NCJ Number
136313
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 121-138
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study analyzes adolescent hallucinogenic plant ingestion during initiation rituals among Australian Aboriginal males, Tshonga females in Mozambique, and Chumash Indian youth of southern California.
Abstract
The data on drug use in culturally based initiations of youth in the aforementioned societies show important similarities. In all cases, the hallucinogenic plants were used to create states of consciousness, particularly hypersuggestible ones, so as to enculturate the adolescents with fast-paced educational experiences necessary for their survival and bonding as adult members of the community. This was congruent with the goals and values of the societies involved. These states were created to heighten learning and to create a bonding among members of the cohort group, when appropriate, so that individual psychic needs would be subsumed to the needs of the social group. The social and cultural structure for the passage of youth into adulthood has been lost in contemporary societies. In the absence of structures for initiation into adulthood, youth are left with alienation and despair. Perhaps drug addiction in contemporary societies reflects an intrinsic quest by the individual for transcendent experience and for personal meaning and identity. 38 references