Rather it was because I was no better at differentiating hallucinogenic mushrooms from death angels and toad stools. I was, in short, a scaredy cat. But I did know people who, like Christopher Columbus, were forever in search of new worlds, even those lurking in a common fungus. That these worlds existed only as chemical reactions inside their skulls seemed to make the adventures no less seductive. The trouble was that when the adventure wound down they wound up back in the real world, which they didn't much like, which was why they were always trying to leave it.
People instinctively ingest things to feel better.
Some settle for morels dipped in egg and cracker crumbs and saut ed in butter. Some prefer Twinkies, some nicotine or alcohol. Some like all the above. Some need antidepressants and sleeping pills and sedatives to cope in a modern rat race where serenity is no match for stress. All are legal, socially acceptable, and rightly so.