>Ancient peoples likely consumed everything seemingly edible they came across.

And they traveled much more slowly, so I'd expect that what is now Algerians may have had many folks in parallel eat things, die, not what didn't kill them, etc.

The real issue seems to be that some folks take things that used to be taken once a year or less on a much regular basis.

For example, I met someone who was native american. I don't recall which tribe. But they told me that tobacco used to be more akin to how some folks who are Italian will only drink once a year at Christmas.

I've also noticed a sunk costs phenomenon related to the prison industrial complex: if your freedom depends on following a treatment program, and the treatment program doen't allow you healthy choices, then sometimes they'll double down on unhealthy behaviors.

(For example, you can drink alcohol on a Friday and clear it out of your system Monday, but be a violent jerk for those two days your parole officer is not at work, versus smoking a joint in a park on a Saturday morning, then sitting silently in a corner with your wifi off sorting the nature photos you took, having burned as many or more calories as you would in a gym walking around taking them.)

I've yet to sample psilocybin[1] in a good set and setting -- both times I compromised on that due to sourcing issues.

The first time cleared my depression, but that "depressive realism" stayed with me.

The second, my home was unclean and triggering my allergies, and when I tried to go out for a walk, folks I encountered did not help the matter.

(I've met people in a variety of contexts like a party at hacker conference, bar patio, or attending a lecture at the Federal Trade Commission's offices at Constitution Center, and I'd always just try to ask if they needed water or an escort to safety, let them know I (at the time) had a script for 0.5 aloprazolam pills, and encourage them to avoid alcohol for a few hours so if the trip gets worse they can safely take a benzo.

But to be clear, I have zero medical training. I'm just a mid 30s hacker who wants people to stop making bad decisions, and will (figuratively) bend over backwards to assist that if people try to minimize their impact on others. :-)

The Dutch "smart shops" had a good idea in that they rate the strength of the dose, and sell truffles so it's harder to take a bunch at once. They did a similar thing with edibles -- they sold pound cakes, which are less appetizing to eat multiple of than brownies, along with being lower glycemic. Unfortunately I made the terrible calculus to not book a single room, so I ended up wandering the Red Light district on a bad trip.

They're very tolerant, but at the end of the day, it's a business district and if you're "just admiring the neon" they're going to get annoyed even if you're not taking photos.

I did a walking tour during the day, which was immensely educational, but you really need to go through at night to see the neon, though I strongly suggest finding a partner, even if it's someone who seems halfway sane from the hostel bar. Just pray they don't have a midlife crisis during the walk and try to make out with you after telling you their spouse is involved with a conference you've attended for a decade, or you'll wish you'd just downed 1.5mg of alprazolam on little to no tolerance and went to sleep for 16 hours.

[1] Erowid is a good resource for dosages etc but double check what you read there
https://erowid.org/chemicals/psilocybin/psilocybin.shtml