Galyuny came suddenly on thin pink legs
How?.. From the bottom of my heart and very active! True, we are talking about completely natural drugs. The moment when people first started using "mind-expanding" substances is lost in the mists of time. These plants, mushrooms and seeds seemed to have always been near us, smoothly moving in us and moving us, in turn … somewhere there … in sky-high temples … It all started back then, and not recently, when Decl locked himself in church and is waiting for the arrival”©!
Recently, the famous ethno-botanist Terence McKenna even suggested that psilocybin-containing mushrooms could trigger the final spurt of evolution in the human brain. This is hardly true, but the hypothesis is interesting!
Archaeologists find evidence of drug use by ancient people around the world. For example, in Peru, mescaline has been found dating back to the ninth millennium BC. And although drugs were not banned in ancient societies, they were not intended for everyday use, but only for religious and social rituals.
Let's take a look at the most ancient drugs from around the world:
Anadenantera: dimethyltryptamine bean
Many have heard of the Ayauyasca drink, which the shamans of the native tribes of the Amazonian jungle have been brewing from vines and leaves from ancient times to the present day. But the long-known psychedelic dimethyltryptamine in both America is found not only in this potent organic cocktail. Anadenantera is a genus of legume trees from South America. Since ancient times, its bark and seeds have been dried and ground into a snuff that causes strong hallucinations. This powder, like ayauyasca drink, is present in cosmogonic myths of many cultures, along with the theme of coastal sex, as well as images of the jaguar, snakes and twins.
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Henbane
It is not for nothing that they say: "What are you, henbane overeat ???.." Since ancient times, the population of Eurasia has been using not only mushrooms as hallucinogens. A poisonous plant called black henbane has been used as a powerful pain reliever and sedative. It grew in any forest, but the one who brewed the drink had to know his business well. Too much dose could be fatal. Many Shakespearean scholars believe that Hamlet's father was poisoned by the bleached one.
Belladonna
Why are witches depicted riding a broomstick? There is an assumption that women-shamans of the Middle Ages (later baptized as witches) rubbed long sticks or brooms with “flying ointment” and rubbed against them with their genitals. Upon contact with the delicate mucous membrane, the ointment was easily absorbed into the bloodstream, giving an internal flight to unprecedented heights. One of the main components of this hallucinogenic ointment was the belladonna plant, also known as belladonna. In large doses, it is poisonous.
Lysergic acid and the Eleusinian mysteries
There is evidence that the ancient Greeks used an LSD-like substance during the Eleusinian Mysteries. During this elite initiation rite, young Greeks bathed, cleansed the body by fasting, recited ritual texts, and then went to the central event, where they tasted a supposedly hallucinogenic drink. Supporters of this theory believe that the active component of the drink was ergot, which contains lysergic acid amides, which are similar to LSD in terms of their effect on the psyche …
Betel nut
People across the Asian continent have chewed on the fruit of the betel tree for centuries, long before it was known in Europe during the Renaissance. A kind of chewing gum is prepared from nuts mixed with leaves, which is put on the cheek and slowly chewed to get a feeling of mild euphoria. This widespread soft drug is also responsible for the high incidence of oral cancer in the Asian region.
Cat
A real "executioner"! Khat is one of the oldest drugs in Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula. This is another stimulant plant whose bitter leaves are usually chewed for a burst of energy and mild euphoria. Most popular in Yemen and Somalia.
In the early 20th century, the British tried to ban the use of khat in their colonies, but decades later, immigrants brought the plant to the United Kingdom, where it is gaining popularity. Its active ingredient is cathinone, also found in so-called bath salts.
Ibogaine
The alkaloid ibogaine, found in the bark of the iboga shrub, is also native to Africa, but from more western parts. It has been used for thousands of years as a powerful spiritualist in many rituals and ceremonies. Not so long ago, "African Ayahuasca" found application in the treatment of heroin addiction. Studies show that ibogaine acts on the brain receptors to relieve physical pain during opioid detoxification.
Peyote
The most famous of the North American hallucinogens. The indigenous tribes of Mexico and the American Southwest had harvested and consumed this small, bud-like cactus for millennia, until the government decided to limit its legality in the 20th century.
Chewing bitter buds causes violent mescaline hallucinations, traditionally used for spiritual and medical purposes. European colonialists tried to restrict the use of peyote in the New World, but they were not very successful.
Hemp
There is hardly a drug that is older or more widespread than cannabis, a plant containing marijuana. Hemp has been found in archaeological artifacts over ten thousand years old. Some researchers believe that hemp has become the key to the development of agriculture, since its fibers are easy to make ropes and fabrics. However, our ancestors used it as an intoxicating substance. The Talmud notes the euphoric effect of taking marijuana internally, and Pliny the Elder's Natural History mentions its analgesic effect.
Opium
"How much is opium for the people?.." People have been using opium extracted from poppy flowers since at least the middle of the fourth millennium BC. At that time, it was grown in southwestern Asia, still the main cultivation region. First, the mention, then the samples, and then a powerful stream headed to Europe from Asia through the Silk Road, the rest is known to us. Today, every hospital in the world has some form of opium. Unfortunately, a lot of opium can be found today …