Episode

Plants of the Gods: S7E3. Part Two —The Ethnobotany of Salvia with Dr. Chris McCurdy

Podcast
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast
Published
Jul 2, 2025
Duration seconds
953
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://plantsofthegods.libsyn.com/plants-of-the-gods-s7e3-part-two-the-ethnobotany-of-salvia-with-dr-chris-mccurdy
Audio
https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/plantsofthegods/POTG_S7_-_Salvia_FINAL.mp3?dest-id=2498504
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/plants-of-the-gods-hallucinogens-healing-culture-and-conservation-podcast-3227226/episodes/plants-of-the-gods-s7e3-part-two-the-ethnobotany-of-salvia-with-dr-chris-mccurdy
Markdown
/podcast/plants-of-the-gods-hallucinogens-healing-culture-and-conservation-podcast-3227226/plants-of-the-gods-s7e3-part-two-the-ethnobotany-of-salvia-with-dr-chris-mccurdy.md

Actions

  • POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/plants-of-the-gods-hallucinogens-healing-culture-and-conservation-podcast-3227226/episodes/plants-of-the-gods-s7e3-part-two-the-ethnobotany-of-salvia-with-dr-chris-mccurdy/transcription-requests
    Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
  • GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/plants-of-the-gods-hallucinogens-healing-culture-and-conservation-podcast-3227226/plants-of-the-gods-s7e3-part-two-the-ethnobotany-of-salvia-with-dr-chris-mccurdy.md
    Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

Summary

A mind-blowing mint? Salvia divinorum, a perennial herb in the mint family, has been used by traditional healers in Oaxaca, Mexico, to understand more about what ails a patient. Known for its potent psychoactive effects, Salvia can induce dysphoria and dissociation. But new scientific research is shedding light on the plant's unique effect on the brain, and its potential in treating psychiatric disorders. We continue our conversation with Dr. Chris McCurdy, a medicinal chemist and behavioral pharmacologist at the University of Florida, who is one of the foremost experts on this plant of the gods. Show notes: Babu, Kavita M, et al. "Opioid Receptors and Legal Highs: Salvia Divinorum and Kratom." National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2008, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18259963/.