Salvia divinorum for Opioid Withdrawals 

Salvia divinorum, hereafter referred to simply as “Salvia”, is a powerful dissociative sacred medicine that has long been used specifically in Mexico by Mazatec shamans as a plant ally. This medicine is traditionally used in ceremonies where shaman “journey” to find information about curative medicines or to have divinatory visions. In small “microdoses”, Salvia can be used medicinally to relieve diarrhea, anemia, headaches, rheumatism, and “lamb belly”, and can act as a diuretic. Indeed, some of the most basic traditional uses of Salvia are pain-related; this sacred indigenous medicine can also be used for the treatment of arthritis, inflammation, and gastrointestinal problems of all kinds (GI problems often cause pain). Salvia divinorum even has a historical use as an addiction treatment, making it potentially an ideal choice for people who are determined to break an opioid addiction. 

Below is a more comprehensive list of the health issues that have been treated using Salvia either as a microdose or in a “full trip”, based on anecdotal accounts, human/animal-based research, and traditional practices: 

• Pain-related conditions
  • Rheumatism
  • Arthritis
  • Headaches
  • Neuropathy / Neuropathic pain
  • Menstrual cramps
• Gastrointestinal problems
  • Diarrhea
  • “Lamb belly” (a semi-magical problem in Mazatec society involving abdominal distension)
  • Peritonitis
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) / Irritable bowel disease (IBD)
• Neurological conditions
  • Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic-induced injury
    • NOTE: Do not administer Salvia to children or infants! However, it’s still worth noting that one study found that salvinorin A has specific neuroprotective effects that may help prevent and support healing from this type of neonatal brain injury. Read more here. 
  • Stroke recovery 
• Anemia
• Inflammation
• Addiction
• Insect bites
• Eczema
• Candidiasis / Candida infection
• Pleurisy
• Asthma
• Allergic rhinitis
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
  • Research has found that salvinorin A can specifically inhibit pulmonary mast cell degranulation and subsequent leukotriene and interleukin-13 production, and therefore reduce bronchial hyperreactivity (this, of course, applies to other respiratory tract problems as well)

Notably, Salvia contains salvinorin-A, a terpenoid (not an alkaloid) with powerful, highly selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist activity as well as some milder effects on the cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptors. While the mu-opioid receptors are tradtiionally associated with feelings of euphoria like those experienced while taking opium, for example, kappa-opioid receptors are associated more with feelings of dysphoria and, in the case of Salvia, unusual dissociative, “out-of-body” type experiences. 

Unlike many other sacred medicines, Salvia does NOT interact with the serotonin receptors in the body, so if you gravitate toward medicines like 5-HTP or others that boost serotonin, this particular medicine could be a good option. With the other sacred medicines, it’s generally wise to take a 24-48 hour break from substances like 5-HTP, but this type of break isn’t necessary with Salvia.

Salvia divinorum isn’t a medicine that should be taken lightly. It can cause intense, realistic hallucinations and a feeling of being “out-of-body”. The exact details of what a full trip on Salvia can involve is beyond the scope of this article, so I want to focus mostly on the fact that this medicine can be microdosed if you know what you’re doing and work with it carefully. This is a medicine that requires some learning before you start experimenting, but because of its potent opioid receptor activity, it can be a valuable tool to help recover from an opioid addiction. 

Salvia divinorum Microdosing vs Full Trips

Microdosing with Salvia divinorum isn’t especially common in the Western world, but clearly had and has a role in traditional Mazatec medicine. Based on one online forum report, Salvia microdosing may be accompanied by feelings of heaviness in the head, dizziness, a feeling of things being “unreal”, increased awareness, quieting and slowing down of one’s thoughts, and improved focus and creativity. Some changes in visual awareness are common, also, though these changes aren’t necessarily dramatic.

This same online report indicates that a dose of 250mg of dried leaves (at a “1x” potency, or in other terms, just plain ‘ol leaves) can be prepared as a tea and taken every 2-3 days as a microdose. The leaves should be boiled for about 15 minutes in a very small amount of water, and then the tea should be cooled completely. The brew should be held in the mouth for 15 minutes, ideally while meditating or in a state of quiet contemplation, and preferably in the morning.

A different report indicated that Salvia microdosing may effectively relieve drug-resistant depression symptoms. In this report, a 26-year-old woman with chronic depression since adolescence took 500-750mg of dried Salvia divinorum leaf, 2-3 times per week, a treatment which finally relieved her depression symptoms with lasting effects and few side effects. Again, this woman used a “1x” potency of Salvia, but rather than brewing a tea, she simply chewed the leaves and then (similar to the last report) held the chewed leaves in her mouth for 15-20 minutes to let the medicine take effect. Like the previous report, she took the Salvia about every other day, or every 2 days. She had no side effects or dramatic psychedelic effects from the Salvia, other than minor lightheadedness that persisted for up to 1 hour after ingesting the Salvia leaves.

The same woman noted that the occasional “full trip” with Salvia (which involved chewing 2-4 grams of “1x”, regular leaves) also was beneficial to her. The “full trips” with Salvia helped encourage a kind of “psychospiritual awakening”, improved the woman’s self-confidence and enhanced her sense-of-self, and improved her intuition and sense of connection to nature.

Another person indicated that regular, near-daily use of Salvia divinorum in a full dose effectively relieved his diagnosis of New Daily Persistent Headaches after having tried everything else without success. Read his report, dosing recommendations, and “set and setting” considerations here. 

In all cases, the effects of Salvia generally set in within 10-15 minutes after consuming the plant, and the peak of the experience occurs within about 20-40 minutes after consumption. The entire experience usually lasts about 1 hour, with a period of contemplation following afterwards when a person takes enough of the herb to result in a “full trip”. 

Keep in mind that it’s absolutely essential to hold the Salvia leaves or tincture in your mouth when you take this medicine, since the salvinorin A and other medicinal compounds are absorbed through the mucosa. Studies have found that immediate ingestion, even at high doses, produce no psychoactive effects (which suggests that the compounds in Salvia are highly vulnerable to enzymatic deactivation in the GI tract or rapid first-pass metabolism). Smoking/inhaling Salvia can cause near-immediate effects, and should be used carefully unless you fully plan to do a full Salvia trip, since it’s somewhat more difficult to produce a “microdose” with this method of administration. 

Resources: 

Wikipedia (2025). Salvia divinorum. Retrieved June 14, 2025 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_divinorum#Traditional_methods 

Maqueda, Ana Elda (2018). The Use of Salvia divinorum from a Mazatec Perspective. Retrieved June 14, 2025 from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-76720-8_4 

N.A. (2020). Microdosing the Hell: Salvia divinorum. Retrieved June 14, 2025 from: https://erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=114182 

Hanes, Karl R. (2001). Antidepressant Effects of the Herb Salvia Divinorum: A Case Report. Retrieved June 14, 2025 from: https://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_journal3.shtml 

Brito-da-Costa, Andreia Machado, et. al. (2021). Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Salvinorin A and Salvia divinorum: Clinical and Forensic Aspects. Retrieved June 16, 2025 from: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/2/116