TRUTH SEEKER TRUTH SEEKER Est. 1873 Vol.117, No.5 P.O.Box2832 San Diego, California 92112 619-239-9043 Focus

Nature of Addictive Disorders Addiction: Nature vs Nurture—Again? James W. Prescott Nature of Addiction Stanton Peele Biological Balance and Addictions Ray Peat

Tabernanthe Ibogaine Ibogaine: An Open Letter Howard Lotsof Ibogaine: Miracle Cure? Max Cantor. Interviews: Ibogaine Treated Addicts Max Cantor ICASH: International Coalition For Addict Self Help Bob Rand Tabernanthe Iboga: An African Plant Of Social Importance Harrison G. Pope, Jr Tabernanthe Iboga: Narcotic Ecstasis and The Work Of The Ancestors James W. Fernandez Drugs, Religion and The Healing Process James W. Prescott

Marijuana Medical Marijuana R. C. Randall The Many Uses of Hemp Chris Conrad Why Not Use Hemp To Reverse The Greenhouse Effect & Save The World Jack Herer The Environmental Impact Of The Laws Against Marijuana Alan W. Bock 51 Drug Treatment Perspectives

Executive Summary: Commentary On 20th Annual Report. Research Advisory Panel For The California Governor & Legislature Frederick H. Meyers 53 Save Our Selves: A Revolution in Recovery James Christopher 54 Humanistic Recovery Programs Felix R. Bremy 58

Forum

What Religious Freedom Means Edd Doerr .... 62 Atheism: A Path to Social Justice Melvin Kornbluth .... 63 Superior Men .James Hervey Johnson .... 64

Art Credits Cover depicts the root and leaf of the African Ibogaine plant, a major focus of this issue. Cover Illustration: silhouette photo by Marti Kranzberg Computer-enhanced photo and Ibogaine illustration by John Carlson

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No.5 Fall 1990 Page 1 Addiction: Nature vs. Nurture — Again?

by James W. Prescott ienation, depression, violence and the addictive disorders. Specifically, it was shown how the Biology and culture are the two sides of the rearing of infants and the young in socially- coin of addiction and they cannot be separated isolated environments (translate into failure of from one another. affectional bonding between mother and infant; and between parents and offspring) results in a The disease of dualism is once again upon us. wide-variety of structural and functional abnor- In fact, it has never really left us. When it comes malities of the brain. Some of these abnormali- to questions about any aspect of human behav- ties include reduced number and malformation ior the age-old question arises: Is the explana- of dendrites, spines and opiate receptors (struc- tion of this kind of behavior to be found in our tural bases of brain cell communication); and a genes (nature) or in the environment (nurture)? variety of abnormalities in neurochemical trans- culture This question is further re-stated as follows: Is mitters and electrical characteristics of the brain modifies the the explanation of this kind of behavior to be (functional bases of brain cell communication). found in our biology or in the social-psycho- In particular, it was emphasized how the course of brain logical matrix of our culture? Thus, in this neurobiological circuits of the brain that mediate development strategy of thinking, genes are equated with pleasure are damaged by social-isolation rearing biology; and environment is equated with cul- (sensory deprivation of touch and body move- ture. Further, this form of dualism is invariably ment) that defines the failure of affectional posed as an either/or proposition and, rarely, as bonding. In such brain-damaged and brain- an interaction or combination of the two sides dysfunctional organisms, drugs are sought to of this coin of dualism. Like any coin (behav- bring relief from the emotional pain of this early ior), its identity or existence cannot be described affectional deprivation (loss of love); and to with only one side of the coin. This situation is provide a different and more immediate form of analogous to trying to comprehend and find brain stimulation to experience pleasure that meaning in the ZEN statement: "The sound of cannot be readily experienced through the one hand clapping"! normative routes of the sensory systems that A further error in this disease of biological produce pleasure (body touch and movement) and cultural dualism is the assumption that our because they have been damaged by early sen- biology is formed only by our genes and not by sory deprivation. This is why child abuse and our culture. Nothing could be further from the neglect (e.g., sensory affectional deprivation) is truth. The structural and functional develop- found so invariably in the history of violent and ment of the brain are both influenced substan- addictive personality disorders. tially by the nature of our social-physical It is for these reasons that the protagonists of environment, i.e. our culture. Structure is biological and cultural dualism when explaining defined by the physical characteristics of brain and understanding drug addiction are so much in cells, e.g., cell body, axons, dendrites, spines; error. Biology and culture are the two sides of the synapses—receptor mechanisms; and function coin of addiction and they cannot be separated is defined by the neurochemical and neuroelec- from one another. Elsewhere, I have referred to trical characteristics of brain cell activity. these two kinds of biology as "Geno-biology" and Last year in the Sept/Oct edition of The "Eco-biology" (Prescott, 1979). Unfortunately, Truth Seeker, which was devoted to the drug the failure to recognize these two forms of biology problem, three essays were published that out- and other errors inherent in biological and cultural lined how the social-physical environment, i.e. dualism have profound consequences for under- culture modifies the course of brain develop- standing the origins, treatment and prevention of ment at both the structural and functional the addictive disorders and they carry substantial levels; and how these modifications of brain emotional, social and economic costs to both the structure and function underlie behaviors of al- individual and society.

Page 2 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 Fail 1990 For example, it is well established that the ized by some form(s) of brain dysfunction that Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis requires more directed and focused treatments (HPA) is significantly involved In high levels of that are not present in the cognitive therapies ethanol (alcohol) consumption in animals which must come later in a well-designed treat- exposed to high stress. Furthermore, it has been ment program. Certainly, addicts who are in the shown that experimental injection of ACTH grips of uncontrolled "craving" because of a (adrenocortico-trophic hormone, a neuropep- brain disorder do not belong in prison nor in the tide chain of amino acids labeled 1-39) results in custody of law enforcement agencies who have similar effects as previously found in stressed no training or expertise in the treatment or drugs are animals. (Nash and Maickel, 1988). More sig- management of brain-behavioral disorders. sought to bring nificantly, it was also found that the injection of Other solutions are needed in dealing with the a specific segment of this amino acid chain individual addict. relief from the (ACTH, 4-10) completely blocked the consump- In this edition of The Truth Seekert\\t reader emotional pain tion of ethanol in the stressed animals (Krishnan will find the viewpoints of several very distin- and Maickel, 1990). Based upon the peaceful guished authorities on drug use, abuse, and of this early and contented behavior of the ACTH, 4-10 addictions who prefer to view either the bio- affectional treated animals, these investigators referred to logical or cultural face of addiction, to the ACTH, 4-10 as the "fcclmggood" chemical that neglect of the other. In particular, a selected deprivation is naturally produced by the brain and is similar contribution from Dr. Stanton Pcele, one of the (loss of love) to the endorphins, another "feeUnggood"chemi- most distinguished and respected authorities on cal of the brain that naturally counters the drug abuse and addiction, has addressed the effects of stress. Such reasoning is supported by nature of addiction. the findings of Blum, et al (1987) who found Although, this writer may agree with 90% of that alcohol-preferring mice had significantly what Dr. Peele has to say about the addictive lower base line methionine-enkephalin (brain disorders, that remaining 10% error is deadly, opiate) levels in the hypothalamus as compared for he sets biology against culture (like body to non-alcohol preferring mice. against soul) and, in the process, rejects the Thus, alcohol consumption is pursued to ex- essential relevance of biology to understanding cess not to get drunk but rather to obtain ACTH the addictive disorders. This "disease of dual- release, specifically, its "feeling good" segment— ism" is well reflected in his article "Second ACTH, 4-10 —and/or the enkephalins because of Thoughts About A Gene For Alcoholism" in a brain deficit(s) that prevents rhe experiencing of the August 1990 edition of The Atlantic Monthly The brain is natural pleasure due to chronic stress. which the readers of The Truth Seeker are urged the organ of The findings by other investigators that plasma to consult. (I am in agreement with Dr. Peele in cortisol, a measure of HPA activity, is significantly his rejecting the gene theory of "alcoholism" behavior and lower in hospitalized substance abusers than in but disagree with his position that biology is not of our normal controls, supports the role of ACTH and important for understanding alcohol and other an abnormal functioning HPA system of the brain drug addictions). thoughts, in these addicts (King, et. al., 1990). The brain is the organ of behavior and of our emotions and It is not possible to cite the other studies in thoughts, emotions and social/moral values— this essay, that support the line of reasoning that even our "spirituality" which is of a human and social/moral developmental brain deficits associated with an not "divine" nature. It could not be otherwise. values— impaired ability to experience natural pleasure Individuals vary greatly in their vulnerability to underlies the addictive disorders; and that such the various addictive drugs and all drugs are not even our brain-behavioral deficits are facilitated by the equally addictive to an individual, although, «spirituality ,. • '^ f^. » anti-pleasure ethic of certain religious belief poly-drug addiction is commonplace. And many systems. of these individual differences can be found in Clearly, brain function and its disorders the variations of the neurobiology of brain struc- cannot be ignored in the chemically addicted ture and function which must be addressed in person. Addicts who cannot break the over- any comprehensive and systematic treatment whelming "craving" undoubtedly are character- program of drug addiction.

The Truth Seeker Voi 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 Page 3 This is particularly relevant for the control of King, R. J., Jones, J., Scheuer, J.W., Durtis, D. "uncontrolled craving" which is driven at the andZarcone, V.P. (1990). Plasma Cortisol Cor- neurobiological/neuropsychological levels. This is relates of Impulsivity and Substance Abuse. In: why certain "drugs" and acupuncture are effective Personality and Individual Differences. Vol. II, in "interrupcing" the craving of drug addiction No. 3, pp. 287-291. which is essential to bring under control before the Krishnan, S. and Maickel, R.P. (1990) Stress, more endurable transformations of a social-psy- ACTH and Free-Choice Ethnnol Consumption chological-spiritual nature can be effectively im- In Rats. Paper presented at the annual meeting of The power of plemented. For these reasons, drugs like the International Society ofPsycho-Neuroendocri- the mind IBOGAINE and biochemical agents likeACTH, rW^(ISPNE). Aug 18-20. Buffalo, NY.; Dept. 4-10, deserve priority attention for objective and of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Phar- (brain) in the systematic evaluation of their potential in break- macy & Pharmacological Sciences. Purdue Uni- ing the craving of the addictive cycle that would versity. West Lafayette, Indiana. healing process permit the effectiveness of other therapeutic Inter- Nash, J.F. and Maickel, R. (1988). The Role of has yet to ventions to be realized. rheHypothalamic-Pituitary-AdrcnocorticalAxis Finally, it is emphasized what is already well- be fully in Post-Stress Induced Ethanol Consumption By known: that an individual's response to a Rats. In: Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology understood. particular drug is strongly determined by the and Biological Psychiatry. Vol 12, pp.653-671. social-psychological conditions surrounding its use. The classic "placebo" response (which is real) PrescottJ.W. (1972) BeforeEthicsand Morality. is illustrative of this fact. The role of the religious The Humanist. Nov/Dec or spiritual experience in the drug response can be Prescott, J.W. (1975) Body Pleasure and The considered within the same neuropsychologica! Origins of Violence. The Futurist, April framework as the social-psychological set, Prescott, J.W. (1979). Alienation of Affection. hypnosis or the placebo effect. For these reasons, Psychology Today. (Dec). religious-spiritual dimensions of the drug experi- ence, specifically of the hallucinogens, cannot be Prescott,J.W. (1980) SomarosensoryAffecnonal ridiculed as irrelevant since they must share some Deprivation (SAD) Theory of Drug and Alcohol common brain processes involved in the social- Use .In: Theories On Drug Abuse (Lettieri, D.J., psychological set, hypnosis and the "placebo" Sayers, M. and Pearson, H.W., Eds) NIDA Re- response that accounts for their common thera- search Monograph 30. National Institute on Drug peutic effects. The power of the mind (brain) in Abuse, Rockville, MD the healing process has yet to be fully understood. Prescott, J.W. (1989) Failure of Pleasure As A In conclusion, it should now be apparent CauseofDrugAbuse. The Truth Seeker, Nov/Dec why the punitive, law-enforcement, imprison- Prescott, J.W. (1990). Affectional Bonding For ment methods in dealing with the individual The Prevention of Violent Behaviors: Neurobiol- addict is not only doomed to failure from the ogical, Psychological and Religious/Spiritual De- outset but cannot, in anyway, impact upon the terminants. In: Violent Behavior Vol. I: Assessment development of new generations of addicts; and and Intervention (L.j. Hertzberg, et. al., eds) PMA from a moral perspective nothing could be more Publishing Corp. New York. immoral than to add pain and punishment to a life that is already filled with pain and punish- Peele, S. (1985). The Meaning of Addiction. Lex- ment and that is so lacking in human love. ' ington Books. D.C. Heath and Co. Lexington, MA Selected References Peele, S.( 1990). Second Thoughts About A Gene Blum, K.,Briggs, A.M., Wallace,].E., Hall, C.W., For Alcoholism. The Atlantic Monthly, Aug andTrachtenberg, M.A. (1987). Regional brain [Met]-enkephalin, in alcohol-preferring and non- alcohol-p refer ring inbred strains of mice. Experimented 43: pp 408-410.

Page 4 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fail 1990 Tabernanthe iboga: an African Narcotic

By Harrision G. Pope, Jr. themselves awake during night watches...." In 1889, Professor Henri Baillon offered the Tabernanthe iboga is an apocynaceous shrub first botanical description of the plant. He named native to the forests of Gabon and the northern it Tabernanthe iboga, although he cautioned that Congo. First described in the late 1800's, it has the plant might later be accommodated in the been reasonably well studied by botanists. The neighboring genus Tabernaemontana. Later, Stapf roots of T. iboga contain several indole alka- described a number of other Tabernanthe sp. loids, of which the most important, ibogaine, is (there are now seven) and stabilized the genus. a central stimulant and in large doses an hallu- By the turn of the century, chemical investi- cinogen. In Gabon, the roots are used in the gation of the roots of Tabernanthe iboga was initiation rites to a number of secret societies, of underway, and in 1901, its principal alkaloid, which the Bwiti is most famous. The plant ibogaine, was isolated. A flurry of studies with remains to this day a central feature of local animals showed that ibogaine was indeed a religion, and its spectacular effects have ham- potent central stimulant. Although Phisalix pered native acceptance of Christianity in Ga- suggested in 1901 that the drug could produce bon. hallucinations, it was not until recently that the hallucinogenic properties of ibogaine were clearly Starting in the mid-1800's, a number of established, thus confirming the many pub- French and Belgian explorers began to report a lished accounts of native use of the root in natives claimed remarkable plant that grew in Gabon and the initiation rites. that the root Congo. It was a shrub about 3 or 4 ft in height, During this century, Tabernanthe iboga has found in the wild and also cultivated in the been the subject of scores of chemical and pharma- bark was a vicinity of the native huts. The natives claimed cological studies, most of them French. New ob- powerful that the root bark was a powerful stimulant and servers in Gabon and the Congo have described aphrodisiac; It doubled their muscular strength the increasing native use of the plant. But little has stimulant and and endurance and enhanced their sexual prow- been done to bring together this material, except aphrodisiac ess. A few tribes, especially In the Gabon area, for a few theses in French and German, all more discovered that larger doses of the roots would than 15 years ago. The purpose of this paper is to produce fantastic visions, although this amount present, for the first time In English, an up-to-date could sometimes cause death as well. They soon summary of what Is known about Tabernanthe incorporated the plant into the initiation rituals iboga^. It places special emphasis on the ethnobo- of their secret cults. tanical importance of the plant, partly because this The discovery of the plant, indeed, may not is the area of the writer's greatest interest and have been by man but by boars in the jungle. competence, and partly because previous work has Several accounts mention that the natives saw almost entirely neglected this important aspect. As boars dig up and eat the roots of the plant, only will become evident in the paper, Tabernanthe to go into a wild frenzy, jumping around and iboga has had considerable social influence in the perhaps fleeing from frightening visions. Porcu- area where it grows. pines and gorillas, according to the natives, Botanical Aspects of occasionally did the same thing. At any rate, the Tabernanthe iboga human use of the plant was widespread by the time it was first observed by Europeans. The following botanical material is drawn from The earliest specimens of the plant to appear a number of writers, notably Baillon, Landrin, in Europe were brought from Cap Lopez in Stapf, Raymond-Hamet, Delourme-Houde, and Gabon by Griffon du Bellay. His description, Dubois. Of these, the last is the most recent and probably the first published, appeared in 1864: probably the best, and hence much of this descrip- "Iboga is not toxic except at high doses in the tion is drawn from his work. fresh state. In small quantities, it is an aphrodis- Tabernanthe iboga is an apocynaceous shrub, iac and a stimulant of the nervous system; from O.9 to 1.5 cm in height, usually growing in warriors and hunters use It constantly to keep the undergrowth of tropical forests. The leaves

Page28 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 Fall 1990 are borne in opposing pairs and measure about some parts of Gabon it has become rare as a 9-10 cm long and 3 cm wide, although some- result of excessive use. It has been reported times they reach 21 cm in length and 7 cm in throughout Gabon, and from a number of width. They are oval in shape, acuminate, places in the Congo: Coquilhatville, the basin of smooth, rather soft, yellowish green underneath. the Nsele River, the Tshuapa, the Maringa, the The petioles are about 0.2 cm in length. The Lopori, the Ikelemba, the Sankuru, and the flowers are very similar to those of the related KasaS. It is also very common in the Kwango and genus Tabernaemontana, with a quineuncial Kwilu areas, and also near Likimi and Ponthier- calyx and ahypocraten form corolla with twisted ville. Fig. 2 traces its known range. At the present lobes. The base of the ovary is slightly thickened, The Alkaloids of Tabernanthe U time) at least in a glandular yellow bed. The anthers are and Their Pharmacological Properties arrow-shaped and acuminate like those of 12 alkaloids Tabernaemontana. There is only one ovary, The chemical study of the alkaloids of Tab- are kno um in with a single cavity and two parallel placentas ernanthe iboga began in 1901 when ibogaine with many ovules joined to them on the under- was isolated from the dried root material by two Tabernanthe side. The flowers grow in groups of 5-12 on pairs of investigators, Dybowski and Landrin, iboga. slender peduncles from the points at which the and Haller and Heckel. Ibogaine is by far the branches are joined to the stem. Indeed, several most abundant alkaloid in the roots, and it is branches, a pair of leaves, and a group of flowers responsible for most of the pharmacological may grow from the same point. properties. Its structure, shown in Fig. 3, The flowers are rather variable in color, from contains the indole nucleus typical of many yellowish-white to pinkish-white, or sometimes hallucinogenic drugs. Starting in 1942 other white with pink patches, very small, with the calyx alkaloids were found, the most important being reaching a maximum of about 0.5 cm in length. tabernanthme, ibogamine, and iboluteine. All The calyx is deeply divided into five parts which are quite similar to ibogaine in structure. At are "boga," "libuga," "bocca," "eboge," "lebogo," the present time, at least 12 alkaloids are "lebuga," "dlbuga," "diboga," "dibuyi," "dibugi," known in Tabernanthe iboga. and several other similar names. The study of Delourme-Houde found 1.0- Tabernanthe iboga is often confused with T. 2.6% alkaloids in the roots and 5-6% in the root manii and to some extent with other members bark. These figures are probably lower than they of the genus. In Gabon, many tribes distinguish would be for fresh material, because ibogaine between the two. Walker offers the following tends to oxidize in solution and presumably in comparison: the undried root bark as well. The seeds con- Tabernanthe iboga: Elongated fruits, ending tained a different alkaloid that gave strong lines in a point; corolla about 0.5 cm long. Native in a spectrum analysis, but Delourme-Houde names: mbasoka (Mitsogo tribe), kuta mbasoke did not have enough material to isolate it. (Apindji), moabi (Bavungu), gifuma ( Eshira) . The pharmacological effects of ibogaine may The T. manii (probably): Ellipsoidal fruits, shaped be divided into three parts. First, ibogaine is a like tiny lemons; corolla about 0.8 cm long. cholinesterase inhibitor. This was well estab- pharmacological Native names: nyoke (mitsogo), dinyoke, oabe lished by Vincent and Sero in 1942. They found effects of (Apindji), mungondu (Bavungu, Eshira). that the crude extract of iboga root was consid- It is worth noting at this point that at least erably more potent than pure ibogaine in this ibogaine may one pharmacological study was carried out respect, and they correctly theorized that other be divided into using Tabernanthe manii rather than Taber- alkaloids in the extract were responsible for this nanthe iboga . There is no reason to think that difference. In I960, Raymond-Hamet and three parts. this investigator may have misidentifled his ma- Vincent carried out a study of the three lesser terial, inasmuch as the two plants have very alkaloids just mentioned. All were found to be similar reported pharmacological properties. potent cholinesterase inhibitors. Tabernanthe iboga is a very common plant in In man, the principal effects noted as a result many of the areas where it grows, although in of the cholinesterase inhibition of ibogaine are

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 Page 29 hypotension due to decreased cardiac output state without actually causing true hallucina- and stimulation of digestion and appetite. tions. However, Sigg personally took a dose of The second effect ofibogaine, by far the most 200 mg of ibogaine and described the effects. prominent, is sttong central stimulation. Lan- 'Subjectively, the most unpleasant symp- drin first studied this effect in frogs, guinea pigs, toms were the anxiety, the extreme apprehen- and dogs. The effects were similar to a large sion, and the unheimliche Grundstimmungasso- dose of caffeine in all three animals. Toxic ciated with visual and bodily hallucinations. doses sometimes produced convulsions, almost The visual hallucinations appeared only in the invariably paralysis, and finally an arrest of res- dark and consisted of blue disks dancing up and Very little has piration. The recent study of Schneider and down the walls. Dysesthesia of the extremities, been done to Sigg, using cats and dogs, confirmed Landrin's a feeling of light-weightedness, and hyperacusis findings. Using eight-channel electroencepha- were other symptoms noted. Autonomic signs, study the lographic recording, they determined that one such as dryness of the mouth, increased perspi- central effects of the sites of action of ibogaine is in the ration, slight pupillary dilation, and increase in ascending reticular formation. Studies of re- pulse rate, as well as extrapyramidal symptoms ofibogaine in flexes in this experiment excluded a strychnine- (fine tremors, slight ataxia, enhanced tendon man. like component in the action ofibogaine. This reflexes and clonus) were also present and con- Is highly consistent with Landrin's data. firmed by Dr. Schneider. The peak effect was Landrin found paralysis rather than strychnine- reached about two hours after swallowing the like convulsions in the final stage of ibogaine drug; it subsided gradually, leaving as a residue poisoning. complete insomnia. No undesirable after-ef- Very little has been done to study the central fects, such as exhaustion or depression occurred. effects ofibogaine in man. The best informa- It is worth noting that, unlike ibogaine, mesca- tion was reported by Pouchet and Chevalier in line, which I took some time ago, transferred me 1905- They recorded that a Dr. Huchard was into a quite pleasant imaginary state." using doses of 10 to 30 mg for influenza, conva- Although this is the only published account of lescence from infectious disease, neurasthenia, the effects of a large dose of ibogaine on a white and a few cardiac disorders. He found that the man, it seems clear that the drug is a bonafide drug improved appetite, muscle tone, and gen- hallucinogen, likely to produce anxiety. The hallu- eral rate of recovery. He also noted a mild cinogenic dose is several times the normal stimu- euphoria in almost all of his patients, similar to lant dose, so that the user must endure intense and that produced by other stimulants. unpleasant central stimulation in order to experi- By far the least studied effect ofibogaine is its ence the hallucinogenic effects. ability to produce hallucinations. This was first These results agree well with observations of suggested in 1901 by Phisalix. After an injection Tabernanthe iboga use by the natives of Gabon. ofibogaine, his dogs acted as if they were seeing The reader will do well to bear them in mind in frightening things; they would suddenly begin the consideration of the social importance of the to bark loudly at nothing, leap backwards, or try plant, discussed in the next section. desperately to hide in a corner. Nearly 60 years Ethnobotanical Aspects of Tabernanthe iboga later, Schneider and Sigg, in the study already Tabernanthe iboga is used by African natives mentioned, observed very similar behavioral throughout its range, and it is even exported changes in both cats and dogs. The animals into neighboring areas. It is probably most exhibited ataxia, peculiar positions of the legs, popular In Gabon, the only area where It has partial piloerection, pupil dilation, alertness, been observed to be in cultivation. The roots of outstretched tails, and increased respiration—a Tabernanthe iboga are most widely employed as picture of fear or rage. a stimulant and aphrodisiac, but in Gabon the Of course, many of these behavioral observa- plant is equally important as an hallucinogen. tions could be interpreted as due to the central Many writers have published glowing accounts stimulant properties ofibogaine, or it could be of the stimulant properties of Tabernanthe iboga. hypothesized, as Turner and Gershon and Lang For example, Steinmetz claims that it allows the have done, that ibogaineproducesasevereanxiety

Page 30 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 natives to sit awake and motionless for as long as prove that the fetish has entered him." two days while waiting for game. Brzezicki states Although Guien's description came from the that, by eating the roots, the natives manage to Congo, near Ayenle, the center of use of iboga double the length of their day's march and the as an hallucinogen is Gabon. There, it Is em- weight of what they are carrying without noticing ployed in the initiation rites of secret societies, the extra effort required. Although both of these the most famous of which is the Bwiti (also descriptions may reflect some local hyperbole, spelled Bouiti or Buitl). The story of Tabernan- they are reasonably consistent with the pharma- the iboga in the Bwiti cult is a fascinating one, cological findings. showing how a seemingly unimportant plant Dybowski and Landrin, who originally iso- can have far-reaching social effects. lated ibogaine, also consulted with the natives The Bwiti cult originated probably either and recounted their replies as follows: "When among the Mitsogo or the Apindji in central asked by us, they always replied that the action Gabon, in the area where iboga is most abun- of iboga was identical to that of alcohol, but dant. The cult has spread throughout Gabon without disturbing the thought processes." These during this century, and it now extends from researchers concluded this to mean that the Spanish Guinea to the Congo. It is best ob- plant was a simple stimulant. It seems though, served in the center of its influence, among such that the natives would have been more likely to tribes as the Apindji, where it was recently compare the plant to the cola nuts (Cola nitida), studied by Swiderski. His description is one of with which they were familiar, rather than to many but, since it is one of the best, it is partly alcohol, if they were seeking to describe a purely reproduced here. stimulating effect. On the basis of pharmacol- To eat the iboga plant is the only way to see ogical evidence, it seems likely that even small the vision of Bwiti, according to the lore of the amounts of iboga would produce marginal hal- cult. On the day of the initiation, the candidates lucinogenic effects, possibly a "dreamy" or go to the "temple of the universe" accompanied "floating" sensation. This may explain why the by their fathers and maternal uncles at six o'clock natives chose to compare the effects to alcohol, in the morning. There they are given two shal- rather than to the caffeine in cola nuts. low baskets, each about 8 inches in diam, filled Iboga is greatly prized by the natives as an with raspings of iboga root. The priest stands in aphrodisiac. Indeed, Burckhardt claims that it front of the boys and says, "See this stuff at your is "even more highly valued than yohimbine," a feet which you must like even though it tastes as even small constituent of Corynanthe yohimbe, probably repugnant as heavy oil. If I give Jt to you, will you the most famous of African "aphrodisiacs." There consume it?" The boys reply, "Give, and I will amounts of is no pharmacological evidence that ibogaine consume It gladly." The priest responds, "Take iboga would directly stimulates sexual functions, but the it then, but with the mouth, not the hands." Increase in confidence and lack of fatigue pro- Under the surveillance of the priest, fathers, produce duced by its stimulant properties may easily and uncles, the boys gulp down the bitter and account for its reputation. It is also possible that vile-tasting raspings. Throughout the day, the marginal its hallucinogenic effects contribute. In other boys continue to eat Iboga roots, encouraged by hallucinogenic parts of the world, plants with primarily hallu- their guardians. It is not until late in the day that effects, possibly cinogenic effects, such as Cannahis sativa, have the candidates have eaten enough iboga to be been claimed to be aphrodisiacs. able to see Bwiti. a "dreamy" or The most interesting use of iboga, however, is The candidates begin the evening ceremo- "floating" as an hallucinogen. Probably the first report of nies with a ritual dance which includes all the such utilization is that of Guien, who describes an members of the Bwiti in the tribe. At the end of sensation initiate in a fetishist cult: "Soon all his sinews the dance, the boys go off to a specially prepared stretch out in an extraordinary fashion. An epilep- hut where they eat still more iboga. A vigorous tic madness seizes him, during which, uncon- and joyous dance follows, and then, towards scious, he mouths words, which, when heard by nightfall, the lomba, the central part of the the initiated ones, have a prophetic meaning and ceremony, begins. A sorcerer dances for two

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 Fall 1990 Page 31 hours and invokes the ancestors of the members. tianity. Iboga and baptism are indeed incom- Then everyone participates in a torchlight dance. patible, and there is little question as to which Amid the flames of the torches and the beauty of would appeal more to an African tribesman. the equatorial night, with the effects of the iboga Perhaps the most striking account of this comes coming to a peak, the candidates begin to enter from Georges Balandrier's account of recent a trance. Soon everyone is silent; only the mel- developments in Gabon: "This new faith exerts ody of the mongongo, a sacred harp, is heard. The an undesirable attraction in several districts. It candidates begin to murmur among themselves, creates outlets for intense energies and demands for they are beginning to see Bwiti. The visions those extreme psychological experiences which It(BWITI) continue for several hours, followed by a sleep the Negro likes periodically to undergo. It has become which may last for five to seven days. demands a complete transformation of self, a There are many variations in this pattern. liberation from a standardized and difficult probably the Sometimes, the initiate is sent into the forest for existence. It restores order and confidence where greatest single several days after eating the iboga. Sometimes the forces of disorganization,—and hence of the iboga is mixed with other plants, such as insecurity—have flourished." force against Alchornea floribunda. Like iboga, this plant is Here is Balandrier's description of an all- Christianity in also considered an aphrodisiac, especially among night ceremony in one of the largest temples of the Eshira, who use it frequently. It may well be Southern Gabon: Gabon an hallucinogen, too, because it is used in almost "The priest and his assistants had made their precisely the same way m the initiation to an- preparations in a private place. They had shared other secret society, the Byeri, which is preva- a concoction made from the grated rind of a lent among the Fang and the Eshira. Some plant named iboga (Tahernanthe iboga), a hallu- concoctions in Gabon may involve as many as cinogen and an aphrodisiac. Their interminable ten plants. Many valuable drugs may await dancing would reinforce these effects and carry discovery in this area. them all, so they said, to the frontiers of true The sacred iboga appears at several other understanding and to the sources of power. .. " points in the life of the Bwiti. Sorcerers employ "Then the dancing began around each of the the iboga before demanding information from poles dominating the architecture of the temple, the spirits. The leaders of the cult eat iboga for a series of jumps, stamps, leaps, and movements, a little known an entire day before asking advice of the ances- which might be described as compulsive. The tors, topping it off with an infusion of the root torsos of the men streamed with sweat and their jungle plant bark, which is served in a manner similar to the muscles stood out under the play of the lights. has helped to Christian communion. From time to time one of them rushed over to It is a striking fact that the Bwiti cult has been a pail of water, drank great draughts, and then unify an entire expanding rather than disappearing during the resumed his intoxicated motion. The congrega- people and to past 50 years, despite a great deal of missionary tion sang and accompanied the priest by danc- effort. It {BWITI) has become probably the ing in place. The women shook their rattles, the block greatest single force against Christianity in only instruments which provided an occasional successfully Gabon, backed by the proverb, "Iboga and musical accompaniment. The rhythm acceler- baptism are not compatible. The cult has adopted ated. The group had become a single creature, some of the many of the rituals of Christianity, sometimes tensed for an impossible victory. I felt pro- influence of deliberately parodying them, and woven them foundly foreign, separate, trapped by my hu- together with the old beliefs. In recent years, the man dignity, encumbered by a body which had our own cult has helped to unify all the tribes against the lost even the memory of its glorious potentiali- civilization innovations of the West. Some have wondered ties. I felt like a kind of cripple to whom no one where it could get such an appeal, but this is not could pay even the slightest attention. hard to see when one considers its powerful "What does our civilization offer that is capable rituals, its promises of actual visions of God of arousing a fervor of this kind, an involvement under the influence of iboga, and compares spelling adventure for the body as well as the mind? them with the unexciting alternatives of Chris- Our churches put inner life and moral principles

Page32 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH ahead of that exaltation which leads to the thresh- old of unconsciousness. They seem cold, devoid of AND STATE supernatural presence, ill-suited to impassioned communion. In the eyes of the villagers, the mis- sionaries are so many "wet blankets" in the celebra- J[he assaults against our religious freedoms tion of the fulfillment of man and the glory of the and liberties have never been so great as they are gods." today. The recent decision of the U.S. Supreme In this way a little known jungle plant has Court that banned Peyote as a Sacrament of the helped to unify an entire people and to block Native American Church and which established successfully some of the influence of our own for the first time a lawful basis for "respecting an civilization Unless there are profound changes establishment of religion"—majority religions vs. in missionary policy or in the Bwiti cult, it will minority religions—signals the dire peril that con- continue to have a great deal of social impor- fronts our religious freedoms and liberties. tance in Gabon. V^^entral to our religious freedoms and liber- Acknowledgments ties is our "BODY PROPERTY RIGHTS' which It would be impossible to enumerate in a brief must be free from the tyranny of the political and space all of the people who have helped me in this religious states. It is this fundamental issue that work. In Europe, a number of people have helped underlies the most significant conflicts of our me to obtain necessary references: Dr. J. P. M. time: 1) the right of women to be mothers by Brenan in England, Dr. A. Lawalree in Belgium, choice; 2) the right of privacy to the expression of Dr. Roger Helm, Dr. Jean Delourme-Houde, M. sexual affection and love among mutually con- R. Duclos in France, and Dr. Albert Hofmann in senting persons; 3) the right to ingest substances Switzerland. At Harvard, the entire staff of the that promotes the psychological, religious and Botanical Museum has been very helpful, espe- spiritual journeys of the individual and which do cially Miss Irene Brady, who drew the second not bring harm to other persons; 4) the right to be figure on very short notice, and Mrs. Lillian free from "torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrad- Hanscom, who retyped my often cryptic manu- ing treatment or punishment" (genital mutila- script. Most of all I want to thank Dr. Richard tions) for religious, social or cultural reasons; and Evans Schultes for his encouragement and advice 5) the right to peacefully and humanely terminate over a period of many months. Without his help, one's life. this paper could never have been written. Xhese are the five major projects that will be Editorial Note: addressed by the NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR SEPA- The above article first appeared In Economic RATION OF CHURCH AND STATE and your fiotony, 1969, XXIII, 2 (April-June) pp. 174-184 membership and support is requested. Your mem- and is reprinted in its near entirety with permis- bership in the NLSCS which includes a subscrip- sion. A map that specified the geographical loca- tion to The TRUTH SEEKER is $35. tions of T. Iboga and associated text has been omitted because of space considerations. The Additional contributions are welcome. references to this article can be obtained by writing The Truth SeekerP.Q. Box 2832 San Diego, CA Send completed membership form & check for $35 92112-2832. to: NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR SEPARATION OF I CHURCH AND STATE 1. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cam P.O. Box 2832 San Diego, CA 92112-2832 bridge, Massachusetts. A term paper in Biology Name 104, "Plants and human affairs," Harvard Uni- versity, 1968. Received for publication Septem- Address ber 30, 1968. City State Zip L 2. Translation mine for all French references.

The Truth Seeker • Vol. 117 • No. 5 • Fall 1990 Page 33 Tabernanthe Iboga: Narcotic Ecstasis and the Work of the Ancestors By James W. Fernandez Somatic Changes. The apparent suppression obtained by Relevance of the Pharmacological Properties ehoka,cvcn in mild dosage, of tissue-deprivation of Iboga to the Purposes of the Bwiti Cult impulses, as well as its depressive effect upon certain autonomic processes, cardiac output, Differences m set, setting, and situation etc., enables the members to maintain a high account for the considerable differences in the level of engagement in the ritual development iboga experience Itself from cult house to cult over a long period of time without complaint or house and from one branch of Bwiti to another. fatigue. There is a puritan element in this cult Nevertheless, there are certain physiological There is a that denigrates the physical body and regards reactions common to most hallucinogens, puritan the soul (nsisim) as englutted by corporeality. It whethertetrahydrocannabinol, mescaline, LSD, is a clear objective of cult life to escape to higher or ibogaine. I would like to list these as they are element in and better things. The extra-corporeal floating commonly put forth in the literature* and then this cult that feeling obtained by ehoka serves this ecstatic ob- offer an indication of how the cult of Bwiti turns jective very well. Ehoka is often said to be an these to its own uses, giving them an interpre- denigrates the aphrodisiac, but there is no evidence in Bwiti tation suitable to its purposes and its members' that this is the case. The set and situation of the physical body needs and expectations. cult emphasize chastity, and the cultural setting sublimates sexual impulses into symbolic state- ments. To the degree that eboka is an aphrodisiac I . Somatic changes (probably only in the relaxed endurance it gives), 2. Body perception it would work against cult purposes. It cannot be, 3. Visual changes in any case, asufficicnt aphrodisiac to breakthrough 4. Time perception the Bwiti set, situation, and setting. 5. Dissociation-detachment 6. Hearing, smell, and taste syncsthesia Body Perception. 7. Task performance In regular dosage, there is little change in 8. Moods and emotions body perception other than that subsumed under somatic change. The body feels lighter. Heavier *As for example in Hoffer and Osmond, The dosages produce a feeling of elongation accom- Hallucinogens (1967). panied by feelings of floating. In the very heavy dosages of initiation, the perception of one's own figure and face in a mirror {employed primarily in MBiri) or of one's fellow worship- ers is so drastically altered as to convince the initiate that he has seen the ancestor. It is of interest to note that mirrors have been used in the measurement of body perception in labora- tory experimentation on hallucinogens. Visual Changes. The spectrums on the margins of perceived objects that are often produced by hallucino- gens do not become evident with ehoka until high dosage. But in initiation doses, spectrums, or rainbows, are often reported in objects, roads, rivers, and animals. These spectrums are taken by the banzie as indications that the user is approaching the precincts of the dead and the great gods.

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 Time Perception. of the chapel—one of the declared objectives of Bwiti. The sense of dissociation directly moves The timing of ritual activity is highly impor- toward that objective. There is a feeling of tant, for the cult succeeds only insofar as it escape from burdensome individuality in such approximates the ritual of the other world. dissociation. This fits in with the desire of the Alarm clocks are kept in most chapels to ensure cult to achieve nlem mvore (one-heartedness) in that timings are exact. Hallucinogens tend to the membership. The consequences of the drug increase the sense of elapsed time as compared to in this area thus serve the communal objectives "real" time. This effect is most apparent under of Bwiti and enable it, in the members' view, to initiation dosage; it is the impression of the combat more effectively what they regard as initiates that they are involved in their spiritual the excessive economic and organizational journeys for many hours, if not days. individualism of transition from traditional Toward the end of her initiation and under tribal culture to membership in a modern state the influence of a full dose of eboka (Taber- on the Western model. nanthe iboga), the initiate stares intently out of the chapel, waiting for her ancestors to "arrive." Hearing, Smell, and Taste Synesthesia. I have little data on sharpened or synesthetic perceptions of smells and tastes. Hearing seems to be affected with large doses, which produce a loud buzzing. Tumult is often reported. With regular doses banzie claim that they can hear the cult harp more clearly and more beautifully. They say that the strings are the voice of Nyingwam Mebege, the female principal of the Universe, who speaks to them. Synesthesia, the effect when one sense mode seems to harmonize or integrate with another, is not reported. However, it would seem to accord with the effort of many cult leaders to convince the mem- bership that Bwiti proves all things are one rather than many. he who takes eboka Task Performance. experiences Because white is the color of the ancestors, she There is high emphasis in Bwiti on perform- has been painted all over with kaolin. Behind some ing the ritual task in such manner as to achieve her sits the nyia-eboka, her "mother of eboka," a sense of wholeness, which we might call dissociation who gives her encouragement. logico-aesthetic integration. Heavy doses of and sense of Dissociation-Detachment. eboka are therefore discouraged as a general practice. But light regular doses, by suppressing detachment Even under light doses, he who takes eboka fatigue and excessive autonomic claims, would experiences some dissociation and sense of de- seem to add to the capacity to concentrate upon tachment. The feeling of "here I am and there is the ritual work at hand. my body going through its actions" is reported by members as a happy indication that the soul will shortly mingle with the ancestors at the roof

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 Fall 1990 Page 35 Moods and Emotions. dead or theirs. Eboka\xa.A a very bitter taste to me. It made me slightly nauseated. And I was never All the possible physiological effects are inspired to go on and follow that road it opens up meaningless unless we understand the context with large doses. in which they appear. In respect to moods and Why was this? First of all, the richness of Bwici emotions, the context of taking ehoka is espe- liturgy and cosmology was standing before me to cially important. We have indicated that some be described and worked out. This challenge alone cult houses are so careful in regulating con- lifted me on every cult night to a plane of very taking the drug text—providing solicitous mothers and fathers intense experience of other cultural realities in of ehoka— that there is hardly a bad trip. In is an expressive which my emotions and my intellect were sharply others, more neglectful, initiates often abandon stepped up, so that I felt no need for any narcotic their initiation in mid-flight through sickness or of excursions. But, further, it is now clear to me that terror. But there is always some somber appre- commumon my attitude set was inappropriate to the drug. hension and anxiety involved in taking massive Although my wife and I tried to establish partici- doses of ehoka in any cult house, because of its pation with the Fang in every respect—living their reputation for causing deaths. For the rest of the village life as we could and dancing in the cult— membership, however, the mood is generally nevertheless, in the end, our communion with euphoric, especially in the last hours before sun- them was conditioned by the fact that I was the up. Members look forward with a fine appetite agent of a Western scientific culture. This is an to the communal meal after the rituals. How- inescapable form of separation that operates in the ever, the beauty and integration achieved in this work of an anthropologist. I suppose my resistance cult by dance and song are virtually sufficient in to the drug was the result of a commitment to themselves to achieve euphoric results, even objective observation. The subjective revelations without ehoka. promised me at the time by the drug seemed Conclusion irrelevant to my task. I failed to appreciate eboka's usefulness in stimulating all-night inquiry.* A certain regret underlies this account of Bwiti It now strikes me with all the force of the ehoka. I worked for many, many months with the obvious that science itself surely required that I explore the properties of this plant in every possible way. Of course, from the Bwiti point of view, one is not being honest with ehoka if one takes it only in the chaste spirit of inquiry. One takes ehoka because one needs to see, to know, and to communicate with greater powers that are hidden in it and known through it. As, in the end, an agent of science, I felt no such needs. Because of significant differences in set, situ- ation, and setting, taking the drug In the spirit of professional inquiry can never produce the same experience as a banzie achieves.

Of course such considerations as these are very far from the Bwiti point of view. Members of this cult take ehoka because they believe it to be a very powerful instrument of their inten- tions. We may argue from our view that taking the drug is an expressive form of communion Fang and in Bwiti—a people and an institution I achieved by exteriorizing interior states. It re- esteem. But I ate only modest amounts of ehoka, ally, after all, does not change much in the object and I never experienced any soaring ecstasy, any weighty meaning, any visions of my own awesome *See above for similar observations by Sharon.

Page36 The Truth Seeker Vol.117 • No. 5 Fall 1990 world, and surely Africans in this modernizing period are challenged with the necessity of making changes in that world. In fact, the Gabonese elite generally deprecate Bwiti be- cause banzie "work no more" and are no longer of use to the national enterprise. The banzie, on the other hand, cannot agree with this criticism, for they are seriously engaged in the "work of the ancestors," which they do not regard as self- The ritual use of hallucinogens indulgent. As for the taking of the drug itself, which is also excoriated by the elite, the banzie would have support from the pre-World War I colonial Germans, who found it a useful drug at certain levels of ingestion. In view of the widespread drug abuse in this country—by no means only in the hallucino- gens—it may be salutary to emphasize again that the Bwiti cult in most of its branches carefully controls members' uses of eboka. The "work of the ancestors" can easily be harmed by an overdose. Only initiates are free to pursue the potentialities of eboka virtually to the limit of their powers. For another kind of ecstasis, per- haps more satisfying and enduring, is to be achieved in the cult, and that is the ecstatic satisfaction of a logically and aesthetically whole performance of the ritual task. One qualifies for participation in that ecstasis by a staggering dose Peter T. Furst of eboka. But one achieves it periodically only by very modest amounts. All this would seem to launch us, as anthro- pological presentation so often does, upon the high seas of ontological relativism, for we have two definitions of work and two definitions of ecstasis. One man's work seems to be another instrumental and expressive tendencies. Cul- a drug is man's play. And there seems to be an ecstasis of tures differ from one to another in their notion abused when it interiorization and an ecstasis of exterlorization. of the optimal mix, and over periods of time I propose two axioms to put us at ease and change that mix. One source of change, the ceases to prepare us for the future: essence of revitalization, arises when the hard facts of reality, developing either out of the facilitate work 1. Since any drug, including the hallucinogens, culture's own processes or by imposition from as a culture can be used or abused, we may, in the end, judge without, prove intractable in men's attempts to the difference between use and abuse only in work with them or within them. The colonial defines that relation to a culture's definition of work or pleas- reality proved especially intractable to the Fang, work ure. Hence, although there is a bit of a tautology just as for many Americans today the harried, involved; a drug is abused when it ceases to facili- highly organized Industrial juggernaut of our tate work as a culture defines that work. culture proves intractable in their attempts to 2. Men universally try to manifest in them- work within it to any satisfaction. Some Fang selves, and to work with, the optimal mix of and some Americans, therefore, turn away to

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 Fall 1990 Page 37 search for and express a new reality. They have The above article was excerpted from the author's found drugs very useful to that task—although much longer essay: "Tabernanthe Iboga: Nar- in the end ceremonial events, song and dance, cotic Ecstasis and the Work of the Ancestors". In: may have as great a power. Hence, the mix of Flesh OfTheGods. (PeterT. Furst, ed). Waveland instrumental and expressive modes of being m Press, Inc. P.O. Box 400 Prospect Heights, IL any culture is dependent upon the satisfactions 60070 (1972, Reissued 1990). Reprinted with of the work of that culture and the ecstatic permission. possibilities found in that work. we may> in the SELECTED REFERENCES end, judge the Fernandez, James W., (1964). African religious difference movements, types and dynamics. The journal of An Ethnography JAMES W. Modern African Studies, II, 4, 531-49. FERNANDEZ between use of the Religious Imagination and abuse only Fernandez, James W. (1965). Symbolic consen- in Africa sus in a Fang reformative cult. American Anthro- in relation to a pologist, LXVII, 4, 902-27. cultures Fernandez, James W. (1969). Contemporary definition of African religion: confluents of inquiry. In G.M. work or Carter (Ed): Expanding Horizons in African Stud- ies. Evanston,lL. Northwestern University Press. pleasure

raphy of the Religious Imagination in Africa. Prin- ceton University Press. Princeton, NJ.

Hoffer, A. and Osmond, H. (1967). The Hallu- cinogens. New York: Academic Press.

La Barre, Weston. (1 972) Hallucinogens and the Shamanic Origins of Religion. In: Flesh of the Gods: The ritual use of hallucinogens (¥ wst, Peter, T., Ed). Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL Crucial to the understanding of the religious imagination, the author argues, is a knowledge of Masters, R.E.L. and Houston, J. (1966). The the historical, social, and cultural matrices from varieties of Psychedelic Experience. New York: Holt, which is arises. Accordingly, his book explores the Rinehart &: Winston. Fang culture of Gabon as a set of contexts from which the Bwiti religion emerges. In addition to Sharon, Douglas (1972). The San Pedro Cactus experience with missionary Christianity, Bwiti in Peruvian Foik Healing. In: Flesh Of The Gods: uses a great reservoir of images and ideas from its The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens (Peter T. Furst, own past. Professor Fernandez analyzes how they Ed). Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL are recreated into a compelling religious universe, and equatorial microcosm, Walker, A. R. and Sillans, R. (19.61). Let Plantes Utiles du Gabon. Paris. Princeton University Press, 1982 Princeton, NJ The author is currently with the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago.

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fait 1990 Drugs, Religion, and the Healing Process

by James W. Prescott classes in the State of Rajasthan, Northern India were diametrically and angrily opposed to each The choice of religious belief, sacramental other in their choice of daru (alcohol) or bhang drugs and the spiritual transformation of the (marijuana) for consumption. individual is culturally determined. The Rajput class was the warrior class from which came the Rajahs or the rulers of society. The social-political structure of a culture is a As fighting men, the Rajputs had certain special major factor that determines the acceptability and prerogatives to eat meat and drink alcohol. non-acceptability of certain religious beliefs and Before taking the first drink, alcohol was offered customs, use of sacramental drugs, and the spiri- to invoke the demon-goddess Kali in her local tual paths that are permitted to be pursued. The embodiment as both mother and destroyer who American culture is similar to many other cultures "relishes a diet of blood and alcohol." In stark with respect to these issues, despite its Constitu- contrast, the members of the other high caste- tional law of separation of church and state. group in the village, the Brahmins, unequivo- The tolerance and active support of two very cally denounced the use of daru (alcohol). dangerously addictive drugs, alcohol and nico- Carstairs continues his commentary: "It tine by the American Culture with its concomi- (dam-alcohol) is, they say, utterly inimical to the tant rejection and criminalization of a non- religious life—-and in matters of religion the Brah- addictive and relatively benign drug, marijuana mins speak with authority. Certainly no Hindu is a case in point. Similarly, with the rejection of who has tasted or even touched daru will enter one heroin and the acceptance of methadone which of his temples (not even a goddess temple) without are both highly addictive drugs and where first having a purificatory bath and change of methadone is considered by some to be as clothes. The first requirement of those who begin to equally harmful as heroin. In a previous essay by devote themselves seriously to religion is always: this author: "Failure of Pleasure As A Cause of "Abhor meat and wine." Priests and holy men Drug/Alcohol Abuse & Addiction", the reasons insist that a darulia (an alcoholic) is beyond the for America's cultural choice of and rejection of pale of possible salvation. Andyet again and again these drugs was given with an explication of the the writer was able to see respectable Brahmins and religious roots that influence why certain drugs holy Saddhus who were benignly and conspicu- are acceptable and others are not to a given ously fuddled with bhang. To his eye, they were culture. Among these roots is the reciprocal drunk as lords—drunk as Rajputs—and yet they relationship between pleasure and violence: drugs would have been mortally offended if the compari- that promote pleasure are prohibited (mari- son had been drawn, because this form of intoxica- America is still juana/heroin); drugs that eliminate pleasure and tion they believed to be not only no disgrace, but promote violence are acceptable (methadone/ actually an enhancement of the spiritual life. " very much a alcohol). America is still very much a puritani- Other examples could be cited, for example, puritanical cal and violent culture which strongly influ- Carstairs' comments on Aldous Huxley's (1954) ences its drug choices. Marijuana not only pro- description of mescaline intoxication which he and violent motes pleasure but it is also one of the most regarded as a "gratuitous grace" which "facilitates culture which effective and safe anti-aggression and anti-vio- the sort of mystical experience which he finds both lent drugs available. (Prescott, 1975,1980,1989, chastening and rewarding, in much the same way strongly 1990; Secretary, DHEW, 1971) as Brahmins and Saddhus regard bhang as an aid influences its One of the most dramatic cross-cultural docu- to contemplation." Although, Huxley expressed mentations of the religious factors that deter- the hope that Westerners would abandon alcohol drug choices. mine the acceptance and/or rejection of alcohol and tobacco for the more mystical mescaline, or bhang (marijuana) use was published by Carstairs rightly observed that this would be highly George Morris Carstairs, DPM, FRCP: unlikely given the fundamental differences in basic "BHANG AND ALCOHOL: Cultural Factors values oflife that are reflected in the use of these in the Choice of Intoxicants (1966). In that substances. paper he described how and why the two ruling

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fail 1990 Page 39 Another dimension of the historical roots of "In short, it (majority opinion) effectuates a the role of drugs with the religious experience wholesale overturning of settled law concerning the has been identified by John Marco Allegro in Religion Clauses of our Constitution. One hopes that "The Sacred Mushrooms and the Cross" (1970). the Court is aware ofthe consequences, and that its In that treatise he outlined the connection be- result is not a product of overreaction to the serious tween the plant hallucinogens, superstition and problems the country's drug crises has generated." the rise of the monotheistic religions. Allegro's And: "/ do not believe the Founders thought their contributions will be the subject of future essays dearly bought freedom from religious persecution a. the Court's in The Truth Seeker. "luxury, " hut an essential element of liberty—and When does a drug which has historically they could not have thought religious intolerance majority been used as a "sacrament" in a given religion "unavoidable, "for they drafted the Religion Clauses found that now become unacceptable or even become a precisely in order to avoid that intolerance. " criminal act for that culture? The suppression of The Minority Opinion of the Court held the defense's certain "sacraments" and religious rituals within that the "compelling government interest ofthe claim to First a sub-culture (which inflicts no harm upon oth- highest order" test had not been established nor ers) by the political state of the larger culture cer- was the Sherbert test met for the government to Amendment tainly must constitute state interference with burden religious beliefs or practices, specifically, Rights to the religious beliefs and practices. For the American "religiously motivated conduct may be regu- Culture this constitutes a violation of the sepa- lated where such conduct 'pose(s) some sub- free exercise of rationofChurchandStatewhereArticle 1 ofthe stantial threat to public safety, peace or order'". religion in the Bill of Rights states: "Congress shall make no The reader is encouraged to read the major- law respecting an establishment of religion, or ity and minority opinions in this extraordinary use of Peyote prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . " Supreme Court decision which for the first time as a sacrament Despite this Constitutional protection that has given legal preference to "majority" relig- the State cannot prefer one religion and its ions vs. "minority" religions and which denies was a practices to another, the United States Supreme the use of certain drugs as "sacraments" in rituals "co nstitutio nal Court in "Employment Division, Department of "minority" religions but approves the use of of Human Resources of Oregon, ET AL. v. other kinds of drugs used In the rituals of anomaly " Smith Et AL (Decided April 17, 1990) ruled "majority" religions. In this context, the minor- that Peyote, an hallucinogenic drug and a sacra- ity opinion specifically noted that the sacramen- mental substance in the religious rituals ofthe tal use of wine by the Roman Catholic Church Native American Church, was unlawful and, was exempted from the National Prohibition therefore, not a protected religious belief/activ- Act that prohibited the use of alcohol. ity. In reaching their conclusion, the Court's The above review is background to under- majority found that the defense's claim to First standing the anticipated rejection of Tabernanthe Amendment Rights to the free exercise of reli- iboga, an hallucinogenic drug to promote a spiri- gion in the use of Peyote as a sacrament was a tual journey and transformation ofthe individual, "constitutional anomaly" since it would confer by the social-political structure of the American "a private right to ignore generally applicable Culture which has become increasingly and un- laws"; and offered other unprecedented argu- constitutionally biased in favor of Christianity. ments. Among these was that the free exercise of This Is particularly the case for Tabernanthe iboga religion is a "luxury" that a well-ordered society where authorities on Its use have noted that its use cannot afford and that the restriction of minor- "has become probably the greatest single force ity religions is an "unavoidable consequence of against Christianity in Gabon, backed by the democratic government". proverb, "Iboga and baptism are not cornpacible." In the minority opinion written by Justice And: ""In recent years, the cult (Bwiti) has helped Blackmun with whom Justice Brennan and to unify all the tribes against the innovations of che Justice Marshal joined, they dissented, in part, West" {Pope, 1968). as follows:

Page40 The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 No. 5 Fall 1990 In contrasting the African religion of Bwiti tutional preferential protection while other drug with that of the West, Balandrier {cited by preferences, as a sacrament of different relig- Pope) makes the following conclusions on his ions, e.g. peyote, marijuana, mushrooms, mes- description of an all-night ceremony in one of caline, ibogaine, etc. are denied equal Constitu- the largest temples of Southern Gabon: tional protection? Certainly, the religious pref- "What does our civilization offer that is capable erence for certain drugs, as sacraments, consti- of arousing a fervor of this kind, an involvement tute a significant issue for the separation of spelling adventure for the body as well as the mind? church and state. Our churches put inner life and moral principles From a secular perspective, a re-evaluation of "Iboga and ahead of that exaltation which leads to the thresh- the "spiritual state", as pursued within the tradi- old of unconsciousness. They seem cold, devoid of tional religions, is in order. Specifically, the baptism supernatural presence, ill-suited to impassioned understanding of the phenomena of "altered are not communion. In the eyes of the villagers, the mis- states of consciousness"—a "spiritual" state—, sionaries are so many "wet blankets" in the celebra- as a natural neuropsychological brain state, would compatible. tion of the fulfillment of man and the glory of the advance substantially the replacement of the gods." "religious" experience as a phenomena of the Pope (1969) concludes: "In this way a little "supernatural". For example, a priority study of known jungle plant has helped to unify an entire the effects of Tabernanthe iboga on brain func- people and to block successfully some of the tion should involve a PET scan that would influence of our own civilization." identify the specific brain structures that are What can be concluded from all of this? And primarily activated by this drug. From my what are its implications for the drug abuse prob- previous studies and given the subjective reports lem in America; its current drug war; the use of of the Tabernanthe iboga experience that involve "hallucinogenics" within a spiritual (not to be sensations of "extra-corporeal floating"; "the confused with the historical "religious" or "super- body feels lighter"; "dizziness"; "nausea"; "ataxia" natural") journey of personal transformation; and and "dlsassociation" all implicate the cerebel- the religious-political bias that exists for the use lum—a brain structure that I have proposed as and non-use of certain drugs in our culture? a master integrating system for sensory-emo- Given the extraordinary linkage of the use of tional-cognitive and motor processes. The cere- drugs in spiritual rituals that provide a direct bellum is the brain structure that is uniquely connection to "god", without the intervention designed to integrate the conscious brain with the religious and controlling influence of the agents of god the sub-conscious brain provided the appropri- (rabbis, priests, ministers, mullahs), it can be ate neuropsychological state is present preference for better appreciated why Christianity is opposed Stan Gooch, a psychologist, has also impli- to these religions and their drugs. Similarly, it cated— from a different perspective— the cere- certain drugs, can be understood why the current members of bellum as a principal brain structure in the as sacraments, the U.S. Supreme Court (which favors Christi- mediation of parapsychological and anity) will also reject the use of those drugs used "spiritual"phenomena (The Double Helix of The constitute a in the spiritual rituals of "minority" religions Mind, 1980) and other works. significant which are opposed to the Christian religion and Tabernanthe iboga may well stimulate that neu- its authoritarian control of the people. ropsychological state and objective scientific stud- issue for the Thus, the current political-legal opposition ies of brain function can verify the role of the separation of to certain drugs, e.g. marijuana and the hallu- cerebellum and other brain structures in the Tab- cinogens must be re-evaluated within the con- ernanthe iboga experience. Similar studies ofbrain church and text of a Christian religious bias that is discrimi- function with the other hallucinogens would state natory toward "minority" religions and their provide scientific bases to understanding the al- particular choice of "sacramental drugs". Why leged "religious-spiritual-supernatural" experience should the Christian bias toward the use of precipitated by these drugs and their therapeutic alcohol (wine), as a sacrament, be given Consti- "transformational" effects.

The Truth Seeker Vol. 117 • No. 5 • Fall 1990 Page 41 Selected References Determinants. In: Violent Behavior Vol. I: Assess- ment and Intervention (L.J. Hertzberg, el. al.,eds) Allegro, J.M. (1970). The Sacred Mushroom and PMA Publishing Corp. New York. the Cross. Doubleday. New York, NY

Siegel, R.K.S. (1989) Intoxication: Life in Pursuit Carstairs, G.M. (1966). Bhang and Alcohol: of Artificial Paradise. E.P. Dutton New York. Cultural Factors in the Choice of Intoxicants. In: The Marihuana Papers. (Solomon, D., Ed). Bobbs- Secretary, DHEW(1971). Marijuana and Health. Merrill Co. Indianapolis. New American Library A report to Congress from the Secretary, U.S. Edition, 1968. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Washington, D.C. Fernandez, J.W. (1972) Tabernanthe Iboga: Narcotic Ecstasis and The Work of The Ances- Supreme Court Of The United States (1990). tors. In: Flej^ Of The Gods (Peter T. Furst, Ed). Employment Division, Department of Human Waveland Press. Prospect Heights, IL Resources of Oregon, Et. Al., Petit ioncrsv. Alfred L Smith et al. On Writ of Cerciorari To The Gooch, S. (1980) The Double Helix of The Mind. Supreme Court of Oregon. No. 88-1 213. April Wildwood, London 17, 1990.

Pope, Jr., H.G. (1969) Tabcrnanche iboga: an African Narcotic Plant of Social Importance. Economic Botany, XXIII, 2 (April-June) pp. 174- 184).

Prescott, J.W. (1971). Early Somatosensory Deprivation As An Ontogenetic Process In The Abnormal Development of The Brain and Be- havior. In I.E. Goldsmith and Moor-Jankowski (Eds): Medical Primatology 1970. Basel: Karger

Prescott, J.W. (1975) Body Pleasure and The Origins of Violence. The Futurist, April

Prescott, J.W. (1979). Alienation of Affection. Psychology Today. (Dec).

Prescott,J.W. (1980)SomatosensoryAffectional Deprivation (SAD) Theory of Drug and Alcohol Use. In: Theories On Drug Abuse (Lemcri, D.J., Sayers, M. and Pearson, H.W., Eds) NIDA Re- search Monograph 30. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD

Prescott, J.W. (1989) Failure of Pleasure As A Cause of Drug Abuse. The Truth Seeker (Nov/ Dec)

Prescott, J.W. (1990). Affectional Bonding For The Prevention ofViolent Behaviors: Neurobiol- ogical, Psychological and Religious/Spiritual Jfurtfjer

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