Mike Jay - High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History & Culture

Mind-altering substances have been integrated into human history and varied cultures long before modern efforts to categorize them as exclusively dangerous or illegal. The historical perspective reveals that many substances now labeled as hard or illicit were once widely accepted, such as late 19th-century opium and cocaine, which were readily available as medical treatments. Drug-seeking behavior is an inherent part of human and animal inheritance, with diverse substances playing significant roles in social rituals, medicine, and spiritual practices across the globe. Artificial dichotomies separating legal from illegal drugs distort our understanding of these substances and their longstanding relationship with society.