Salvia extract strengths explained, from leaf to 80X

The number on a salvia extract says how many grams of leaf went into one gram of product. A 10X extract carries the active compound, salvinorin A, from about ten units of dried leaf, concentrated onto one unit of leaf. In theory that makes it ten times as strong as plain leaf, which is also how the Dutch public health institute Trimbos describes it (DRUGSinfo).

The X number describes a recipe. It depends on how strong the starting leaf was, and leaf varies. That is why a figure in milligrams per gram tells you more, and why this page uses both.

How much salvinorin A per gram

Avalon Magic Plants states a salvinorin A content for each of its extracts. Its figures work out to 3.6 mg per gram for every X, so the scale is linear:

For scale: in the self-experiments that first described the compound in people, 200 to 500 micrograms of pure salvinorin A, smoked, produced effects equal to the plant itself (Siebert 1994). That is 0.2 to 0.5 mg. One gram of 10X carries, by the shop's figure, 36 mg. The amounts involved are tiny, which is why extracts are measured in pinches and hundredths of a gram, and why a kitchen scale that reads in whole grams is useless for them.

What independent lab tests found

Several research groups have bought salvia products and measured them. Their numbers give a sense of the range on the market in general:

• Dried leaf: 3.2 to 5.0 mg per gram in three Japanese products (Tsujikawa 2008); an average of 1.54 mg per gram in raw leaf tested in the United States (Chambers 2022).
• Enhanced leaf extracts: 4.1 to 38.9 mg per gram (Tsujikawa 2008), 13.0 to 53.2 mg per gram (Chambers 2022) and 8.3 to 56.5 mg per gram in products sold in Mexico (Hernández-Bello 2015).
• In two of those studies some products did not match the strength on the label (Wolowich 2006, Hernández-Bello 2015).

None of these studies tested Avalon products. What they show is that leaf strength differs between batches and that the X number only means something together with the leaf it was made from. Buying every strength from one shop, which states milligrams per gram, keeps the steps between strengths comparable.

Which strength suits whom

Harm reduction services give the same advice for every strength: start low, use a small amount, and have a sober sitter with you (DRUGSinfo). The shop's own guidance points the same way. Its three-strength pack tells buyers to start with the 10X and work up, and its 40X and 80X pages say those are for experienced users only.

Never used salvia. Leaves or the 5X. Leaves are the mildest form. They can be chewed, which works more slowly than smoking. The 5X gives a clearer effect than leaf with less smoke.

NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants Salvia Divinorum Leaves €4.90View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 5X Salvia Divinorum 5X extract €9.50View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 10X Salvia Divinorum 10X extract €14.50View in shop

Used it before, at a low strength. The 10X and 15X are the next steps. Moving up one strength at a time tells you more than jumping to a high number. The 3-pack (10X, 20X and 30X) is built for exactly that.

NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants Salvia 3 Package Deal €49.95View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 15X Salvia Divinorum 15X extract €17.50View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 20X Salvia Divinorum 20X extract €21.50View in shop

Experienced, and sure of the setting. The 20X, 30X, 40X and 80X. Avalon describes the 80X as "the most potent extract in our range" and suggests 0.01 to 0.03 gram per use. For the 40X it gives 0.02 to 0.05 gram. At these strengths a small error in the amount makes a large difference, and losing all contact with the room is common.

NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 30X Salvia Divinorum 30X Extract €19.50View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 40X Salvia Divinorum 40X Extract €22.95View in shop NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants · 80X Salvia Divinorum 80X Extract €27.95View in shop

The Enjoy Salvia Pack combines one gram of 20X with a metal pipe and a torch lighter. Avalon's instructions note that extract has to be heated well above what an ordinary lighter manages.

NLFor use in the Netherlands Avalon Magic Plants Enjoy Salvia Pack €29.95View in shop

Strength and duration are separate things

A stronger extract does not make the effect last much longer. When smoked, salvinorin A peaks within about two minutes and the main effects fade within roughly 20 minutes in laboratory studies (Johnson 2011, MacLean 2013). What a higher strength changes is how far the experience goes in that short window: from mild changes in perception to complete loss of contact with the surroundings. That is the reason the sitter matters more as the number goes up.

Before you order

All of these products are for use in the Netherlands, where salvia is not controlled. In Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and several other countries the plant or its active compound is on a drug or poison list, and ordering it there counts as importing it. Check the country explorer for where you are, and read visiting the Netherlands for what that means in practice.