Archive for August, 2008

So here we are: onto the second part in my exciting account about my most memorable Salvia trip ever. If you haven’t already then please do go and look through the first part in this instalment as it sets the scene quite nicely (in my opinion, but then I did write it so I could well be biased…).

I sat down on my own and started smoking the Salvia using a special pipe that I have just for this purpose. A few puffs later and the Sally D kicked in — she was on time as usual!

The first minute or so I just felt a very strange hazy feeling almost like I was in a dream. Things were fuzzy around me and I felt incredibly relaxed. So far so good.

Then the hallucinations started: I heard a buzzing in my ear that started very quietly but went through an aggressive crescendo to be really quite loud. This was not a noise that I recognised, but rather just white noise. As my ears suffered this assault I realised that I had grown another head. This head turned at exactly the same time as my ‘real’ head and I realised with disappointment that I couldn’t move it independently.

Then a fairly appeared. She was dressed in green and floated around the room. The green fairy was only in two dimensions I didn’t move at all. I tried to catch her from the floor but didn’t manage it. Fortunately I didn’t have any use of my legs so I couldn’t stand up and start trashing the place.

Things started to get a bit weird after that (I wasn’t surprised: Salvia does induce some pretty psychedelic effects) and I was floating around the room, my body (and both heads) extended beyond any rationality. Eventually this calmed and I returned to the floor, accompanied by my friend the fairy.

I came out of the trip a few minutes later, feeling like several hours had passed.

Like most of my Salvia trips this was quite a disturbing experience. It wasn’t ‘nice’ or ‘fun’ in any way but it is most definitely interesting. And I will remember that fairy!

I just had to come on here and tell you about something that happened to me earlier today: my most memorable Salvia trip by quite some distance. If you’ve never tried Salvia before then hang around and read what I’ve got to say: it might just pique your interest enough to finally get you to try some Sally D. If I make just one person interested in Salvia by writing up this ‘report’ then my work here is done; hopefully there will be far more than just one person interested, though!

Let me set the scene: I was on my own in this big old house. I was a little bored. My mind flitted from one thing to another until it finally remembered that bit of Salvia Divinorum that I had tucked away upstairs for a ‘rainy day’ such as this. What a great idea! I got it out, along with a pipe to smoke it, and lit up.

I want to pause here to let you know that I do not condone smoking Salvia — or doing any other drug for that matter — on your own. You should really always have a spotter. I’m not proud of going it alone, but hey. It worked out alright in the end!

Just as a further aside I would like to point out a few hard facts. Firstly, Salvia is a legal drug in the state that I reside and in the state that I purchase it from. I always make sure that I am never ever carrying Salvia when I travel out of State, especially if I’m not 100% sure of the laws of that state. I would never ever carry anything even remotely contentious onto a plane — it’s just not worth it.

Secondly I am not condoning the use of hard drugs, soft drugs or any type of drug. My use of Salvia does not bother anyone and I do not force anyone to take part. What I am doing is entirely within the limits of the law.

There… that’s my stall set out!

So you want to read about my most memorable Salvia trip? You’d better watch out for instalment 2!

See you later!

To the uninitiated Ares filesharing can be a minefield of techno babble, acronyms and, let’s face it, geek talk. It really doesn’t have to be like that. At its very basic Ares is as easy to use as a word processing application. You just search for a torrent that you want, load it into the Ares filesharing application, and click play. What could be simpler?!

It is the torrents that the life blood of Ares filesharing. These tell the software where on the Ares network to look for the parts of files that you need. Once your software has located one source it can start to download. As time goes on you may find more sources and, from there, you can begin to download from several sources at once.

The torrent itself is a simple text file with information the files that it relates to: names, how many parts it includes, where to find the original upload (the ’seed’), that sort of thing. If you want to go with geek talk then this is “Metadata”.

Once you have the file (in whole or any part of it) then you will be able to provide others with it. While you’re downloading episode the second part of 2 season 1 of friends, for example, someone else can be getting the first part (which you already have) from you!

I am Jamie, a musician from North Carolina. I am into all sorts of music but I play the piano and drums. Recently I’ve been trying out my hand at making electronic music; what I really love about electronic music is that you are not constrained by the limits of any one instrument, any one acoustic or any one musician. Everything you make is down to you. In many ways this is the most pure of all types of composition.

I’m always looking for inspiration. A strange looking dog here, a sound of rain there, the way a small child dances here. All of these little things can bring something new to my compositions. What gives my music a psychedelic edge, though, is a psychedelic experience. Every now and then I smoke Salvia, feel the trip hit me, wait for it to subside, then write my music. Salvia does give me — and my music — an edge that would not be possible with dancing dogs and strange looking children.

Saliva Divinorum makes me feel strange. Just how strange is difficult to express in words (I would advise trying it for yourself and seeing that way what all the fuss is about) but suffice to say it makes me feel ‘out there’. I don’t get wild hallucinations apart from a sensation of floating and falling upwards. I feel hazy and completely uneasy. This is not a very relaxing trip, nor is it particularly ‘fun’ in my experience (though I am aware that other people get other feelings from Salvia) but it is definitely interesting and quite inspirational from a musician’s point of view.

Salvia is one of the last remaining legal drugs that we know of, and this legality is being challenged in the courts as we speak. I for one am going to take advantage of the legality while I still can.

As I reported a couple of posts ago I am on a mini-mission to try and collect the thoughts of my fellow Salvia smokers. A few of us gather at my house on a semi-regular basis to partake in a little bit if Salvia inhalation. Recently I decided to conduct interviews of the people in my group, asking them about Salvia, Smoking, Drugs, and the increasingly poor political situation in Zimbabwe. Well, perhaps not that last bit.

This week I’ve got Todd, a car mechanic, in my radar. Let’s see what he’s got to say for himself…

Q: When did you first start taking Salvia?

A: Not until quite recently actually. I kept reading about it in the newspapers and saw it on the TV. I was like, what’s that man. I decided to try it, then I got invited here. Awesome party man, thanks.

Q: No problem at all, Todd! Glad you enjoy it! How does Salvia make you feel?

A: Unlike a lot of people here I don’t get hallucinations. I just tend to feel really relaxed and time passes like really slowly? It feels like I’m in this nice relaxed state for hours on end. Fortunately for me it’s actually only a few minutes and I can get back and do another few before you throw me out man!

Q: That’s why you’re always so calm about your ejection. Now I know!

A: Totally man. I used to be quite hyper but this Salvia really helps. It’s much better than weed, it’s legal, and I enjoy it more. Like, no contest! What’s so great is that a bunch of really different people like us can get together and enjoy Salvia. And it’s legal — did I mention that? Anyways, your parties always bring out the best in people.

Q: Thanks Todd, I appreciate your coming to these gatherings and I appreciate your time. I’ll let you get on.

A: Aight. Any time, dude.

The second in a (very) short series giving the very basic facts about everyone’s favourite psycho-drug, Salvia Divinorum.

Chemistry
The active psychoactive ingredients in Salvia (that’s the bit that makes it so wonderfully trippy) are Salvinorin A and Salvinorin B. Both strains of Salvinorin are naturally occurring chemicals which are not at all structurally similar to any other known common psycho actives. It is partly for this reason that scientists know so little about the plant and its effects on your head.

Effects – the onset
Salvia is a very quick acting drug, especially when it is smoked. Chewing or drinking Salvia effects the user much more slowly. Typically, Salvia smokers will start to feel the effects of the hit within a minute; after 2 minutes the peak of the trip will be in full swing.

Effects – duration
Salvia hits you and is gone very quickly indeed. The main hit will last between 5 and 15 minutes. After the user has experienced the major part of the hit, he will ‘come down’ for between 20 and 40 minutes. The effects of this come down period are largelyunnoticeable , and typically users will re use Salvia within a few minutes of the first hit wearing off. By all accounts this is a very quick acting drug indeed.

Effects – the experience
Salvia produces many wildly differing effects on its users. Some people report very mild feelings of calm, haziness or even unease. Others report outer body experiences and severe hallucinogenic trips. Other effects may be huge time distortion, making their trips feel like they last for hours or just a matter of seconds. Others report a outer body experience and still others have claimed to have undergone a regression to their childhood days.Salvia’s effects depend very much on the mood of the user, of the amount of the drug taken, and on the user’s susceptibility to drug usage.

Will there be another article in this series? Who knows?! Keep a watch out for more fun facts.

Salvia, as you may know, is a legal hallucinogenic drug that has been making something of a storm lately: the media love it because it gives them something to write about; the politicians love it because it gives them something to ban; people love it because it’s great. This short article will provide some basic facts about this member of the sage family (see? I’ve started with the fun facts already!) and hopefully will give you something to talk about with your friends.

Origin
Salvia hails from Southern Mexico. More specifically it comes from the Sierra Mazatec region of the country. Salvia has only just been recently documented in any serious way but it is thought that the use of the drug was fairly well constrained to these areas.

History
Salvia has traditionally been popular with the Shamans of tribes in the Sierra Mazatec region; the Shamans use it to try and induce some kind of spiritual journey. Whether you equate hallucinogenic experiences with your spiritual side is a matter of taste, I suppose. More recently people in the US — and across the world — have simply used it to get really high. The first record of Salvia Divinorum as apsychedelic drug in Western literature was in 1939 by scientist and explorer Jean Basset Johnston. Johnston was studying the psilocybin mushroom which was (and is) used in Mexico, specifically among the Mazatecs. While studying the mushroom he noticed Salvia been used by the Mazatecs (though it was not always obvious since their methods of taking the drug — drinking it and chewing the leaves — are usually fairly innocuous).

Aliases
Salvia Divinorum (to give it its full name) is also known as Sally D, Ska Pastora, Shepherdess’s Herb, ska Maria Pastora, yerba de Maria, Diviner’s Sage, Diviner’s Mint, and some other more silly titles.

More fun Salvia facts in the next article…

Part of the recent media and legal furore about Salvia has been caused by politicians and lawmakers finding videos of Salvia users on YouTube. These videos show users — some real, some faked — in various states of disrepair after taken what appears to be (and indeed what is alleged to be) Salvia. Unlike many other hallucinogenic drugs Salvia is legal so the videos tend to remain on YouTube.

The users reactions to the drug are perhaps what alarmed politicians and lawmakers the most: intense giggling, screaming, and invariably a state of complete confusion on behalf of the user all seem to play a part in a lot of the videos. Users often, once the come around, say that they enjoyed the trip but that it was ‘different’ from anything they’d ever felt before. This is a common description of the effects of Salvia which has always been termed a ’subjective drug’ because every person willexperience a different trip.

These videos — obviously discovered by the politicians by accident when trawling the interwebs for new policies — have been a huge catalyst for the high horses that those in power so often love to ride. Whether making policy based on dubious YouTube videos is the right way to run a country is open to debate (but I know on which side I’ll be standing!).

One video shows a young girl sat on some grass with her friends. She appears to be stroking her chin repeatedly. It is not clear what she thinks is there. Another video shows a man in glasses giggling inanely for a few minutes explaining how this is ‘Serious, man’. His (apparently sober) friend giggles almost as much.

Whatever you think about the Salvia videos on YouTube, you must see that basing US policy on a bunch of videos like this is just a really stupid way to make decisions. In fact it’s downright scary. If thepoliticians were actually able to back their attempted banning of Salvia up with some concrete evidence as to why this is a good idea then at least we would have something to argue about. As it is, it’s all posturing and annoying rhetoric. Sort it out!

A man from North Dakota has been charged with possession of Salvia Divinorum, the naturally occurring plant with hallucinogenic properties. Police found 8 ounces of Salvia leaves in the apartment of Kenneth Rau back in April.

Rau told officers that he had got the drug to see if it would help him to recall some of his childhood memories. Regression and reliving certain aspects of one’s earlier life is an alleged effect of the Salvia hallucinogenic ‘high’ experienced when taking the drug. Rau told reporters that he does not feel any guilt and that he did not do anything wrong. Police disagree, however, and he faces being charged with a Class A felony which could see him paying $10,000 in fines and spending up to 20 years in prison. Ouch.

North Dakota is one of a handful of states that has successfully managed to ban Salvia completely. Everything from possession up todistribution has been outlawed. Rau is believed to have been the first arrest made under the new laws. Salvia remains legal in the majority of other states and, in fact, across the world.

Rau’s purchase of the Salvia leaves occurred on eBay — one of a huge array of sites that offer Salvia for sale legally through the postal system. Some high street shops still sell the leaves and it is even reported to be on sale in some gas stations.

The effects of the Salvia on Rau appear to have satisfy his urges to recall long forgotten memories; it also had an anti-depressant effect on him, he said. Rau’s arrest has brought him tremendous support from the on line community and many sites are urging fans to write to the North Dakota authorities to try and get him off the charge. In turn, Rau has spoken out in support of Salvia and its positive effects. It should, he opines, be controlled but not banned; further, its effects on old people should be researched and carefully considered.

Rau is likely to be used as the poster-child for the evils of Salvia by the police. Whether or not this is fair is a matter for much discussion.

I recently collected together a group of my friends for a Salvia party. We’ve done this a few times in the past and we’re really getting to know each other really well. It’s a great crowd, we go through a fair amount of Salvia, and I reckon that we’re all better people afterwards (spiritually at least!).

Anyway, I took this opportunity to get some ideas from these party goers about what Salvia meant to them. What they thought of Salvia; what effects it had on them; what they thought of the recent (and impending) changes in legislation relating to the drug, its use and its distribution and sale. I thought some of the answers might be interested so I collected them together. Hopefully this will form the first in a fairly irregular series of ‘mini-interviews’ with the Salvia users that form my group of friends and associates.

First up to answer my barrage of questions is Andy, an accountant.
   
Q When did you first start taking Salvia?
A When you introduced it to me about 4 years ago! You are a bad man!
   
Q How do you feel when you partake of the demon leaf?
A Demon leaf?!? Are you working for the legislative body now?
   
Smoking Salvia is a really strange experience and it’s completely different every time and, I imagine, for every different person. This is part of what gives it so much character and allure. It’s also what makes it not the ‘right thing’ for some people. Fair enough. The first time I took it I was quite nervous and the trip I experienced was really weird. There weren’t really anyhallucinations (although I do get vivid visual hallucinations now) and I just felt like I was confused and irritated. Time was really, really dilated for me — in reality the trip lasted around five minutes.

I find that my mood effects the trip in quite a big way. If I’m happy and excited (as I almost always am at these little parties at yours) …

Q You giggle uncontrollably?
A .. yeah. You noticed then?

Q Erm, yes. I might have seen that before.
A Yeah, Salvia brings out the best in me. Even your jokes are funny!

Q Thanks for your time Andy. Go and do some giggling.
A Peace.

Come back for more interviews next week.