Mushrooms In Mexico

In Sherman Alexie’s “A Drug Called Tradition”, three boys ingest hallucinogenic mushrooms in order to induce visions. Through these visions, it is evident that tradition functions as a drug for the Native American people.

Psychedelic mushrooms are rumored to have a long and holy background, which dates back to 9000 B.C in North African indigenous cultures. Rock paintings, statues and manuscripts depict what some historians believe to be magic mushrooms. This idea is highly controversial, as other historians claim that none of the evidence found is definitive, and that people are seeing what they want to see. Westerners began to eat magic mushrooms during the 1950s; throughout the 1960s and 1970s, hallucinogenic drugs became widely popular and psychedelic mushroom use became inextricably tied to the “hippie” movement.

Mexico has many environmental problems which stem from significant pollution from factory discharge and waste dumping. Their main threat is deforestation and other natural habitat losses which can effect biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. An influential religion in Mexico is Roman Catholicism with eighty-eight percent of the population being this specific religion. Their diet is high in legumes, dietary fiber, and cholesterol which can affect their bodies in different ways. Those consuming the traditional Mexican diet pattern also had high BMIs and waist circumference values but did not differ significantly compared to other groups.

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.

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

The topic I have chosen to address is the drug culture in Mexico. I will aim to answer the question: how has the drug culture in Mexico corrupted its youth? The geography of Mexico has contributed greatly to it becoming a drug trafficking hot spot. Mexico is located in the middle of the world’s largest consumer and producer of cocaine. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of cocaine and Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine. Drug cartels have taken advantage of this location and control many different areas in Mexico. In Mexico the most powerful Cartels are based in the north. The reason for this is to establish

Should the US have all of Texas and California or should we not have them? The US went to war with Mexico in 1846. In this war the US wanted to have the Manifest Destiny come true, so the US fought over land which is now called Texas. After the war had been fought over Texas, the US had a little later had attempted to take more land. In which, they were successful and now we call the land they fought for part of California. The US was right for going to war with Mexico for three reasons, Manifest Destiny, there was a vote on it, and Mexico attacked first.

Their history can be dated to four centuries within America, contrasting in different regions. In States like California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada have great amounts

We believe that this is a basket with some açaí berries in it. This basket of grape-looking things, (what seems to be açaí berries), demonstrate the idea of food. This suggests that the ancient Aztec civilizations were able to grow or forage things to eat. We think that these things are açaí berries, because they are purple-ish black, small and round, the way açaí berries are supposed to look. Açaí berries are found in Mexico. We believe that the Aztecs may have had to move across a large area of land to collect and pick these berries, because the berries are in a basket, an easy to handle container. Moving across a big area of land requires a container to hold the berries, and in this case, a basket is what they used. This also shows that

Briefly examining the extraordinary world of Mexican food history can be traced back to 1521 when the Spaniards first reached the shores of the might Yucatan. After nearly three centuries of Spaniard rule, and thanks to Miguel Hidalgo shouting his grito: "Mexicanos! Viva Mexico! Viva la Independencia!" the cuisine we know today was as different as the culture of this country compromised of a free people.

Every culture is unique in its own way. People are raised up differently and given different types of foods. All individuals have that one food that they feel pleases them and makes them want more. My parents grew up in Mexico, so as a child I was fed all types of Mexican food. My personal favorite is barbacoa de res. That is beef shank barbecue, which is slow cooked beef in a red chili sauce of garlic, dried oregano, cumin, and guajillo peppers. My mom would always be in the kitchen cooking, I loved sitting in the kitchen island just watching her work her magic. I can remember some occasions that my mom and I would spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for our family gatherings. Every holiday my family gets together, and she makes barbacoa de res along with other traditional favorites.

People all over the world long for new adventures. One way that people seek to find adventure is by traveling to other countries. One country that all tourists should visit is Mexico because of its food, art, and animals.

Most people do not look at the ingredients on anything they use. While doing research, I realized that corn is in practically everything. When it comes to food products that include corn, I use quite a bit. Popcorn, tortillas de maiz, tortilla chips, tostadas, frozen corn, hominy for posole and menudo, and masa used to make tamales, sopes, and gorditas are a few of them. Corn plays a very important role in Mexican cuisine and I use most of the foods listed many times a month. Though I will say the hominy for posole and menudo is more of a special occasion dish and is used a bit less frequently. For favorites, I would have to say popcorn and masa are at the top of my list. These are the products that people know for sure that corn is a part of.

     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.

Marijuana is grown everywhere across the United States and is one of the most widely used drugs. People in every state grow marijuana for their own use, for use by their friends, and for sale to make a little profit. I know personally of people who do this; it is not uncommon. Also most of the marijuana purchased in the U.S. comes from Mexico, other Latin American countries, and Canada, all of which are not a major concern for terrorist activities, if a concern at all. In the same way marijuana is produced in the United States, hallucinogenic mushrooms are also produced. The major source of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the U.S. is grown right here at home, and most of the other sources are also provided by Mexico, Latin American countries, and Canada. The illicit drug that is seen as the most problematic and widespread drug throughout the U.S. today is crystal