title: Salvia divinorum: An overview of the usage, misuse, and addiction processes.
abstract: Salvia divinorum, a sage plant with leaves that can produce a psychoactive high, has been used for hundreds of years for its psycho-mimetic effects in religious rituals in South America. Salvia has now become popular mainly with adolescents and young adults for the short-lived relatively pleasant experiences many consider a "legal high" and its ready availability through Internet purchases. The main (psycho)active compound in salvia is Salvinorin A, a potent κ-opioid agonist and although the short and long-term effects have not been examined in sufficient detail, it is widely believed to have low addictive potential and low toxicity. Recent findings, however, seem to suggest that Salvinorin A can precipitate psychiatric symptoms and negatively affect cognition. Its ready availability and increasingly widespread use requires clinicians to have knowledge and awareness of its effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.|Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.|Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Rathi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahendran
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Haikel A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9529-3517
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joyce Y S
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shi Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Munidasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winslow
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology; D027544:Salvia; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane; D006213:Hallucinogens; C090499:salvinorin A
keywords: Salvia divinorum; novel psychoactive substance; salvinorin A