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Away From the Rail
Salvia divinorum (10x extract)
by A
Citation:   A. "Away From the Rail: An Experience with Salvia divinorum (10x extract) (exp55652)". Erowid.org. Jun 16, 2009. erowid.org/exp/55652

 
DOSE:
1 bowl smoked Salvia divinorum (extract - 10x)
BODY WEIGHT: 160 lb
One recent afternoon, one of my friends and I decided to try some Salvia. We had both had previous salvia experiences, mostly mild, the last of mine being very intense. We were smoking out on our apartment's 3-story porch/balcony. I cleared one medium sized bowl, and within 30 seconds was feeling the effects - which this time were very similar to pot.

We wandered inside, and while I was coming down, Thomas began preparing himself a bowl, which was probably rather large. We went back out onto the porch, and he smoked the bowl. I cleared what little was left. We decided to go inside immediately, before the effects came on too strong. We both got up to go inside. I was carrying the water pipe, lighter, and water and had assumed he was still behind me. I was chuckling to myself and talking to him, but got no response. I turned around to see that he was still out on the porch, leaning over the railing, about to fall off of a 3-story balcony.

I rushed outside and tried to guide him inside, but he resisted. He began to acquiesce, but was still unstable, and while stumbling inside he severely hit his head on the door frame. He almost appeared to bounce off the door, hurling back towards the edge/rail. He seemed enthralled by the sight of the ground, leaning over the rail, so I grabbed him and tore him away from the rail. I began attempting to forcefully guide him inside, but he still resisted. He showed no recognition of who I was, where he was, or why he should be concerned about the edge of the porch. I stopped forcing him, for fear of things becoming violent.

As he continued to nearly climb over the rail, I began pleading with him. 'Thomas, please, please go inside. Please go inside.......please either go inside or sit down.' I finally persuaded him to sit down. I thought that if he sat down he would not want to or would be unable to get back up. Unfortunately, he got back up and immediately headed to the rail. I pleaded again 'Let's go inside. Please....either sit down or go inside,' I said, gently pushing down on his shoulders. He sat down. Again, this was temporary. He stood back up and headed back to the rail, muttering something inarticulate. I pushed myself between him and the rail, blocking his attempts to get past me.

At this point it appeared he was getting more sober, and I managed to convince him to go inside. As soon as we got inside, it seemed he forgot everything that had occured. 'What the fuck is going on here?!', he shouted. 'Where......what's wrong? What the fuck is going on? What did you do to me?!' I calmly explained that he was high and that it would be done in a moment or two. He inquired what he had smoked, unaware of the previous events. I explained how he had smoked salvia and had hit his head on the way inside. He wanted to go see where he hit his head, but I insisted we wait until he was entirely sober. He expressed concern, panic, and paranoia. I assured him it was fine and would be over momentarily, fetching him a towel to clean off the blood trickling down his face.

When sober, he explained that he had no idea what was going on and was having a sort of out of body experience in another reality with insane and inexplicable visuals. He had no conscious control of his body.

This story can serve as a warning. Thomas was a seasoned psychonaut, we had both tried salvia previously, and we were sitting for each other, and so I was not the least bit worried going into the experience - Thomas even made a joke about the balcony beforehand. This story strongly testifies to 2 strong pieces of advice commonly given 1) Be aware of set and setting. A 3rd floor balcony was a foolish place to experiment with hallucinogens, even with secure measures taken. and 2) it is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY to have a completely sober sitter. Luckily we made it out of this one, but Thomas nearly died. Hopefully the sharing of this story can prevent something similar from happening to you.

Exp Year: 2006ExpID: 55652
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 16, 2009Views: 12,136
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Salvia divinorum (44) : General (1), Guides / Sitters (39), Second Hand Report (42), Train Wrecks & Trip Disasters (7), Small Group (2-9) (17)

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