Salvia Divinorum: harm, ban on cultivation

From Latin Sálvia Divinórum translates as "sage of fortune tellers", in other words - narcotic sage. The leaves of this plant contain a psychoactive hallucinogen called salvinorin A, which has dissociative properties. As a cultural plant bears its Latin name - Salvia Divinorum. This kind of sage does not differ in structure from other representatives of the genus Sage: perennial, from the rhizome first herbaceous plant, then semi-shrubby. It grows mainly in the subtropics, but if you save from frosts, it also survives in the colder climates of Salvia Divinorum. The ban on the cultivation of this plant is associated with its properties, which we will discuss later.

Botany

Salvia Divinorum has a densely branched, woody root. The stem is simple, ascending, it may be branchy, the cross section is square. If grows in natural conditions, then a sufficiently high bush is up to two meters. It reproduces again in vegetative conditions - by cuttings, any fragments of the stem well rooted in contact with moist soil and give life to new plants.

Salvia divinorum leaves are large, they reach twenty centimeters, simple, oval, whole, beautiful emerald color, with thin hairs. At the margin, the leaf is round toothed, the leaves are opposite. Flowers are complex, whorled, typical in shape for all labial flowers, white petals, purple stamens, collected at the tip of the stem with spicate inflorescences. Fruit is an ordinary seed.

More about the plant

Distribution Salvia Divinorum is not too big in the wild - its homeland is Central America, most of all in Mexico (Oaxaca). It is a pretty water-loving plant, grows well in the shade on regularly moistened and drained soil. It is found for the first time in the Sierra Madre region, where it is still used by the Masatec tribes in shamanistic rites.

With a small dosage, the leaves of this plant are treated for anemia, diarrhea, rheumatism and bloating, and are also taken as a diuretic. That is, not only a beautiful, but useful plant Salvia Divinorum, the harm from it is much more, because it is addictive, and the overdose can be fatal.

Danger

Even the leaves of ordinary salvia can cause very negative moments when taking large amounts (more often through smoking): this is not only a bad experience, but also a threat to the health of the lungs. Some lovers of traveling to other realities do not consider a plant a drug called Salvia Divinorum, a ban on cultivation is considered a measure inadequate.

However, even they admit that traveling to other realities with the help of sage predictors can end very badly - a person loses control over himself, can injure himself, fall, get injured of any severity. Usually the main thrush of a drug addict is obtained precisely from the end of the action of the extract of Salvia Divinorum, since during the action his behavior shows the highest degree of uncomfortability.

History

For the first time Salvia Divinorum, whose cultivation has not yet spread throughout the world, was discovered and described in 1939. And this was done by the scientist Jean Basset Johnson, who studied the Shamanism of the Indians. The scientific discovery occurred even later - in 1962, as a result of the expedition of chemist Albert Hofmann and ethnobiologist Gordon Watson, who went to Mexico specifically to study this plant.

The mechanism of the same impact on the human body was not established until the end of the 1990s, when a group of ethnobotanists, led by Daniel Siebert, engaged in scientific experiments. As historically Salvia Divinorum was cultivated, the law on the prohibition of which appeared only in some countries, including the Russian Federation, is practically unknown, and it is not possible to study this subject.

Using

Because of the small area of this kind of sage, only one group of Indians used it, and they can not tell how the cultivation was.

There is a lot of information about how the leaves of Salvia Divinorum were used by Indian shamans: they chewed them, gradually entering trance, after which they acquired the gift of clairvoyance and predicted the future. The most experienced people made salvia a drink, after which they could accurately guess the events that were already happening and coming, with 100% accuracy, determine the cause of the illness of the people turning to them and even predict their fate.

Chemistry

The main psychoactive substances that are contained in the leaves of the plant are salvinoril A and salvinoril B. They belong to the complex organic compounds of diterpenes. Salvia Divinorum also has other fractions of these compounds - C, D, E, and so on - only six, only their concentration is rather small, and the action on the human body is practically not studied. Fresh leaves contain 0.022 percent salvinoril, and dry leaves - 0.18. The surprise for scientists was that the action is due to the activation of kappa-opioid receptors, so the psychedelic effect is so great.

Salvinoril A, as it turned out, is the most powerful hallucinogens of plant origin known to date. The strength of his action is ten times that of psilobicin, and in psychedelic activity, he is close to a semi-synthetic hallucinogen, all known as LSD. Perhaps, this information is slightly exaggerated by the advertising campaign conducted by distributing agents, who do everything to seduce the young people of our country from the path of a healthy lifestyle.

Ban

Since 2009, has been listed in list 1 of the List of Narcotic Drugs and Salvia Divinorum. The law of the Russian Federation has included it to psychotropic substances and their precursors, which are subject to control, and their turnover is completely forbidden. By a decree of the Russian sanitary doctor in April 2009, smoking mixtures and flavorings were prohibited, in which sage is used as a component of predictors, due to the content of poisonous substances in its composition.

Also, this plant and its component salvinoril A were included in the list of controlled substances in many other states - Belgium, Australia, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Japan and some US states. These states banned the turnover of both salvinoril and the plant itself, called Salvia Divinorum.

Cultivation

This flowering plant is almost impossible to propagate by seeds, most often the plant breeder expects failure. But cuttings take root perfectly. Even if a twig of five to ten centimeters, spontaneously breaking off, falls on the moist and soft earth, it takes root. In cultural conditions, cuttings are rooted either in water or in favorable substrates, river sand for example. To do this, take a small pot or even a plastic cup, pour half the soil into which the freshly cut Salvia Divinorum settles for two to three centimeters, the stalk of which is covered with a glass container or a plastic bag.

The plant is better to hold in the shade, until it takes root, then in a couple of weeks you can start a small feeding. Roots grow very quickly, occupying the whole space of the container, so it is undesirable to pull with a transplant. It is better to transplant the transplant in a container of a much larger size. The adult Salvia Divinorum, whose seeds some amateur crop growers still manage to germinate, require a very large pot, as well as regular feeding. However, it is important not to overdo it. To an overdose Salvia Divinorum is very sensitive.

Exclusive

A unique flower is grown at the dacha quite often, although the Divinorum is almost not present, just salvia is welcome, which also has many romantic names, for example, prolonging life. Homeland inhabitant of Russian dachas consider the south of Europe, where he is also a sacred grass and has considerable medicinal properties.

The healing characteristics of sage Hippocrates called saving, and the ancient Egyptians with its help rejuvenated the body and used its influence on childbearing. When the bloody wars were over, in each kitchen sage was made and added to all dishes - the ability to conceive increased, the population recovered and increased. In addition, some magic properties were also attributed to sage, especially in ancient Egypt. And now sage treats both children and adults for any cold, cough, toothache, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.

Species diversity

Salvia Divinorum is a kind of sage, perennial, in a harsh climate it loses this quality and lives on for two years, because it does not tolerate frost. As in the list of banned plants due to a strong hallucinogenic effect, it can not be grown in a dacha, as it is prohibited by law.

Salvia sparkling (shiny) - in beauty is not so simple, you can compare it with the inflorescences of a plant such as Salvia Divinorum, a photo of flowers. Seedlings are grown from seeds to decorate any flowerbed: not very high, up to fifty centimeters, bushes with white, pink, purple tufts. And this is not a perennial plant in our latitudes, usually one-year, sometimes two-year.

Seeds of salvia glittering are germinating in the same way as cosmeas or chamomiles. The sowing is covered with glass in order to create a microclimate and to keep the soil moist. Water better from the atomizer, so as not to wash the seeds by accident. After two or four weeks there are shoots. The shoots are extremely small and tender. Too thick shoots need to be thinned out, but carefully, with tweezers, because adjacent plants are easily damaged. The first time, the salvia grows very, very slowly. If the sprouts are strongly stretched and thinned, moist soil is poured under them, as if gently hilling. After the appearance of real leaves of care, salvia will require considerably less. But only when the spring frosts are completely over, you can plant the seedlings in the open ground.

Among other species of sage are salvia desert, Dagestan, Syrian, Transylvanian, glandular, prickly, meadow, etc.

Care

The plant is a capricious one, so growing it in a dacha is not a simple occupation. Attention and care are needed all the time. And the lack of through-winds. Salvia loves the sun, but also grows in the shade safely. The soil must be rich and moisture-consuming. Acid primer is preferred. Weeding and loosening of the soil is mandatory. Blooms this decorative shrub from June to the most frost - the joy of any gardener. To water this plant is therefore better under the root and as necessary.

It loves moisture, but there should not be any stagnation. Add to the ground, in addition to peat, also sand, so that water does not stagnate. Top-dressing is carried out repeatedly and complex, and mineral fertilizers. First, fertilize the seedlings, then in the budding period. Growth stimulants (for seedlings) showed themselves well. Needed and protection from pests - ticks, aphids and thrips. Sickness is extremely rare.