A uniquely potent and psychedelic plant, salvia is no LSD. Indeed, the trip it elicits is so intense and dizzying that it was deemed an “atypical psychedelic”—one even the most experienced trippers may struggle to enjoy—at the 2014 Horizons psychedelics conference. At the event in downtown Manhattan, a couple hundred students, dreadlocked trippers, and middle-aged advocate types received an earful on how—and why—salvia makes you trip harder, and weirder, than pretty much anything else.

The main effect of salvia is tactile hallucinations. The feeling is kind of like a bug crawling on your skin.

Salvia also leads to a kind of synesthesia [the crossing of senses so that stimulation of one provides a sensation in another] I’ve never seen before in the literature.

– Dr. Peter H. Addy, a research associate at Yale who has studied the substance for five years.

While visual-auditory synesthesia is often reported with LSD use (users claim the ability to “see” music, for instance), salvia causes visual and tactile synesthesia, meaning “you see things and feel them in your body,” as Dr. Addy put it. A subject in one of his studies told the researcher he “could see everything going on in the room, but he could see it through his skin, not through his eyes.”

Part of what sets salvia apart is its peculiar chemistry. While salvinorin A—the psychotropic molecule in Salvia divinorum—binds only to the dopamine-reducing kappa-opioid receptor, most psychedelics increase serotonin by binding to the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, among others.

Salvia is operating on completely different pathways

If morphine (mu-opioid agonist receptor) causes euphoria, Salvia (k-opioid agonist receptor) causes dysphoria.

But the dysphoria from salvia  is not quite a state of uncontrollable sadness but more of a disassociation of the warmth and familiarity with your body and human connections.

The most potent naturally occurring psychedelic, salvia is so intense that everything’s fine and then two seconds later, everything is chaotic and different and I don’t even have feet anymore.

– Dr. Peter H. Addy, Yale Researcher

In the course of his studies, Dr. Addy traveled with Xka Pastora, a nonprofit group documenting traditional uses of salvia, to the Sierra Mazateca mountains in southern Mexico. There, the Mazatec people have a long history of using salvia “as a powerful medicine” in religious ceremonies, and their ritualistic focus on the drug provides a glimpse into how the its effects might be channeled toward therapeutic purposes.

Participants in the ritual gather around an altar and chew on the raw, salvia leaves, or else drink them as a watery liquid before joining in ritualistic singing and chanting, a trip that lasts about three hours.

One thing we can learn from the Mazatecs is that smoking salvia is not the ideal ingestion method. While the Mazatec rituals last hours, smoking salvia produces intense effects for no longer than about 20 minutes.

The natural habitat of salvia is disputed, but “what we do know is that in pretty much every area growing salvia, it was put there on purpose by humans,” according to Dr. Addy. “It’s a cultigen,” meaning that it rarely seeds.

The profound, disorienting effects of salvia create an experience that few people have sought out, despite its continued existence as a federally legal psychedelic. “It’s not a party drug,” nor is it popular, Dr. Addy said. As a result, from a policy perspective, “It’s just kind of stayed under the radar.”

While some states ban sale of the substance to minors and more than 15 ban its sale flat-out, the drug is still sold in head shops and gas stations around the country.

> Why Is Salvia So Uniquely Terrifying? | VICE

Salvia – The Most Potent Natural Psychedelic

“SVDDXNLY” chronicles the ascension of one of raps brightest young stars, A$AP Rocky. From home videos and interviews with friends and family, to the very first seminal moments of his career caught on tape, Rocky takes viewers behind the scenes into his life as he takes A$AP from Harlem, to the world.

A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY Part 2

In part two, VICE takes a look around A$AP’s tour bus studio and Rocky opens up about his late brother.

A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY Part 3

In part three, we learn about the genesis of the A$AP Mob and Rocky shows us around his house.

A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY Part 4

In part four, Rocky hangs out with fashion icon Jeremy Scott, learns a “secret handshake” form Kathy Griffin, and soaks up some game from Snoop Dogg himself.

A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY Part 5

In the final part of “SVDDXNLY” A$AP reflects on his success and looks to the future. We also hang out with Schoolboy Q, Riff Raff, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, and Chanel Iman.

A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY – VICE Documentary (Video)

To celebrate marijuana legalization in Colorado, Munchies columnist David Bienenstock traveled to Aspen, to attend a legal seminar hosted by the NORML —America’s largest group dedicated to legalizing cannabis.

And since the late Hunter S. Thompson was one of NORML’s earliest and most consistent supporters, what better way to embrace the sweet smell of herbal liberation in the Colorado than by throwing a small victory party at Owl Farm—the author and advocate’s home and “fortified compound” in Woody Creek—featuring an appropriately over-the-top pairing of fully legal cannabis and high-end cuisine?

To handle the culinary and scientific feat of preparing a multi-course marijuana-infused meal of the highest order, Munchies partnered Chef Chris Lanter of Cache Cache with cannabis-infusion expert Tamar Wise, former head of science at the world’s largest marijuana edibles company.

In all, the dinner infused four different oils, using four different ganja strains, for use in four different preparations (three savory and one dessert), with a joint of each strain set aside for smoking.

A Gourmet Cannabis Dinner Celebration at Hunter S. Thompson’s Ranch (Video)

Jamaica’s first medicinal marijuana company, Medicanja, launched at the start of 2014 against a backdrop of reinvigorated debate around ganja law reform among leading policymakers.

The renowned Jamaican scientist Dr. Henry Lowe, a leader in THC studies for medical purposes, is running the company with the University of West Indies and the University of Technology jointly funding the facility. In addition to studying the scientific benefits of marijuana, Dr. Lowe says the company will produce CBD-based medical products, which fall under legally accepted medicinal use of the ganja plant. Lowe says the plant extract can be used to treat psychosis and severe pain, as well as mid-life crises in men.

Jamaica Returning to Ganja Roots By Freeing Cannabis (Video)

Medical cannabis is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, but there are still use cases that are very controversial, like medical marijuana for children.

Some claim it’s a wonder drug for epilepsy, severe autism, and even to quell the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, while others decry pumping cannabis into still-growing bodies.

We went to the small town of Pendleton, Oregon, where medical marijuana is legal, to visit Mykayla Comstock, an eight-year-old leukemia patient who takes massive amounts of weed to treat her illness.

Her family, and many people we met along the way, believe not only in the palliative aspects of the drug, but also in cannabis’ curative effect—that cannabis can literally shrink tumors. – Vice Weediquette

Children of Cannabis – Getting Stoned and Fighting Sickness (Video)

VICE correspondent Hamilton Morris is at again. Inbetween floating in sensory deprivation tanks and his fruitful trips through the Amazon to find hallucinogenic frogs, Richard found the time to interview Krystle Cole and her experience in the Underground LSD Palace. 

Former goth stripper Krystle Cole talks about her time spent living in a subterranean missile silo converted into a luxurious LSD manufacturing facility. She spent three years of her life running from the DEA, being held partially against her will and used as a guinea pig for strange new psychedelic chemicals.

Eventually her friends-turned-captors were arrested and Krystle herself barely escaped incarceration. She now makes her living as a writer and host of NeuroSoup, an informative web series on a wide range of psychedelics.

Underground LSD Palace – VICE Documentary

> Todd Skinner’s Underground Palace | VICE

Underground LSD Palace – VICE Documentary (Video)

Kings of Cannabis introduces you to Arjan Roskam. You might not know who he is, but you’ve probably smoked his weed. Arjan’s been breeding some of the most famous marijuana strains in the world—like White Widow, Super Silver Haze, and many others—for over 20 years.

In 1992 he opened his first coffee shop in Amsterdam and has since crafted his marijuana-breeding skills into a market-savvy empire known as Green House Seed Company, which rakes in millions of dollars a year. He’s won 38 Cannabis Cups and has dubbed himself the King of Cannabis.

Kings of Cannabis

VICE joins Arjan and his crew of strain hunters in Colombia to look for three of the country’s rarest types of weed, strains that have remained genetically pure for decades. In grower’s terms, these are called landraces.

As the dominoes of criminalization fall throughout the world, Arjan is positioned to be at the forefront of the legitimate international seed trade.

Kings of Cannabis, Strain Hunters – VICE Documentary

Ever wondered what it’s like to trip on acid while at The Westminster Dog Show? Me either, but the combination is actually oddly entertaining. Brayden does a great job of handling the throng of people while enjoying his very first trip on acid.

Westminster Dog Show… On Acid!

The Westminster Dog Show is a hellscape packed to the gills with Midwesterners and dogs who receive more attention and have better lives than at least 40 percent of the world. The amount of misplaced love and resources funneled into these pooches on a daily basis is enough to make a stone-cold sober person uneasy. But recently I discovered that being thrust into the middle of the whole ordeal, while tripping acid, is a great way to kill an afternoon.

“The difference between a dog and a cat show is that at a cat show the women are really heavy.” – Gentleman in the hat

> Westminster Dog Show | VICE

The Westminster Dog Show… On Acid! – VICE Documentary

Sensory deprivation tanks are a wonderful way to relax and meditate. The best way to eliminate all sensory input is to step inside a sensory deprivation tank.

Floating in a tank allows you to lose all sense of self and merge with the energies of the universe. Take a trip to the center of your inner-verse.

In part 1, we talk to Joe Rogan about what happens to the mind, body, and spirit while inside the tank.

In part 2, VICE Correspondent Hamilton Morris spends five hours inside a tank only to come out with more questions than answers. We head to Isolation Floatation in Colorado to learn more.

In part 3, VICE correspondent Hamilton Morris tests the Rolls Royce of sensory deprivation tanks at Cloud nine Float Center in Boulder, Colorado.

> Tanks for the Memories | VICE

Meditation in a Sensory Deprivation Tank – VICE Documentary (Video)

Tripping expert Hamilton Morris is at it again; taking a journey through the Amazon forest in hopes of discovering the psychedelic potential of the Sapo frog. 

In the Amazon rain forest, there lives a very special frog called the Phyllomedusa bicolor, otherwise known as the Sapo. Traditionally, the Mayoruna tribe uses this frog’s gooey secretions to gain superpowers that transform them into killer hunting machines. First they tie the frog up and scare it into releasing its venom (generally via the sophisticated method of poking it with sticks). Next the natives burn little holes in their arms and rub the venom into the wounds. Then they shit and vomit for half an hour, and then they (ostensibly) experience a sharpening and heightening of the senses and an ability to go for days without food or water. This helps them target their prey (which are monkeys, by the way—they eat monkeys).

Sapo Diaries: Tripping on Hallucinogenic Frogs

In part 2, federal agents, monster bugs, and an inept shaman keep getting in the way.

In part 3, a frog is caught, and a mind is blown.

Click here for a written Trip Report of Hamilton’s Amazonian Journey.

Tripping on Hallucinogenic Frogs – VICE Documentary (Video)