History of Drug Use in Religion

References to the ritual use of drugs are scattered through the history of religions, and there is no doubt that the practice is ancient, its origins lost in prehistory. Presumed ceremonial use of Cannabis among the Scythians in the 5th to 2nd century BCE is suggested by the sensors for burning hemp seeds found in the frozen tombs at Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains.  The ancient Greeks used wine in Dionysian rites and circumstantial evidence points to the use of a hallucinogenic substance in the most solemn moments of the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece - the drinking of kykeōn, a thick gruel of unknown composition.  Both the secular and the cultic use of the Amanita muscaria mushroom in Siberia probably go back more than 6,000 years, and cultic use has spread beyond the cool temperate climates where the mushroom grows.  Evidence of the cultic use of opium in the eastern Mediterranean islands, in Greece, and among the Sumerians points to dates as early as 3000 BCE, though some of this evidence is disputed.

One of the pharmacological mysteries is the nature of the Zoroastrian haoma and the early Hindu soma, both sacred drinks made from plants.  Their source may have been the Amanita muscaria mushroom, the mind-affecting chemicals of which pass into the urine with their properties little diminished; there are scriptural references to sacred urine being drunk as the source of divine insights.  Allusions to the twigs and branches of haoma, however, suggest other plants, perhaps hemp were utilized.  The mushroom, which does not grow in hot countries, may have been introduced to India by Aryan invaders from the north; subsequently, other plants may have been substituted until their identity was confused and lost.

There is less evidence for the historical use of drugs in Buddhism or Taoism, though it is mentioned occasionally.  In Islam, which prohibits use of alcohol, there has been much more general use of Cannabis.  The fanatical sect known as the Assassins, founded in the 11th century, used hashish; their name is derived from an Arabic word denoting a consumer of hashish.  Sensational and fanciful stories, told by Marco Polo and others, of the use of hashish to heighten the undoubted homicidal proclivities of the sect, may, however, be untrue.

The use of kava was reported by travelers to the Pacific Islands, notably Fiji, in the 18th century, though its use must go back much farther.  The same may be said for the cultic use of drugs like iboga, in equatorial Africa, where the discovery of such usage is very recent and where historical records are meager.  Doubtless much remains to be discovered in both of these areas.

More is known of the history and practices of pharmacological cults, as well as of the varieties of botanical sources of the drugs, in the New World than in the Old. The finding of many little images sculptured in the form of mushrooms in Guatemala almost certainly indicates a mushroom cult in the Mayan culture of Central America.  Columbus reported the use of snuffs, as referred to above.  The Spanish priest-historian Bernardino de Sahagún reported with disapproval the cultic use of mushrooms in Mexico in the 16th century, and there were reports of the widespread use of psychotropic mushrooms during the coronation of the Aztec emperor Montezuma in 1502.  Suppressed by the Spaniards, the remnants of these once proud cults remain in the backcountry of Mexico, particularly in the state of Oaxaca.  In 1955 R. Gordon Wasson and his companions were the first non-Indians invited to eat the sacred mushroom at one of the night ceremonies. Consequent publicity led to an influx of visitors seeking mushrooms and also attracted the attention of Mexican federal police.  Despite this attention, the mushroom religion is still alive, though the ceremonies are now carried on less openly.  Spanish reports of about the same era as those dealing with Mexico, allude to cultic use of drugs in North America.  Sahagún also mentioned in his reports the cultic use of ololiuqui and peyote.

Partly because of the rise of interest in psychedelic drugs, as well as the increased accessibility, the peyote religion has been studied more thoroughly than any other pharmacological cult, mainly by American anthropologists, who have written full and extensive reports of its practices.  The peyote cult was harassed by missionaries and government agents alike until, toward the end of the 19th century, Indian cults began to come together in an international body composed of Canadian, American, and Mexican Indians.  This federation was finally incorporated in the state of Oklahoma in 1918 as the Native American Church. Despite many laws against the use of peyote, these members of the Native American Church have steadfastly maintained their right to worship in their own way.  They have suffered imprisonment and have fought in the courts, which, for the most part, have upheld this right.

The Native American Church has developed into a syncretistic religion, differing from tribe to tribe in minor details and in the degree to which ancient practices have assimilated Christian elements.  The ritual surrounding ingestion of peyote is a highly symbolic night-long ceremony in the charge of an experienced Indian. Whites privileged to attend the service invariably speak of its dignity and impressiveness.  Peyote itself is highly venerated and spoken of sometimes as a gift of God, sometimes personified as the Peyote Spirit.  It is looked on partly as the possessor of magical qualities of protection and healing and the revealer of hidden knowledge, and partly as a guide that motivates and strengthens the worshipper.  There is as much controversy among the Indians themselves over peyote as there is over LSD among whites. But the cult seems to be spreading. Contrary to the assertions of Christian missionaries, who find them hard to convert, the peyote Indians, doubtless influenced by the religions of whites around them, are reported to be superior to the non-peyote Indians in achieving their aims of brotherly love, hard work and self-reliance, family responsibility, and abstinence from alcohol.

Because hallucinogenic drugs, both natural and synthetic, tend to evoke an experience spontaneously recognized by many as religious and therefore of supreme value to the user, small communities of seekers have grown up wherever the drugs are generally used, most recently among whites in large centers of population.  Because of what they consider to be harassment by unsympathetic elements in the cities, many such communities have moved to rural or wilderness areas.  Emphasis on spontaneity leads to poor organization, and consequently the histories of most of these communities are short.