Salvia divinorum

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Salvia divinorum
Vegetative habit of Salvia divinorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Salvia
Species:	S. divinorum
Binomial name
Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva[1][2]
Native distribution of Salvia divinorum in Southwest Mexico[2]

Salvia divinorum (Latin: sage of the diviners; also called ska maría pastora, seer's sage, yerba de la pastora, magic mint or simply salvia) is a plant species with transient psychoactive properties when its leaves, or extracts made from the leaves, are administered by smoking, chewing, or drinking (as a tea).^[3] The leaves contain the potent compound salvinorin A and can induce a dissociative state and hallucinations.^[4]

Mazatec shamans have a long and continuous tradition of religious use of S. divinorum to facilitate visionary states of consciousness during spiritual healing sessions.^[1] Western media panic c. 2007 centered on reports of legal teenage use of the drug, a suicide, and video sharing of drug use on the internet. S. divinorum is legal in some countries, including the U.S. at the federal level;^[5] but over half the states have passed laws criminalizing it.^[6]

Its native habitat is cloud forest in the isolated Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows in shady, moist locations.^[7][8] The plant grows to over a meter high,^[1] has hollow square stems like others in the mint family Lamiaceae, large leaves, and occasional white flowers with violet calyxes. Botanists have not determined whether S. divinorum is a cultigen or a hybrid because native plants reproduce vegetatively and rarely produce viable seed.^[9][10]

Because the plant has not been well-studied in high-quality clinical research, little is known about its toxicology, adverse effects, or safety over long-term consumption.^[3][4] Its chief active psychoactive constituent is a structurally unique diterpenoid called salvinorin A,^[4][11][12] a potent κ-opioid agonist.^[13] Although not thoroughly assessed, preliminary research indicates S. divinorum may have low toxicity (high LD₅₀).^[14][15] Its effects are rapid but short-lived.^[3]