'Coatl
Teotzlcoatl
That's right! You should NOT smoke Salvia divinorum!
When the traditional shamans learned that Salvia divinorum was smoked they were appalled! They said that this would make the spirit of Salvia very unhappy!
Some people actually speculate that the TRUE active ingredient in Salvia divinorum breaks down into Salvinorin A & B when the plant is dried, therefore most people who have used Salvia divinorum in the Western World have not had a "true" Salvia divinorum experience.
So you should NOT smoke Salvia divinorum, but you SHOULD chew the fresh leafs from a live plant as a quid! This the proper and responsible way to use this powerful entheogen! Respect the plant by growing it, and using it in a traditional, proven manner.
When the traditional shamans learned that Salvia divinorum was smoked they were appalled! They said that this would make the spirit of Salvia very unhappy!
Some people actually speculate that the TRUE active ingredient in Salvia divinorum breaks down into Salvinorin A & B when the plant is dried, therefore most people who have used Salvia divinorum in the Western World have not had a "true" Salvia divinorum experience.
The leaves needed to be used fresh. SWIM tried storing them in the refrigerator. After 1 day, the effects were a lot weaker and very different.It seems that this plant has an active compound in it that’s very unstable. After just a few hours of being picked, the leaves lost a lot of their potency. However dried leaves were still effective, producing a very different experience though.
The dried leaves were good for smoking, but the effect was not something SWIM really liked much. SWIM did not care for the dried leaves much at all and ended up discarding all the dried leaves and ended up only using freshly picked leaves.
It's my belief that the main active compound in the fresh leaves is oxidizing into salvinorin A, and that this oxidation happens within hours after picking the leaves. Just like an apple begins to turn brown after cutting it open, this compound begins to decompose into salvinorin A.
This is just an idea. I have no evidence to back it up other than the fact that the fresh leaves taken as a quid immediately after picking them are far better than dried leaves. The effect is really nice, stronger, and qualitatively different, more of a true psychedelic similar to mushrooms.
When the natives use Salvia, they use fresh leaves, not dried ones. The leaves are wrapped in banana leaves right after being picked. This is said to help preserve them while in transport to where they'll be used. They are normally used within hours after picking them because the natives also say they rapidly loose potency if stored.
I think there's definitely something going on here worth investigating. How to go about testing such an unstable compound is going to be very tricky though.
So you should NOT smoke Salvia divinorum, but you SHOULD chew the fresh leafs from a live plant as a quid! This the proper and responsible way to use this powerful entheogen! Respect the plant by growing it, and using it in a traditional, proven manner.