Salvia Divinorum has a long and continuous tradition of religious use by Mazatec shamans, who use it to facilitate visionary states of consciousness during spiritual healing sessions. Most of the plant's local common names allude to the Mazatec belief that the plant is an incarnation of the Virgin Mary, with its ritual use also invoking that relationship. Its active psychoactive constituent is a structurally unique Diterpenoid called Salvinorin A, a potent K-Opioid and D2 receptor agonist. Salvia Divinorum is generally understood to be of low toxicity and low addictive potential as a & kappa-opioid agonist.