I am conducting a cross-cultural analysis using the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (Murdock y White 2006) in order to elucidate the frequency of the consumption of inebriating plants, mushrooms and drinks in human cultures. I have not been able to find any previous attempts to do this. Does anyone know about such an investigation?
Dear Jose,
You may find these book helpful.
1.Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas. 1995 (422 pp.),ISBN
0-7167-2649-1
2.Cannabis and Culture edited by Vera Rubin 1975
Good luck!!
Dear José,
I AM aware of the book of Marlene Doblin de Rios, "Hallucinogens: cross-cultural perspectives".
The classic " Plants of the Gods" by Schultes and Hofmann may also be useful.
I am also aware of a classic anthropology study that stated that most human societies use drugs, but I do not have the reference (maybe you will fins it in Dobkin de Rio's book).
Best,
Rafael
And there other books on the history of drugs: Antonio Escohotado's "Historia General de las Drogas" is another relevant reference.
Best.
Dear Jackson,
I hope you are doing fine! Thank you very much for the references; I did not knew about them. I will definitely look into them. I really appreciate your recommendation. Thanks!
Best regards,
José Ml. Rodríguez
Dear Rafael,
Ola, como vai? I want to thank you for your suggestions. I know about Dobkin de Rios' and Schultes & Hofmann's books; they have been essential in my research. Actually, my objective is to sistematically analyze much of the information presented in those works in order to give a quantitative answer to the question of how common is the consumption of psychoactive materials in human societies. It is usually assumed (but not demonstrated) that the frequency of this behavior is high, even universal, but I have yet to find an investigation that convincingly supports such an assertion (beyond listing some examples from all over the world). I know that Donald Brown, the renowned anthropologist, states in his book "Human Universals" that mood- or concsiousness- altering techniques and/or substances are a human universal, but I don't know if he employed a systematic cross-cultural analysis. Regarding Escohotado's book, I will definitely look into that one, since I have never read it. I understand it is a rather exhaustive compendium on human drug use so it certainly will be of use to me. Muito obrigado!
Best regards,
José Ml. Rodríguez
De nada José, que bien que te he ayudado al menos un poco. Buena suerte!
Dear Dr. J-F,
I hope you are doing just fine! I want to thank you for your suggestions. I am still working on the operationalization process. I was thinking about defining drugs as plants, mushrooms, beverages (including alcoholic ones), and other materials (e.g. from animal origin) which act primarily upon the central nervous system where they affect brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behaviour. In this way, I can include all major types of psychoactive substances: narcotics, stimulants, and psychedelics. Regarding the definition of "use", I was thinking of covering the whole spectrum of contexts in which inebriants have been employed, that is, consumption as part of medical, religious, and secular practices. Therefore, "use" is defined as the ingestion of any psychoactive material within any of the aforementioned cultural contexts. What do you think?
Best regards,
José Manuel Rodríguez
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