It’s funny how things happen sometimes. Sunday afternoon I get a phone call from hotpress photographer Peter Mathews, recently returned from a trip Stateside and dying to tell me all about this new psychoactive wonder drug that’s currently doing the hipper rounds of New York’s artistic and academic communities.

“It’s an extremely rare herb called Salvia Divinorum,” he tells me, “and it causes intense hallucinogenic visions. Apparently, the shamans and witchdoctors of some Mexican mountain tribes have been using it for centuries, but it’s only becoming popular elsewhere now. All of the Village heads are using it – lots of artists and intellectuals. Apparently it’s stronger than LSD. And get this – it’s still legal!”

“Wow – sounds interesting!” I enthused. “When can we meet up, so I can get some from you?”

“Erm… well I didn’t actually bring any back,” he admitted. “In fact, I haven’t tried it myself.”

Fat load of good that was to me! Still, as it happened, I didn’t have long to wait. Two days later, on a Galway street, I bumped into Conor Montague, the former editor of recently defunct dance mag Clubbingdotcom, and happened to mention it to him.

“Ah yes, Salvia,” he smiled, knowingly. “It’s pretty out there. One of the weirdest drugs I’ve ever tried, nothing like anything else.”

He showed me a back issue of the magazine, which featured an account of his Salvia experience. A brief excerpt should give you the flavour: “…the last image of reality I see is the shaky outline of the pipe. I don’t feel any fear or dread, but I am gone. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced but then again I am not there. Someone or something else is having this experience. It’s not good or bad – at best, I am close to an epic life-affirming religious moment; at worst, I’m a mere atom in a speck of dirt up some earthworm’s arse. The really weird thing is, I’m both at once.”

Montague, who had bought his stash in a Smart shop in Amsterdam, gave me a sample to try for myself.

A dark, brittle and fairly odourless herb, it looked more like something you’d sprinkle into a bolognaise sauce than a psychoactive, vision-inducing wonder-drug.

Salvia Divinorum is a very rare plant, mostly found in the mountainous Sierra Madre Oriental in the North-eastern corner of the Mexican state of Oaxaca (where the local tribes’ shamans have been using it for centuries). Its active ingredient is a substance called Salvinorin-A, apparently the most potent naturally occurring vision-inducer that nature has to offer. Although it hasn’t been intensively researched, it is believed to be non-addictive and fairly safe (though people with Borderline Personality Disorder are advised to steer clear). It is currently legal everywhere on the planet, with the exception of Australia, although the American DEA are currently “looking into it.”

One website (www.erowid.org) rated the various levels that could be attained during a Salvia trip as follows…

S stands for SUBTLE EFFECTS. A feeling that something is happening, although it’s difficult to say quite what. Relaxation and increased sensual appreciation may be noted. This mild level is useful for meditation and may facilitate sexual pleasure.

A stands for ALTERED PERCEPTION. Colours and textures are enhanced, as is appreciation of music. Space may appear at greater or lesser depth than usual. Visions do not occur at this level. Thinking becomes less logical and more playful at this level and short-term memory loss may occur.

L stands for LIGHT VISIONARY STATE. Closed eye visuals occur, although the images are often two-dimensional. If open-eye visuals occur, these are usually vague and fleeting. At this level, phenomena similar to the hypnologic phenomena that some people experience at sleep-onset occur. At this level, visions are ‘eye-candy’ and are not confused with reality.

V stands for VIVID VISIONARY STATE. Complex three-dimensional, seemingly realistic scenes occur. Sometimes voices may be heard. With eyes open, contact with reality will not be entirely lost, but when you close your eyes you may forget about consensual reality and enter completely into a dreamlike state. Shamanistic journeying to other lands, encounters with beings, entities, spirits or even time-travel may occur. You may even live the life of another person. At this level you have entered the shaman’s world.

I stands for IMMATERIAL EXISTENCE. At this level, consciousness remains and some thought-processes are still lucid. However, one becomes completely involved in inner-experience and loses all contact with consensual reality. Individuality may be lost – one experiences merging with universal consciousness or bizarre fusions with other objects, real or imagined. At this level it is impossible to function in consensual reality and a sitter is essential. Although the phenomenon may be terrifying or exceedingly pleasant, the individual may appear confused or disorientated.

A stands for AMNESIC EFFECTS. At this stage either consciousness is lost, or at least one is unable to remember what one is experiencing. This is not a sought after level, as it’s pretty pointless considering nothing can be remembered.

Deciding that location was probably important, I went out to visit a friend living in the countryside in order to smoke it. The sun was shining, the Beatles (of course) were playing in the background and it seemed as good a time as any to find out what it felt like to be “a mere atom in a speck of dirt up some earthworm’s arse.” Sitting on the steps leading from the living room to the garden, I stuffed a pipe full of the herb, lit up and inhaled deeply.

It burnt a lot faster than I’d expected and the smoke was foul-tasting and voluminous. I retched slightly but still managed to hold it down. I smoked three pipes in as many minutes, closed my eyes and waited to enter another world.

So what happened? To be honest, not a whole lot. The effects are supposed to be fairly instantaneous (and last about half an hour) but what I was feeling was both light and gradual. A small insect was buzzing around some flowers and I gradually found myself getting completely engrossed in its activities.

I began noticing background subtleties in the Beatles ‘A Day In The Life’ that I hadn’t heard before. I didn’t feel particularly stoned (at least, not in a marijuana way), but then I didn’t feel particularly normal either. Light-headed, certainly – but by no means out of my head.

The Salvia was definitely having some effect, but I was still very much aware of where I was, who I was and what I was. The effects gradually faded and, after about half an hour, it had definitely worn off. On the S-A-L-V-I-A scale, I had progressed no further than between S-A. Either I didn’t have what it took to be a shaman or else the quality wasn’t great. I suspected the latter.

I rang Montague the next day to complain. “Actually, I think I gave you the 5-X variety,” he admitted. “I bought both kinds in the smart shop and that’s the weaker one. Maybe you’d need to try the 10-X to get a proper hit. If you really want to try it, though, you can order it over the Internet, or else if you’re heading to the Dam anytime soon, you’ll easily get some there.”

Like I said, it’s funny how things happen sometimes: the very next day my telephone rang. An independent TV producer, wondering if I’d be interested in heading over to Amsterdam next month to make a programme about drug culture.

I’ll keep you posted…