whole plants, fresh and dried leaves, extract-enhanced leaves, and liquid extracts. It can be bought off the internet, or through local head shops and tobacco shops. Its user population, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report released by SAMHSA in February 2008, include teens aged 12 and above. Its use is more common among the 18-25 age group.
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