tabtab13
Active Member
Following some banter over a recently uploaded spider picture, it got me thinking - what's the reason behind why we take drugs? Ancient shaman used them for spiritual reasons, hippies in the sixties extolled the use of LSD to 'free the mind'. Drug references are found in literature throughout the centuries. And just to clarify, what I'm talking here is drug taking for non medicinal purposes.
And we're not alone in this action. Some elephants will eat fermenting apples until they get drunk. Some monkeys will finish off unwanted drinks in tropical holiday resorts - they will actually leave those containing just fruit juice, preferring those that have alcohol in them. Another species of monkey will actively search out a certain type of millipede, rub the insect over its body as this will make it release a chemical on which the monkey then gets 'high'. Cats on the whole love Catnip and will lie around in a 'glazed state' after rolling around in it.
Why do some people (and some animals) actively take drugs - is it a genetic thing as in some scientists believe some individuals are more prone to becoming alcoholics - their desire for it is part of their genetic make up?
Leaving aside manufactured chemicals, why is it that some plants have chemicals within them that will alter your state of mind? Is it just by chance or a by-product of their make up? Without wanting to get overly religious, are these plants here for a reason, a catalyst to open up our minds to greater things, whether spiritually or just for the next evolutionary step in our brain's capacity and awareness? I guess that could answer one of the reasons why mankind does it, but why would animals do it too?
Sadly, a lot of people use drugs simply for 'getting out of it', as a means to escape or blot out everyday life.
What does everyone else think? I'm not looking for 'drugs are good/drugs are bad' replies, more of a why you may think they occur naturally in some plants, etc. Is it just the way things are, simply coincidence and part of the plants' chemical make up - or is it something deeper, something we've yet to fully understand?
And we're not alone in this action. Some elephants will eat fermenting apples until they get drunk. Some monkeys will finish off unwanted drinks in tropical holiday resorts - they will actually leave those containing just fruit juice, preferring those that have alcohol in them. Another species of monkey will actively search out a certain type of millipede, rub the insect over its body as this will make it release a chemical on which the monkey then gets 'high'. Cats on the whole love Catnip and will lie around in a 'glazed state' after rolling around in it.
Why do some people (and some animals) actively take drugs - is it a genetic thing as in some scientists believe some individuals are more prone to becoming alcoholics - their desire for it is part of their genetic make up?
Leaving aside manufactured chemicals, why is it that some plants have chemicals within them that will alter your state of mind? Is it just by chance or a by-product of their make up? Without wanting to get overly religious, are these plants here for a reason, a catalyst to open up our minds to greater things, whether spiritually or just for the next evolutionary step in our brain's capacity and awareness? I guess that could answer one of the reasons why mankind does it, but why would animals do it too?
Sadly, a lot of people use drugs simply for 'getting out of it', as a means to escape or blot out everyday life.
What does everyone else think? I'm not looking for 'drugs are good/drugs are bad' replies, more of a why you may think they occur naturally in some plants, etc. Is it just the way things are, simply coincidence and part of the plants' chemical make up - or is it something deeper, something we've yet to fully understand?