Freedom of Drugs “We have found grassy solitude right here on the riverfront – our own meadow,

     While American Indians are well known for their use of psychedelic agents other cultures have also been known to use psychedelics, especially psilocybin. So-called “magic'; mushrooms also grow naturally in many parts of Europe and Asia. Norse tribesmen, for example, were believed to use Amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushrooms to bring on feelings of rage before going into battle. The same mushroom may have also been the inspiration to the founders of Hinduism. Preparations of datura, the agent found in jimson weed, are used in magic and witchcraft in many areas of the world, (Aaronson, 1970). More recently many artist, writers, and musicians have been known to use mescaline and psilocybin and other naturally occurring hallucinogens such as those found in morning glory seeds, and nutmeg, as well as synthesized hallucinogens like LSD. Because of their mind-expanding qualities, the high insight into reality that they seem to produce, as well as highly complex sensory experiences, some report receiving inspiration from such drugs.

Just as the Greeks, the Romans and any other great civilization, Native Americans had their own gods with certain values. These values are a sharp contrast to the current european expansionist mindset and give great insight into understanding Native American’s actions and behavior. These documents are about Native American culture and are written around the arrival of European settlers. These documents show the conflicts that many Native Americans had were due to many miscommunications and conflicts in values. The two Native American values that the Europeans most tread on were their very philosophy and honor, which leads to some of the most brutal acts of war and massacres.

The world’s history had a turning point in the fifteenth century. The oceans were no longer an obstacle as previously seen to reach beyond. The Europeans felt inferior to the power and wealth of the Islamic world and saw the possibility to claim power and richness by conquering the oceans. During the 15th century and the 16th century Europeans established colonies in the Americas, the so called “New World”. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, most did not even consider that the peoples they encountered had cultural and religious traditions that were different from their own; most believed indigenous communities had no culture or religion at all.

Religion and spirituality have been complex issues in the United States of America. This is especially true when it comes to Native Americans. Since the 16th century, contact between Native Americans and Europeans has been filled with both good and bad. In this paper, the issue of religion and spirituality and how they figure into the story of Indian-European contact between the 16th and 21st centuries will be discussed.

We are generally focusing this research on the time before 1500 CE, but the same concept of comparing different cultures to each other to gain a more inclusive perspective of the human experience remains applicable in any time period, from the birth of humanity to the present day. Historical and cultural comparisons can be used to gain a better, more complete understanding of the modern world. By looking outside of one’s own individual experiences, one can find a more comprehensive understanding of the world. Right now, here in the United States, there is a huge political divide that is, ultimately, a controversy over whether or not we should accept other cultures and beliefs. This has led to a growing tension among the people of this country that is just waiting to break free of its confines—this was extremely apparent in the recent presidential election. I freely admit to bias—I am firmly entrenched on one side of this great political divide—but if everyone one could just come to understand other people, people who are noticeably different then themselves, a little better, to embrace differences rather than fear them, we could work to narrow this gaping schism. Maybe then, life might be a little bit brighter for us

Indeed, people consider their traditional beliefs when introduced to Western culture because it allows them to draw valuable lessons from cultural import and enforce their own principles and notions. However, there are instances in which this “cultural imperialism” separates individuals from their traditional beliefs, regardless of their cultural surroundings and efforts to prevent cultural assimilation, because in many situations

Not soon after the first Europeans set foot on American soil at the end of the fifteenth century, they began take note with varying degrees of fascination and revulsion of a strange indigenous custom psychedelic plant ritual. They were later to recognize this occurrence as an indispensable aspect of aboriginal religion and ritual in many parts of the New World. Intoxication by certain plants were ascribed supernatural powers by indigenous people.

In sum, this chapter from Native American Religion (1999) helps explain some of the current relationships between the Native Americans that still survive today and how they often

Native Americas seem to have many recreational drugs and seem to have a great time using them. Every tribe uses different drugs and smokes different plants. The main few are Tobacco, Peyote, Coca Leaf, and Salvia. In the article 7 Crazy Native American Drugs , "This drug was apparently so powerful that many tribes saw it as a portal into the world of the Gods.While traditionally used in ceremonies, peyote saw a spike in popularity during the Native American Church movement in the 1800’s." On the other hand the Coca Leaf was not a powerful recreational dug and was used with tea and other drinks on the daily. When we look at modern times we see the use of Marijuana and it has become approved by the US government for recreational use.

“The landscape, the whole great circle of it, grassheads, scrub, water, sky, quite took his breath away.” (Pg 17)

These natural herbs not only provide healing purposes to the Aztecs but also created a living for them as well. Throughout Mexico, marketplaces are important areas that provide the sale and distribution of not only medicine but other very useful sources (“Medicines”). Aztecs have used markets as a way to sell the different medicines they make and earn a profit and living for their families. Along with medicine, Aztecs also used the plants to sell different potions that were believed to heal the strongest of diseases and instill or break different magic spells that were practiced (“Aztec Medicine”). The use of natural herbs was a way of life for Aztecs. For many, different combinations were the answer to any problem that life could face them with.

Believed the supernatural powers can be manipulated by “medicine men or women” who would cure and advise other tribe members and act as a medium between our world and the spirit world. Shamans were believed to predict the future and use medicine and magic to heal the sick.

Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.

In the old legend, there is the zone that people cannot go into because of the dangerous creature was living in the zone. Many people were trying to kill the monster, but they cannot defeat the creature and they never came back alive. On one day, a man with the mysterious drug went into the zone. People thought that the man was crazy, but all the sudden they heard the creature’s scream and the man came to people. He said he could not kill the monster, but he sealed it into the hidden building with the drug. Also he hid the key for not opening the door and if someone opens the door, the creature would come out and kill all people. Over the years, people heard the rumor that the drug could cure every disease even it can bring people from

Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been around for many years. The earliest recording of people using these mushrooms is from 7000 B.C. rock paintings in the Sahara desert (www.magicmushrooms.net). Psychedelic mushrooms were a revered tradition in native Central American cultures at the time of the European invasion, and have been in continuous use up to the present. Named teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods") in Nahuatl, they may have been employed for healing, divination and for intercession with spirits. Since the beginning of the Latin American colonial era, their use has been hidden due to persecution by the Christian church, which branded all native religious practices as "pagan"(wikipedia.org). According to the BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation), the first documented use of psychedelic mushrooms was in the Medical and Physical Journal: In 1799, a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast in London's Green Park included them(psychedelic mushrooms) in his harvest, accidentally sending his entire family on a trip. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother