Can You Vaporize Salvia?

Chemical Component

• Salvinorin A is the active chemical ingredient that provides the hallucinogenic effect of Salvia divinorum. While the leaves of the plant may be smoked, the effect of indulging in that manner is limited to approximately 15 minutes. Other methods of ingesting Salvia divinorum are often utilized, including crushing the leaves of the plant to produce an extraction of Salvinorin A.

Vaporization

• This extraction may then be vaporized; a technique that provides a hallucinogenic experience for a longer period of time. "Salvinorin A can also be vaporized and inhaled - Salvinorin A is heated on a piece of tin foil and the vapors are inhaled through a glass pipe," says the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland.

Legality

• Whether smoking, vaporizing or consuming in any manner, as of December 2010, Australia is the only country that has criminalized Salvia divinorum. "Currently, neither Salvia divinorum nor any of its constituents, including salvinorin A, are controlled under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA)," advises the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.