Drugs: From Sacred Rituals to Consumer Society

Since time immemorial, drugs have held a place in ancient cultures, used mainly for traditional purposes. The consciousness-altering effects of psychotropic plants were an integral part of sacred rituals and the quest for transcendence. Sacred texts in India refer to the use of hemp and hallucinogenic mushrooms, while in Latin America, mescaline extracted from Peyote and ambrosia in Europe were consumed for ritual purposes.

Alongside religious rituals, many psychotropics were used for therapeutic purposes. The Greeks used opium therapeutically, while cannabis had medicinal applications in China, among other examples.

However, in modern times, problems related to drug use have accelerated, introducing new uses and abuses. Two major factors contributed to this phenomenon: advances in chemistry, which allowed the isolation of molecules to produce increasingly concentrated substances, and the evolution of host cultures.

With the advent of modern medicine and pharmaceuticals, psychoactive substances became a battleground between their medical use (antidepressants, anxiolytics, etc.) and their popular use outside prescriptions. These highly demanded products became a source of profit for drug manufacturers, but also for illegal traffickers.

This strong demand has sparked debates on drug use regulation, with some believing that addiction is mainly caused by exposure to substances, while others argue that addiction depends on the individual.

The rise of consumer society in the 20th century placed concepts such as pleasure and performance at the heart of society, encouraging hyperconsumption behaviors, including regarding psychoactive substances. This trend has been described as an "addictogenic society." While individual vulnerability factors are undeniable, it is difficult to absolve industrial producers and distributors of their social responsibility.

From a political perspective, a system of laws and regulations has been built around the issue of illicit drug addiction, but it has become outdated in many countries. Current policies are dominated by two imperatives: security and health, pushing states toward more regulation and control of addictive behaviors, instead of focusing on harm reduction, prevention, or education.

Regarding legal drugs, such as tobacco and especially alcohol, governments seek a balance between the economic interests of the industries and public health concerns. The National Tobacco Reduction Plan is an example, with visible effects of a comprehensive policy regulating tobacco consumption. However, for alcohol, the balance seems to lean toward the tobacco lobby and its economic interests, at least under certain governments.