Salvia Divinorum is the new drug on the block: it is a totally legal (at least in most countries and most states in the US) and widely available both over the counter in many tobacco shops and over the Internet. The herb, a close relation of the Salvia plants that you may find flowering in your garden, is billed as the most potent naturally occurring drug. It is, scientists and users state, as potent as LSD.
The active hallucinogenic ingredient in Salvia Divinorum – Salvinorin A – works in a very unique way on the brain’s receptors. Dr. Bryan Roth of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Psychoactive Drug Screening Program (NIMHPDSP is the catchy acronym) says: “What we found is quite remarkable and unprecedented among naturally occurring drugs of abuse … [The Salvia Divinorum] compound seems to have absolute specificity for a single receptor site on the brain.”.
Not much at all is known about the long term effects of Salvia Divinorum but fans may find some solace in the news that it, at least potentially, might eventually lead to new drugs that could be used to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia.