Subjective Effects of Salvia Divinorum: LSD- or Marijuana-like?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2009

Abstract

Sa/via divinorum is a naturally occurring psychedelic considered to be one of the most potent hallucinogens found to date. The few behavioral studies conducted conclude that Salvia 's effects may be similar to traditional psychedelics, which is noteworthy because Salvia acts via a unique molecular mechanism as a kappa opioid receptor agonist. One hundred and ninety-three participants, including 34 Salvia users, were asked to till out a series of questionnaires related to general drug use, personality characteristics, demographics and their experiences with Salvia. Salvia users were found to differ from nonusers on personality characteristics and reported consuming significantly more alcohol than nonusers. In addition, although Salvia users rated their hallucinogenic experiences as similar to those seen in previously published reports, the majority likened their experiences as most sintilar to marijuana instead of more traditional psychedelics. Low scores on the ARCI LSD subscale confirmed this finding and call into question the reigning theory of LSD-like subjective effects elicited by Salvia.

Department

Psychology

Publication Title

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

DOI

10.1080/02791072.2009.10400531

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