Every society on earth has made use of hallucinogenic substances. Some primitive tribes have used these substances for thousands of years, and yet the people involved have not been troubled by drug addiction or by harmful side effects. In general, they have not had problems with substance abuse except in the case of distilled alcohol, a product, however, that has been introduced to Indian societies in relatively recent times. It turns out the use of drugs in many underdeveloped parts of the world is seen by people as the normal thing to do, if used judiciously.
People consume the drug plants in a highly reverent manner, in a highly structured context.
They put a protective cloak of ritual around their use. It's a way to contribute to the collective good of the society. Such plants are used for positive purposes, and not merely as an escape from reality. The scene switches to a picture of the seeds of mescal. Wade Davis poses the question as to what is a hallucinogen.