Salvia divinorum was first found in Oaxaca Mexico and was used by the Mazatec Indians to treat diarrhea, headaches, and a magical disease called panzon de borrego, otherwise known as swollen belly. It was first recorded in print by Jean Basset Johnson in 1939 as he was studying Mazatec shamanism.^[11] He later documented its usage and reported its effects through personal testimonials.^[12] It was not until the 1990s that the psychoactive mechanism was identified by a team led by Daniel Siebert.^[13]

Flowering Salvia divinorum

The history of the plant is not known, but there are three possibilities as to its origin. Since it is found in one small area and only one indigenous group uses it, it is either native to this area, is a cultigen of the Mazatecs, or is a cultigen of another indigenous group.^[7] Wasson theorized that this plant was the mythological pipilzintzintli, the “Noble Prince” of the Aztec codices.^[3] However, this theory is not without dispute. The Aztecs were extremely knowledgeable in plant identification, and their records report that pipilzintzintli has both male and female varieties. Salvia divinorum, however, is monoecious, meaning it produces flowers of both sexes on a single plant. Skeptics of this theory report that the Aztecs would have known the difference between male and female flowers. Wasson gains validity, however, as a number of Aztec historical accounts classify plants as male or female in a metaphorical, rather than botanically anatomical manner.