Mar
4
Are Drugs Safe?
Filed Under Beauty Tips
The use of chemicals to enhance our lives is a notion that brings up taboo ideas of drug use. But using the properties of items that grow around us is a recurring feature of everyday living. Herbal chemicals such as liquid zeolite, ellagic acid, fish oil and zinc are often used to improve different aspects of our lives and assist our well being. This use of herbs and natural flora to help us can also be viewed in the indigenous cultures of the Australian or Canadian Aborigines, Native Americans, as well as African cultures. Nowadays, however, the notion of taking certain chemicals has grown to be taboo due to the effects on the brain they are proven to have. Can there be benefits to using these drugs?
Many additives are added to drinks and foods for what are basically drug-like effects. The use of guarana in energy drinks, for example, is a well known chemical additive created to enhance the alertness and vitality levels of the drinker. While these drinks are quite legal, they’re not suitable for young people or pregnant females, and doctors advise against having a large amount of these kinds of liquids, if at all.
Along with the natural chemicals in the drinks, they are also very high in caffeine. This is a substance which has become incredibly popular. The fact is, of course, that drinking a large amount of coffee or energy drinks will cause a reaction in the body that is highly similar to that given by amphetimenes or known toxic chemicals. The difference, of course, lies in the view our society has of such substances.
This taboo has not always been the case, though. While hallucinogenics are today seen as some of the most dangerous chemicals it is possible to take, the properties of natural drugs such as ayuhuasca and psilocybin mushrooms was often used in the shamanic rituals of native peoples.
The idea of beginning use of hallucinogenic drugs to gain the wisdom held by indigenous individuals is a tempting one. But it needs to be remembered that psychedelics were taken by indigenous peoples as part of a wider relationship with nature, these were “local plants” just as animals were local food and everyday life was a local big screen entertainment system. How can the life-changing capabilities of psychedelics be fully realized within such an unnatural environment as the one we live in, beyond the momentary high?
The answer is that with any chemical, it cannot be thought that drugs will be the whole answer. It’s only through a wider understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the Earth that we can begin to explore deeper questions of what it is to be alive, and how we can most effectively use our limited time on this planet. The negative effects of all drugs can be easily viewed in those who regularly take them, and it’s vital to remember the dangers every kind of drug posses.
Comments
Leave a Reply