The use of chemical substances to enhance our lives is a notion that brings up taboo ideas of drug use. But utilizing the properties of items that grow around us is a recurring feature of everyday living. Herbal chemicals such as liquid zeolite, ellagic acid, fish oil and omega 3 are often used to improve different aspects of our lives and improve our well being. This use of herbs and natural flora to help us can also be viewed in the indigenous cultures of the Australian and Canadian Aborigines, Native Americans, and additionally African cultures. Nowadays, however, the idea of taking certain chemicals has become taboo due to the effects on the mind they are proven to have. Can there be advantages to using these substances?

Many additives are added to drinks and foods for what are basically drug-like qualities. The use of guarana in energy drinks, for example, is a well known chemical additive used to enhance the alertness and energy levels of the drinker. While such drinks are quite legal, they’re not recommended for young people or pregnant females, and doctors warn against having a large amount of these kinds of drinks, if at all.

Along with the plant-based chemicals in the drinks, they are also of course high in caffeine. This is a substance which has become incredibly commonplace. The fact is, however, that drinking a large quantity of coffee or energy drinks will create a reaction in the body that is very similar to that given by speed or known toxic chemicals. The difference, it seems, lies in the view our society has of such chemicals.

This taboo has not always been the case, though. While hallucinogenics are today seen as some of the most harmful chemicals it is possible to have, the properties of natural substances such as ayuhuasca and psilocybin mushrooms was commonly used in the shamanic rituals of indigenous peoples.

The idea of starting use of hallucinogenic drugs to receive the wisdom held by indigenous individuals is a tempting one. But it needs to be remembered that psychedelics were taken by indigenous peoples as part of a wider relationship with nature, these were “local plants” just as animals were local food and everyday life was a local big screen entertainment system. How can the life-changing capabilities of psychedelics be fully realized within such an unnatural environment as the one we live in, beyond the momentary high?

The answer is that with any substance, it cannot be thought that drugs will be the whole answer. It’s only through a wider understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the Earth that we can begin to look into deeper questions of what it is to be human, and how we can most effectively use our limited time on this planet. The negative reactions of all drugs can be easily viewed in those who regularly injest them, and it’s important to remember the dangers every kind of drug has.

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