Isolated from a rare Mexican sage found in only a few ravine locations in the Sierra Mazateca mountains, the active compound, salvinorin A, has dramatic effects. Used by Mazatec Indian shamans in Oaxaca and first described by Swedish anthropologist Jean Basset Johnson in 1939, it is easily propagated by cuttings, and during the past few decades it has made its way into numerous botanical gardens and private collections around the world. It is thought by many botanists that Salvia divinorum is a cultigen; it is not known to exist in the wild, and the few patches that are known in the Sierra Mazateca appear to be the result of deliberate planting.
The high, as described by Turner, is another matter, after all, not exactly an LSD high but similar to it, the entire experience lasting around 20 minutes. Results range from alarming intensity to exquisite feelings. Firsthand accounts from the author are bizarre and questionable considering the amount of psychedelic experimentation under his belt. He explains time and again his confusion regarding which high is residual from past LSD use and which is attributable to current Salvia divinorum, and any other psychedelics that may have crossed his path. Every method is described and used, from smoking, snorting, eating and any other way he can think of ingesting the herb. Descriptions are extensive and vivid. CF

Publisher: Panther
Paperback: 57 pages
Illustrated