In fact, the use of psychotropic plants to achieve states of religious ecstasy goes back almost to the beginning of human culture. Furthermore, the content of the psychedelic experience in the West today has been found to be similar to that of the religious pilgrimages of Oriental and aboriginal New World groups. But one fundamental difference overshadows all similarities: In the traditional cultures described in this collection of ten essays, the hallucinogenic "trip" is a means to an end-a quest for confirmation of traditional values, for unity with the tribal ancestors. In contemporary Western society, by contrast, it tends to be an end in itself and a rejection of the society's values-perhaps, it has been suggested, because Western drug-users tend to be acultural. Clearly, we have much to learn from an objective study of societies with long histories of sanctioned, controlled drug use to achieve recognized cultural objectives.

    Gordon Wasson.A legendary figure in the field of ethnobotany, R. Gordon Wasson's trail-blazing work on hallucinogenic mushrooms with the Mexican curandera Maria Sabina in the 1950s brought increased scholarly attention to the importance of psychoactive plants in the spiritual life of indigenous peoples and had a profound influence well beyond the academic world. His accessible writings helped popularize these discoveries, forming the ground for the social revolution of the following decade. With the growing interest in the role of psychoactive plants in society today, the work of R. Gordon Wasson and the example set by the man himself, so well illustrated here, takes on increasing importance.