Jackass for Stoners
Salvia Divinorum and User Driven Media
While surfing the tube sites for videos of people recording themselves doing drugs (don’t ask, I can’t really remember why the fuck I was doing it myself) I was mildly surprised and intrigued by the fact that videos of people smoking
Salvia Divinorum far outnumbered imbibing videos of any other mild-alterer.
The Mad Laugher
The videos themselves follow an oddly similar narrative. Shot from a usually anonymous point of view, with some young lad on the couch or a chair in a party situation smoking a bowl or bong of Salvia often with the encouragement and prodding of the cameraman and his fellow revelers, and due to the intense and all encompassing nature of the drug itself at certain doses, confusion predictably results, especially in such a shitty set and setting. Looks of amazement, obscure body movements, stumbling around, laughing jags, nonsensical vocalizations, screams of terror. Like driving a shopping cart down a mall escalator, smoking a powerful hallucinogenic in a chaotic setting for the entertainment of those around you isn’t the wisest action, but I’m hardly one to shake a finger. I’ve got myself into many a stupid situation in the past (past?) until I learned that a calm and safe environment can make powerful experiences not only less harrowing, but more rewarding as well.
For those that aren’t familiar with Salvia Divinorum, it is a powerful psychoactive plant of Mexican origin with a long history of shamanic usage. While shamans traditionally ate or drank the leaves in a liquid mixture, it is typically smoked now, most often a powerful extract instead of leaves. While like all drugs, the effects vary with dosage, generally the plant stimulates a variety of short lived visionary and hallucinatory experiences of which you can get a taste of here. It also can cause motor control issues thus stressing again the importance of set and setting and a trusted sitter if you are inclined to dabble. Nothing can kill a trip faster than confusedly banging on your gossipy neighbor’s door while staring into the void.
But what sets Salvia apart from the cornucopia of mind benders currently in use is that it’s legal. While a hysterical media and opportunistic politicians have done their best to reverse this, at the moment anyone can walk into their local head shop and pick some up, that is, until maybe some future Salvia turned on Ivy league professor leads a children’s revolt against the psychological power structure causing a jack-booted backlash against the cognitive dissidents.
“Interesting Feelings.”
So WTF is up with are people doing this? While I am tempted to reply, “Why Not?” and get the fuck out of here on this beautifully hot climate changed day there are a few reasons I can think of off the top of my somewhat vibrating skull.
In an age where large swaths of the population have the ability to be the media, it only makes sense that every action will be online in some form, from the mundanities of having a shave or washing a car, to pranksterish reality smashing. It is also just another variation on the endless forms of crueltainment in the media, this time with pampered frat boy De Sades doing it for whatever atavistic reason. Or maybe just for the simple thrill of making and watching people freak out, enjoying the jarring irruption of the irrational into this blind watchmaker world.
Safeway Salvia
Why Salvia though, when any drug in the proper dose would cause a freakout? I lean towards its legality, the societal consequences of such a public act are less than other acts that are objectively similar, that fact itself a damning revelation of the hypocrisy and travesty of our current drug laws, itself a malevolent concurrence of the bad conscience of the sick ascetics, the need for a sober, productive and obedient working class, and the fear of the humility of relative perceptions. Add the fact that any yahoo can pick some up at the local pipe and seed joint and that dosing someone with Salvia is (maybe) safer and (way) shorter that dosing some lout with 10 hits of acid and following him around for the next 24 hrs as he freaks out the old couple crossing the street.
Anyway, don’t take this 21st century virtual anthropological expedition as an encouragement to do anything stupid. Read, educate yourself, and be safe. Trust me, it’s better in the long run.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I find it interesting that these videos are predominately positive. They exhibit mostly laughter and disorientation. This is contrary to a lot of experiences I’ve seen other people have in person. Much less laughter with a lot more confusion, sometimes terror. And these were under calm and well planned settings. Reality falling apart in various ways seems to be a common theme I hear from people.
This is so funny– I thought I was the only one that surfed YouTube for videos of people doing/taking drugs. First I started with people posting videos of their Absinthe “rituals” (which I found thoroughly boring as all fuck), and then moved onto more shamanic ones such as Iboga and Ayahuasca (some interesting stuff can be found along those lines). However, I hadn’t quite gotten to the Salvia ones– nice one. I don’t feel so alone in my weird searches any more
I’m sure there are lots of “us” out there.
There are several similar characteristics that they experience that everyone I know including myself have also experienced. Feelings of someone else being in the room (which is pretty unexplainable in my opinion) as well people trying to run away. I always thought that was great, like you could get away from your world crashing down around your head. It’s intense…
To first poster. THe videos are people faking it, or that dont know better. None of the videos I watched had anyone using a hot enough torch to get anything but a placebo from Salvia. You can’t get high from Salvia with a bic.
To assclown. Yes you can, Ive done it a lot with 5x and 20x extract.
Wow, Those are pretty wack. I have to agree it seems somewhat uncouth to post a video of a salvia experience, Filled as they are with the physical manifestation of some intense psycological drama,or really the dissolving and disjointing of the everyday drama of self and presense. I found myself enjoying the videos to some degree though just in how they make me remember my first hits of salvia and how utterly unprepared pretty much everybody is for it.
I did it alone outside and was convinced that there were other people all around walking behind me, a less then ideal setting I would say. But that feeling of ‘others’ being present and the simultaneous dissolving of self is a common theme I have noted in salvia and one reflected in these videos, the first person actually saying there were others behind him and the second person searching for them frantically behind the couch.
In the right setting this experience is perhaps one of the best of the ethnogen induced visionary trips. But still the people filming these are for the most part using this as a form of voyeuristic mental sadism, like the last guy said….using them like a cartoon.
..and to assclownoflimitedtalent, apparently you name is apt… Salvia doesn’t require 1250 degrees (C) to get fucking high
To assclown
Some people don’t feel a effect at all for the first time on salvia. I have been totally TRASHED off salvia before just with a mere lighter or bic. Either you only did it once and you have no idea what your talking about or you are simply a idiot.
AS far as freaking out salvia can be a very scary event. Each time it is different but with the same base line feeling. You feel as if you learned something but can’t put it into words. It feels as if it is beyond words.
Alot of them you knotice while they are on it it is real then when they come out they can’t explain it. Also speaking is VERY hard. I can’t talk at all while I’m on it. So I don’t ever try. Its not something I recommend for the light hearted.
I have had guns to my head and knives at my heart and everytime I take it I get a little scared. This is probly why I do it in the first place.
Yeah… i remember taking a hit… and the minute reality started to fall apart i started panicking and i ran across my house before i realized i didnt know what i was running from. I also felt like there was someone in the room watching me, and i started to attempt to talk to that person before i realized that there was no one there.
I remember sitting there for a second before i exhaled. I was listening to a Sublime song i’ve never heard before (i figured Sublime would be a good band to listen to… dont know why). But as reality started failing me i started thinking “this is fucking up… this shit is really fucking up…” and thats what the words of the song started saying.. “this is fucked up… this is fucked up…” which SCARED me… it was enough to convince me that things weren’t going right, and whatever was going wrong the drug wasn’t responsible for it. haha so i ran.
Note: It was my second or third time trying it, and it was the first time it actually “worked”. Haha i was really terrified whatever i was running from.
Berp berp berp
1. @assclown: bullshit – Salvinorin A has a melting point of ~240°C – every lighter can do that
2. I dont understand why people film themselves using Salvia, often with a bad setting and stupid people around making fun of the user.
The picture it gives to people that know less to zero about salvia is quite bad when you see someone freaking out and loosing grip on reality.
Be glad salvia is still legal – no need to make our ristrictive society aware of it. Our dear politicians tend to rather illegalize a new mind-altering drug than accept it. For they cannot understand it, we must not let them know it (or start a full-scale clarification of fact – but that’s difficult).
3. Since the trip and the impressions of the one tripping on Salvia cant be captured by video it’s perfectly useless to film it. As the editor said: people can be the media. And many people just think it would be interesting for other to see what they do.
They don’t think about the effects such a video could have on other people. Some are compelled and demand illegalization of Salvia, others see the video and think: “hehe that’s cool. I wanna try too.” –> ill-/missinformed people try salvia experience a horror-trip and tend against salvia too.
There can’t come any good from publishing such videos
Terrance McKenna felt that the “others” he saw on Ayahuasca (his machine elves) came from an alternate reality just as “real” as ours. It’s interesting that Salvia seems to have a similar effect. What do others think of this idea? Is it just a chemical reaction or is there more? Could ancient shaman have been on to something?
I’m with the first poster. I find it interesting that these videos are predominately positive. Maybe these kids aren’t getting enough for the experience to be anything more than giggly. I really don’t know. Honestly, my one experience was terrifying – but I’ll try it again. However, I’m a responsible adult and use it in a safe setting.
I recorded myself and actually found it very useful to watch the video afterwards. While during my experience, my eyes were wide-opened but I saw nothing in the room. I was completely someplace else. However, I could clearly understand where I was in my experience by recognizing moves I made while watching the video.
Can you go to the grocery store and find coca leaves in order to make tea? No, but you can find cocaine on the street pretty easily. Once a drug is illegalized, people try to cut the weight by isolating and extracting the active compounds and making them easier to smuggle, making the end product more powerful and much more dangerous.
If salvia is illegalized, it’ll become hard as hell to get leaves, and easier to get extracts. This will, as all drug prohibitions do, encourage problematic and irresponsible use while squeezing out responsible and moderate use. Anyway, I do not like or recommend smoking extracts, except in tiny amounts. Fuck. For the record, I have had amazing experiences chewing quids of ~18 leaves. I think the chewing method is overall better, because the trip lasts longer and gives you more time to sort it out. There’s a terrifying 3-4 minutes of any significant (10+ leaves for me, but I’m highly sensitive to it) salvia dose, when it sets on. The difference is that, when I chew leaves, I get to work through that terrifying part learn from it, and enjoy the rest; a couple of the times when I’ve smoked extracts, the terrifying part has been all I’ve had.
The videos are pretty funny if you ask me.
Stop posting videos of people on salvia. The people who do this are going to ruin it for everyone. Nebraska and illinois may ban salvia aswell. I say its only a matter of time. Get it while you can.
Go to http://www.oaxacansalvia.com you get salvia divinorum shipped from puebla, méxico. Email for custom extracts, find a cheaper price and send the link, this site will beat it.
salvia is the shit guys
google Salvia Trip to Hell
COME CHECK IT OUT!!!!
AUG 3rd!
7:30 pm
Cinespace in Hollywood
INSIDESALVIA – exploring the mysterious magic mint
The trouble with salvia is that a lot of people under estiamte it.
Personaly i’m quite a fan, it’s very true that on the stronger extracts (x20+), the halutionations are very real, you won’t be in the same world any way
It’s that strength however that causes such problems, if used in a sensible enviroment, with good sitters around, salvia can be an amazing experience, however 13 year old kids trying to get high off it in the park, is a recipe for disaster.
It is underestimated of course. Parents should however take responsibility for their kids versus trying to blame ANOTHER plant on their kids misbehaving.
Save a kid – ban alcohol, that actually kills teens daily BUT legal everywhere.
hey guys, check out this site I just found about Salvia: http://www.salviasociety.org I heard about it on Fox News last night. The guy who owns it was talking how he’s trying to stop legislation in different states from banning the herb. I hope he succeeds, meanwhile they just banned it in my State (Minnesota)
Yeah, The trouble with salvia is that a lot of people under estiamte it.
These folks who put up salvia videos online are going to ruin it for everyone. though it’s obvious that many of the videos up are of people smoking marijuana and pretending and labeling it as salvia. maybe they just want their smoking videos online and salvia is legal and so they feel safe to label it like that.
I’ve yet to see a really crazy trip. It’s usually just a lot of silly laughter.
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