Salvia is a consciousness-changing herb that can be used in a vision quest, or in a healing ritual. Salvia is not a stimulant, it is not a sedative, it is not a narcotic, it is not a tranquilizer. Salvia is good for experiments in reality perception. If salvia is smoked the main effects are experienced quickly. In the United States, salvia is not regulated under the controlled substances act but some states, including Delaware, Louisiana, Missouri and others, have passed their own laws. Even if you have considerable experience with other psychoactive drugs, you will find that salvia is significantly different from what you may have encountered before.

Leaves tend to have a lesser effect than extracts as extracts are concentrated Salvinorum- A. Leaves can also be chewed similar to chewing tobacco with dried leaves being moistened in water before chewing. The rise of the Internet since the 1990s has seen the growth of many businesses selling live salvia plants, dried leaves, extracts, and other preparations. Salvia divinorum has large green leaves, hollow square stems and white flowers with purple calyces. Mazatec shamans crush the leaves to extract leaf juices from about 20 (about 50g) to 80 (about 200g) or more fresh leaves.

Plants are available from a growing number of specialty nurseries. The history of the plant is not well known, but there are three possibilities as to its origin. Gordon Wasson tentatively postulated the plant could be the mythological pipiltzintzintli, the noble prince of the Aztec codices. There are other candidate plants, notably Cacahuaxochitl (Quararibea funebris), again suggesting that there is no overall consensus. The temperature required to release salvinorin from the plant material is quite high (about 240C). For some people, chewing consumes more of the plant than smoking, and produces a longer-lasting experience.

Smoking is probably the most common method for 'Western' users. Like tobacco, smoking Salvia divinorum may involve health risks associated with the inhalation of various products of combustion, such tar, carbon monoxide, etc. When smoking it is a good idea to have asitter present although many smokers do not take this advice. An ordinary lighter or match is quite hot enough to vaporize salvinorin A and should be quite adequate for smoking salvinorin A fortified leaf product. Occasionally some people experience mild headaches after smoking Salvia. Some people report that the quid method produces a deeper, more visionary experience than smoking.