This book addresses the use and regulation of traditional drugs such as peyote ayahuasca coca
leaf cannabis khat and Salvia divinorum . The uses of these substances can often be found at
the intersection of diverse areas of life including politics medicine shamanism religion
aesthetics knowledge transmission socialization and celebration. The collection analyzes how
some of these psychoactive plants have been progressively incorporated and regulated in
developed Western societies by both national legislation and by the United Nations Drug
Conventions. It focuses mainly but not only on the debates in court cases around the world
involving the claim of religious use and the legal definitions of religion. It further touches
upon issues of human rights and cognitive liberty as they relate to the consumption of drugs.
While this collection emphasizes certain uses of psychoactive substances in different cultures
and historical periods it is also useful for thinking about the consumption of drugs in
general in contemporary societies. The cultural and informal controls discussed here represent
alternatives to the current merely prohibitionist policies which are linked to the spread of
illicit and violent markets. By addressing the disputes involved in the regulation of
traditional drug use this volume reflects on notions such as origin place authenticity and
tradition thereby relating drug policy to broader social science debates.
