What is value? How exactly does our society place value on a certain object? The question here is value, and by value I refer to the value of hallucinogenic drugs. But, I understand that this concept maybe shocking, or appalling to some, I鈥檇 like to logically draw my conclusions from fact, showing that the misconception surrounding these drugs may draw certain fallacies. Second, I will show how the value of these drugs have changed over time. Third, I will delve into the idea of value, and what exactly it is, in accordance to these substances. It is my hopes to show both sides of the debate that value is an opinion, and doesn鈥檛 remain constant from person to person, and there is a possibility that they can have value.
The first fallacy is this government鈥檚 questionable prohibition of these drugs. Now up until 1968, LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin Mushrooms, and other hallucinogens were legal within the U.S.. So hallucinogens have been around for thousands of years, but the dangers were finally realized in 1968. So they made them illegal, only to partially legalize them again in 2005 with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Within this act, it was stated that any drugs that were used in a religious ceremony, could not remain illegal, without being unconstitutional. So they鈥檙e illegal and dangerous, but legal enough to be used in church, and safe enough that many religions feed them to their congregations. Were the hippies and beatniks not using it for spiritual purposes? What if a massive rejuvenation of their counterculture caused the foundation of a hippie church? Wouldn鈥檛 the government be forced to recognize them?
The history of these drugs, that we know of, dates back to three thousand B.C. in China and Mesopotamia. These drugs include Psilocybin mushrooms, Kava Kava, Marijuana, Mescalin or peyote, and Ayahuasca. The ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures all ingested Mushrooms as parts of rituals, starting off certain days of the year with a spiritual trip in order to enlighten their mind. Islanders in the Pacific ingest the root of the Kava Kava plant, refusing to conduct business without it, because it keeps their view on the world in check. My last example is that which led me to this subject, Amazonian tribesmen prepare Black Ayahuasca Tea, which is rumored to be one of the strongest hallucinogens known to man, in a spiritual coming of age ceremony. In this ceremony they are supposed to face their fears, become comfortable with the minute part they play in the grand scheme of things, and the gravity of their everyday impulsive decisions. The point is simply that humans have been not only ingesting these mind altering substances since our conception, but that they had once played a more integral part of our lives. Maybe humans have lost touch with their inner self, their spiritual side, especially in this technological age where religion and spirituality are on the back burner, and science is on the forefront.
To explore whether or not they hold value, I need to explore exactly what they do to you. Hallucinogens fully open up the human brain, confusing your serotonin receptors in your mind into using the left side of the brain, or the imaginative engine. Contingents of these drugs are visuals, a sense of euphoria, a motley collection of psychotropic colors confusing your senses, along with alternate views of long held ideals. It most often brings out experiences, apprehensions, hopes, aspirations, and nightmares. Your mind will wander to the utmost brink of its sanity, forcing whatever one may be thinking in the back of one鈥檚 mind to materialize in front of their eyes. These things that etch out how we act every day, and the assumptions that we make as we move through our daily lives, can easily be altered. Many will feel they fully understand the world around them, their lives, and their hopes and dreams, showing people what they truly value. The trip is controlled by the mind, showing how powerful it is, and allowing people to face their apprehensions. We all have experiences that frighten us, scar us, leaving our mind paralyzed with too many concerns. It can make one look back on their life, and look forward, with visualizations of what may come, and what one is doing with their lives. Humans act too often on impulse, to what we need at the moment, forming a blind beast of modern man. Modern man has lost his spirituality with the advance of science, but that spirituality has been tied too close to outdated religions. Instead, people should find spirituality in every day menial tasks, find reasoning behind it, and change their outlook on these tasks, than maybe a more profound, intelligent, and responsible modern man may come to be. So is there another side to this world? Or is it all simply in the mind? And even if it were, would that make it intangible and artificial, if these words I am typing are simply an invention of the mind?|||I%26#039;m sorry -- what does this have to do with being gay?|||....and thanks for the 2 pts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!|||U have a lot of patience for typing such a big question
But i dont have any for reading it|||You get an A.|||i really hope you didn%26#039;t type all that looking for a good responce
hopefully it was cut and paste lol|||Short version~~~ tripping is awesome|||Psilocybin is an interesting chemical, and a friend of mine is conducting research on it through a local university. So I think I know what you%26#039;re driving at.
But maybe instead of trying to write a Masters%26#039; thesis in this venue, you trim it down and see if people agree with your point.
