The Blue Tide

Today, while having brunch with my friend Tony, I heard about a new psychoactive drug. I've always been fascinated with drug culture, and I'll admit, I've tried a few things but nothing too heavy. This one does, however, intrigue me. Tony said it's supposed to be concentrated sage, but I found that it's something different. It's latin name is Salvia Divinorum. This is meant to be purely a meditative and spiritual drug, not recreational. I went to the information site, Sage Wisdom, where there is plenty of info for those who are interested. Apparently, the drug can be taken in a variety of ways, including smoking the leaves, chewing fresh leaves (the preferred method), and ingesting a liquid made from the leaves.

When Tony was telling me about it, all I could think of was when William Burroughs wrote about being in the Amazon ("The Yage Letters"), and encountering a tribe of natives who took a drug to achieve spiritual enlightenment. The drug is commonly known as Yage, but a more proper name is ayahuasca. The stories surrounding both drugs are similar, involving shamans and healing and divination rituals. In "Deposition: a Testimony Concerning a Sickness," Burroughs likened it to Soma, or the Blue Tide, which is a somewhat mythical psychoactive drug that has been written about in many ancient Vedic texts (Hindu, Krishna).

So, Tony and I were discussing this, because, damn, is it interesting. For most users, the main effects of the drug (the Salvia Divinorum) only last for about 15 minutes, and the onset is quick. According to the website, after the first fifteen minutes, most users still feel some effects of mood relaxation and extra-sensual perception for a few hours. Some feel these after-effects for days. So, what would it be like to have an insanely intense trip that only lasts for fifteen minutes? Most LSD trips last for 12 hours, and many users are able to 'keep it together' while tripping, because the effects aren't too intense. Supposedly, Salvia provides complete detachment from self for these fifteen minutes. Imagine that: complete, and total detachment. Would it be like sleep-walking? Would your unconscious mind make you want to get up and go somewhere, or get in a car, and try driving? Almost everything that Timothy Leary has written about 'experimenting' with LSD involved very strong and high doses (with the intent of spiritual and introspective enlightenment) recommended a 'spirit guide', someone who's there to keep you focused. The underlying fact is that the spirit guide was also there to keep you from hurting yourself. It's like being the one person at the party who isn't tripping and has to talk someone down from a bad trip. Yeah, I've been there (the one who isn't tripping), and it's not easy. Now, if a typical acid trip lasts for twelve hours, imagine all of that packed into fifteen minutes. That means that a Salvia trip could be twenty -four times more intense than any acid trip!

I think it's important to consider that the point of consuming drugs like Salvia is for spiritual enlightenment, and if you are good at focusing your mind and body, you probably don't need it. Seek out a method for meditation and try that first. Drugs like these are not regulated by the FDA, and are not to be considered completely safe, regardless of all the positive reviews available at Sage Wisdom.

*NOTE: for some extra-curricular reading, go here to read "Deposition: Testimony Concerning a Sickness." In later editions of "Naked Lunch," this was tacked on to the end of the book as a prologue. It definitely helps one understand a little more about heroin, and the "algebra of need," as Burroughs called it.


"the face of evil is always the face of total need"