Subject: Re: Mexican Mint (Salvia divinorum)
From: Christopher B Reeve <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 1994 21:31:34 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.psychoactives

> Does anyone know anything about S. divinorum?
> (Mexican Mint)
>  
> I know that the Mazatecs used it for medicinal purposes,
> but i havent been able to find out what kind of stuff 
> that they did with them.
>  
> I also have had a hard time digging up any articles on it,
> i've found one that cites a couple others, but thats about it.

I'll do my best.  Hope you don't already have this information.  Before
me, I have a copy of _The Psychedelic Reader_ (selections from _The
Psychedelic Review_), Edited by Gunther M. Weil, Ralph Metzner, and
Timothy Leary (University Books.  New Hyde Park, New York - available
via your local interlibrary loan; mine's from Johns Hopkins):

"All of these attributes fit the _hojas de la Pastora_ that the Mazatecs
generally use as a divinatory plant.  In September 1962 we gathered
specimens of the _hojas de la Patora_, and they were found to be a
species new to science: Epling and Jativa named it _Salvia divinorum_. 
Among the Mazatecs I have seen only the leaves ground on the _metate_,
strained, and made into an infusion.  The colonial records speak of an
infusion made from the roots, stems and flowers.  But this is not
incompatible with our information about _Salvia divinorum_: the Mazatecs
may confine themselves to the leaves of a plant that has the divine
virtue in all its parts.  I suggest that tentatively we consider
_pipiltzintzintli_, the divine plant of pre-Conquest Mexico, identical
with the _Salvia divinorum_ now invoked in their religious supplications
by the Mazatecs." (170)

"And here we revert to the miraculous plant that we think is the _Salvia
divinorum_, called (as we believe) in Nahuatl _pipiltzintzintli_, in the
records of the Inquisition dating from 1700.  This is obviously related
to the name for the sacred mushrooms used by Marina Rosas.  Dr. Aguirre
Beltran translates it as 'the most noble Prince' and relates it to
_Piltzintli_, the young god of the tender corn.  In the accounts of the
visions that the Indians see after they consume the sacred food -
whether seeds or mushrooms or plant - there frequently figure
_hombrecitos_, 'little men,' _mujercitas_, 'little women,' _duendes_,
'supernatural dwarfs.'  Beginning with our maiden at her _metate_, here
is a fascinating complex of associations that calls for further sutyd
and elaboration.  For example, are these Noble Children related
perchance to the Holy Child of Atocha, which gained an astonishing place
in the hearts of the Indians of Middle America?  Did they seize on this
Catholic image and make it a charismatic icon because it expressed for
them, in the new Christian religion, a theme that was already familiar
to them in their own supernatural beliefs?" (182)
--

"There are a number of us these days who do not seek deliberately to go
to prison but cherish a dream of being sent there to enjoy,
paradoxically, true freedom." (Anthony Burgess, _1985_)

=============================================================================

From: [email-masked] (Trevor Bezdek)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.drugs.psychoactives,alt.psychedelics
Subject: Re: S. Divinorum (Diviner's Sage)
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 1994 17:16:33 -0800
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>

The active component is salvinorin-A, a diterpene.

1. -- Dried milled leaves (200g) of Salvia divinorum, collected at
Huautla, Oaxaca in November 1980, were extracted with boiling chloroform.
Evaporation of the solvent gave a green residue (27g) which was purified
by chromatography on "Tonsil" (200g) with chloroform as eluant. Thirteen
fractions of 50.0 ml were collected, the sixth and seventh of which
contained compound [A] as ascertained by t.l.c. (45% ethyl acetate in
hexane as developer; Rf 0.7). Crystallization from the methanol yielded
salvinorin [A] as colorless crystals, m.p. 238 -- 240 C...

   Ortega, A., J.F. Blount, and P.S. Marchant. (1982) Salvinorin, a new
trans-neoclerodane diterpene from Salvia divinorum (Laviatae). J. Chem.
Soc., Perkin Trans. I:2505-2508

-- 
Trevor Bezdek <[email-masked]>
Finger for PGP 2.3 Public Key

=============================================================================

From: [email-masked] (Steve Mynott)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.drugs.psychoactives,alt.psychedelics
Subject: Re: S. Divinorum (Diviner's Sage)
Date: 30 Sep 1994 10:22:09 GMT
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>

I thought the following might be of interest.  My understanding from
reading this is that salvinorin A is *not* orally active, which may
explain some of the confusion surrounding this substance and the mint.

Does anyone know what the chemical structure of salvinorin A looks like?
Maybe some ASCII graphics are in order...

SALVIA-DIVINORUM AND SALVINORIN-A - NEW PHARMACOLOGICAL FINDINGS
SIEBERT, DJ
POB 661552/LOS ANGELES//CA/90066
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 1994 V43 NO1 PP53-56

The diterpene salvinorin A from Salvia divinorum (Epling and Jativa-M), in
doses of 200-500 ag produces effects which are subjectively identical to
those experienced when the whole herb is ingested. Salvinorin A is
effectively deactivated by the gastrointestinal system, so alternative
routes of absorption must be used to maintain its activity. Traditionally
the herb is consumed either by chewing the fresh leaves or by drinking the
juices of freshly crushed leaves. The effects of the herb when consumed this
way depend on absorption of salvinorin A through the oral mucosa before the
herb is swallowed.

Refs:
ORTEGA_A, 1982 P.2505, J CHEM SOC P1
VALDES_LJ, 1987 VOL.41 P.283, ECON BOT
VALDES_LJ, 1983 VOL.7 P.287, J ETHNOPHARMACOL
VALDES_LJ, 1984 VOL.49 P.4716, J ORG CHEM
WASSON_RG, 1962 VOL.20 P.77, BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEA
WASSON_RG, 1963 VOL.20 P.161, BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEA

=============================================================================

Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: [email-masked]
Subject: RE: Salvia Divinorum
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 07 Oct 94 17:52:37 -0400

Actually, I'd love to correct you.

According to T. McKenna, at a recent lecture, that I attended, He said the
following about proper tech, `for using, S. Divinorum, or Diviners Mint.

To start, take 15-20 fresh leaves, remove the center stem, to reduce the bulk
of the plant material.

Roll the leaves into a quid (ball), and put in your mouth

This should be done, in a dark room, with a digital clock visible

Watching the clock, chew on the leaves, for exactly 15 miniutes, then spit them
out. 

Effects, should last about 45 miniutes.

First of all, notices the major difference  in the amount that you smoked, to
the actual suggested number of leaves.

Also, I have never heard of smoking the leaves but you could probally use the
dry leaves in the same way as the fresh leaves....

Blessed Be!

Talis

=============================================================================

From: [email-masked] (Peter Jordan)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.drugs.psychoactives,alt.psychedelics
Subject: Re: S. Divinorum (Diviner's Sage)
Date: 20 Sep 1994 04:49:58 GMT
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>

[email-masked] (Somnium "Watching-Owl" Regnum) writes:

>form' that is is active in the 200ug range. Yes 200 micro-grams. One puff
>of smoke is all it takes. I have heard that you can smoke the dried leaves;
>although he never mentioned that way of ingestion. So supposedly, there is

	I don't know about this smoking thing .....

If the "prepared infusion ... is said to be stable for a day" 
(pg. 296 Valdes), wouldn't you think drying followed
by smoking would certainly be ineffective.

	Has any-one ever actually tried this ?

Reference: Ethnopharmacology of Ska Maria Pastora (Salvia divinorum);
	L.J. ValdesIII,J.L.Diaz,A.g.Paul;
	Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 7(1983):287-312.

		Citingly;

		Peter J.

=============================================================================

From: [email-masked] (Eli Brandt)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.drugs.psychoactives,alt.psychedelics
Subject: Re: S. Divinorum (Diviner's Sage)
Date: 21 Sep 1994 03:34:54 GMT
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>

In article <[email-masked]>,
Trevor Bezdek <[email-masked]> wrote:
>The active component is salvinorin-A, a diterpene.

Salvinorin A is a bioactive compound isolable from /S. divinorum/.  It
is not at all clear that it's responsible for the plant's more
interesting effects, however.  I'll admit that I haven't read the
papers by Valdes' group, but Ott's assessment of the tests in animals
is that "the primary effects of salvinorin A was sedative".  The whole
leaves do not have this as their primary effect.

If anybody knows of informal human assays of salvinorin A, we'd
all like to hear about it...

   Eli   [email-masked]

=============================================================================

Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
Newsgroups: alt.psychoactives
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue,  6 Sep 1994 07:57:01 UTC
Subject: Salvia Divinorum Info

 Salvia divinorum is easily grown in the northwest U.S. -- after seeing a
friend's plant in Portland, I suddenly realized what a healthy plant looks
like. For a year, I had been struggling to get a few cuttings going in the
very different climate of southern New Mexico: the result, inevitably, was a
drooping plant with blackening (i.e. useless) leaves. Up in the pacific
northwest, however, at least by the coast, the plant thrived, growing easily
in a bathroom on a shelf away from the window and direct sunlight.
 For would-be enthusiasts in the northwest: you've pretty much got it made.
The only worry would be to keep the plant from freezing (i.e., keep it
inside!). You don't need anything except indirect sunlight. Indeed, live
Salvia divinorum plants have been seen (by this author) for sale in a plant
shop right off the Pike Place Market in Seattle. You just need to look
around -- more people are growing it than you might think. 
 On the other hand, would-be growers in the southwest and central U.S. are
looking at an entirely different scenario: you _need_ to build a humidity
tent of some kind. In the spring the plant will appear to thrive; however,
come the hot summer, plants will easily die. You've got to do something --
why not build a small structure (with PVC pipe perhaps? I use bamboo, which
grows in my garden. Avoid wood, as this invites mold with all the misting
you'll have to do. And mist it you must. S. divinorum _requires_ high
humidity, and will shrivel and die without it. Just use a spray bottle to
mist inside your tent 3 times a day or so. Oh, and another thing is to place
your (prefferably peat) container in a dish of vermiculite which is
regulary sprayed -- helps keep things humid, you see. S. d. plants can
survive even the hottest New Mexico summers with this kind of attention.
 As far as getting the plants goes, as I said, look around. There are plenty
of suppliers, you just have to use your brain and check into it. The plant
is not illegal. As far as Seattle residents, you need to just look for it
while you're shopping at Pike Place Market. A friend found a (VERY healthy)
specimen there.
 Useage? Dry the large leaves and smoke them. Put them in a waterpipe -- it
uses the material more efficiently. After about 6 or 7 puffs of the leaves,
the normal user will be stopped in his/her tracks, and probably want to lie
down and recieve the mental information this plant has to offer. You will
probably be taken down trains of thought independantly of your intellect,
which is off in the back smoking cigarettes with your ego while the divine
plant is operating. Make no mistake -- this is hardly just another plant to
get "wasted" with -- the insights gained by S. divinorum are often
_cerebral_, sometimes visual, sometimes not. But whatever the effects, they
are gone completely within 1-2 hours. You'll find a great difference in
effects, compared to other psychedelics. In particular I (personally) notice
a distinct cooling of body temperature after the 3rd or 4th hit, a unique
feeling I've never felt on any other psychedelic. I wonder if others have
noticed this also?
 My advice is, first, get some good books on the subject -- you can't expect
to get this kind of information off the internet or in High Times, for
example. You need to read _Pharmacotheon_ by Ott, or Valdez and Diaz's
excellent _Journal of Enthnopharmacology_ article (#7, 1983 pps 287-310) --
go to your local university library and photocopy it. Another good book is
Riedlinger's (ed.) _The Sacred Mushroom Seeker_, which contains a very good
essay on Salvia divinorum by Albert Hoffman (recommended!). 
 (typo above... read: Journal of Ethnopharmacology....)
 In other words, don't be afraid to educate yourself seriously about this
plant -- it's essential; you can't appreciate how important a plant this is
otherwise (and S. divinorum is one of the world's rarest plants -- so
appreciate whose selling you a cutting!). Remember, Maria Sabina would have
wanted it that way -- don't profane the sacred by looking at this as some
sort of easy high -- it isn't. The plant requires your care and attention
before it will impart any kind of experience to you. The experience granted
is well worth the time and effort to cultivate them properly. As one user
said: "I'm investigating the Salvia divinorum... although sometimes I think
that the Salvia divinorum is investigating _me_..." 
 and that just about says it all, doesn't it? If you have other questions or
other divinorum debate, please post it here.

 Infinity Spectrum 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to [email-masked].
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to [email-masked].