Pubdate: Tue, 22 Nov 2005
Source: Mcgill Tribune (CN QU Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The McGill Tribune
Contact:  http://www.mcgilltribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2672
Author: Lise Treutler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

DRUGS CONVEY THE TRUTH

Drugs live in an unstable universe all their own. No, not prescription
drugs, which we may take to cure disease, alleviate pain or help us
function in some other way; this universe is limited to those
psychoactives classified illegal by those in power-depending on where
you live-and most often considered "taboo" by the bulk of society.
Each individual drug, of course, is precariously viewed in its own
way. Smoking pot, for example, often brings friends together for
nights of laughter and Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, while
admitting to heroin use might result in a kicking-and-screaming drag
to rehab. It doesn't take masochistically repeated viewings of Requiem
for a Dream to understand the difference.

Love them or hate them, use them or shun them, drugs are omnipresent
and have been so for centuries. While now we, as students, might call
up our favourite delivery line for speed as an all-nighter fuel to
break up our pothead habits, drugs such as magic mushrooms-or
"shrooms"-have been known and used since as early as 5,000 BC (as
historians have interpreted cave paintings from that time). Reflect,
for a moment: Psychoactives are as old as history. Why, then, are
references limited to quirky footnotes or cult-hit books? Have drugs
not earned their rightful place in world history?

In the Beginning, There Was Honey

The Aztecs, a people that dominated central Mexico from the 14th to
16th century, are known among the drug-educated for their use of
mushrooms (among other plant psychoactives). The ethnically-diverse
empire was based on a system of tribute, not of ruling, easily seen in
the rich mythology left behind. While infamous for human sacrifices,
as discovered by Spanish explorers Hernan Cortes and Bernal Diaz del
Castillo, among others, the Aztec people were also rich in
culture-during times of peace, warriors traded in their armor to write
poetry. Here, writes Mexican anthropologist Miguel Leon-Portilla, "we
can find the real thought of the Aztecs."

According to 16th-century Spanish priest Bernardino de Sahagun,
hallucinogenic mushrooms were as much a part of Aztec life as were
worship, sacrifice and war: "Eaten were small black mushrooms that
brought on drunkenness, hallucinations and even lechery. When the
drunkenness of the mushrooms had passed, they spoke with one another
of the visions they had seen." No doubt that anyone who has
experimented with mushrooms themselves can verify the truth behind the
"visions"-and recommend the Aztec practice of dipping the dried fungi
in honey before consumption, not to be lavish, but to disguise the
bitter taste.

For the Aztecs, the use of hallucinogens was a spiritual practice.
Outside of proper custom, for example, public drunkenness was
forbidden and punishable by severe beating or death.

In Canada, There Was Opium

Remember the classic scene from The Wizard of Oz where the Wicked
Witch of the West puts Dorothy and her sidekick trio to sleep in a
field of poppies? Well, where do you think opium comes from?

The 19th-century opium smuggling from China to India was called "the
most long continued and systematic international crime of modern
times" by the late Harvard University historian John K. Fairbank.
Until 1914, the United States had no laws against importation or use
of opium, but in Canada, the drug was declared illegal in 1908. Even
in the early 1900s, drug laws were broken regularly: Opium dens
thrived, most commonly in Vancouver and Victoria. Though often
associated with the Chinese and Chinatown-due to the drug's
origin-opium, considered a delicacy, was widespread among the upper
and artistic classes until it became illegal. As famed British writer
and intellectual Thomas de Quincey wrote in his 1812 publication,
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, "O just, subtle, and
all-conquering opium!"

De Quincey was not alone in his enjoyment of the drug; opium's historical
timeline is filled with writers who used and loved the drug, either through
smoking or ingestion. Canadian writer Barbara Hodgson, in her 1999 book
Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon, dubs it "the writer's muse."

Before Their Deaths, There Was Music

More recently, and more evocative for our generation, are the drug
habits and/or drug-related deaths of many beloved musicians: Jim
Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, among others. Whether these
icons died of overdose, heart failure or by their own hands, their
music is often overshadowed by their very public addictions.

Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, allegedly began his musical career
by joining the Venice Beach subculture in the mid-1960s and partaking in
the LSD craze. He lived by a philosophy borrowed from poet William Blake:
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

Kurt Cobain, a controversial musical hero who remains alive in many of
our minds, did not die from his heroin habit, but by his own hand.
Regardless of the specifics of his death, Cobain's career was-and
still is-often overshadowed by his love of heroin, which began as a
self-prescribed remedy for his chronic stomach ailments. Despite
multiple overdoses followed by attempts at rehab, Cobain never
succeeded at the sober life, and the drug's hold on him rapidly took
over his entire life.

Though Nirvana's success can hardly be attributed to its frontman's
heroin addiction, many musicians do cite drugs as an inspiration,
especially those who began their careers in the sixties and seventies.
Present-day bands still allude to the trend: "We're so creative, so
much more / We're high above but on the floor," sings K's Choice
vocalist Sarah Bettens in the band's 1995 single, "Not an Addict."

Whether we view drugs in positive light or not, it's impossible to
deny their contribution to the world's history. Cultures, at times,
have been defined by their drug of choice. Today, so are subcultures:
When you think of raves or after-hours clubs, do you not think of
Ecstasy next?

Experiment with psychoactives or don't-the choice is yours. But when
we look to history, there is no choice; we must give drugs their
place, their chapters in the books and their worth.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake