Entheogens 1

Running Head: ENTHEOGENS: AN INVESTIGATION OF VALIDITY AND USAGE

Entheogens: An Investigation of Validity and Usage

Allison Carignan
Glen Allen High School

Introduction
Since the 1960s and President Nixons declaration for a war against drugs, all drugs,
even those with spiritual and medicinal benefits, have been black-listed and criminalized. An
entheogen refers to a psychoactive chemical or botanical, typically a hallucinogen, which is used
for religious or spiritual effects and/or practiced in a shamanic context. A few of the entheogens
that will be discussed are: magic mushrooms composed of psilocybin, peyote with its key
ingredient mescaline, ayahuasca containing DMT molecules, salvia divinorum, and Lysergic
Acid Diethylamide (LSD). However, debate still continues over whether these substances are
capable of inducing genuine mystical experiences. This literature will examine how entheogens
produce religious experiences.
Terminology
In this paper, religion refers to the obedience to an organized system of beliefs about
the divine and the observance of rituals, rites, and requirements of said system; spirituality is
defined as ones focus on, openness, and connectedness to a process or entity believed to be
beyond ones existence (Krippner & Watts 2006). Thus, an entheogen is a natural or artificial
substance that arouses feelings of inspiration and induces alterations of consciousness in a
religious, spiritual, or shamanic manner.
Throughout this paper, entheogens will be referred to as hallucinogens, psychoactive
substances, psychedelics, and holotropic substances. Entheogens, hallucinogens, and
psychedelics all fall under the category of psychoactive substances. These three terms essentially
mean the same thing, and many drugs fall into more than one category; the difference lies in the
context of the usage, as entheogens, literally meaning God-containing, are psychoactive
substances taken in some sort of spiritual context, whereas hallucinogens are not necessarily. The

word psychedelic means mind-expanding and is characterized by the perception of aspects of

ones mind that was previously unknown and is also known as mysticomimetics or
psychotomimetics. All psychedelics are hallucinogens, which are characterized by subjective
changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness (Richards 2003).
Historical Context of Entheogens
Despite entheogen-use being controversial, it has undeniably been continuing for
centuries around the world, as established by evidence. A cave painting of a mushroom-man
dating back to 8000 BP in Tassili, Algeria is some of the first evidence of entheogen usage, along
with mushroom idols from the Konya plain in Europe (King 2012). Similarly, other European
cave depictions from the Paleolithic era illustrate geometric patterns comparable to phosphenes
that are seen while under the influence of psychotropic drugs. Also, the use of sacred mushrooms
was recorded by the Mayans on mushroom stones as early as 1000 BCE, proclaiming them to be
visionary agents (King 2012). Some scholars suggest that the ritual use of entheogens in the
upper Amazon goes back to 3000 BCE, while artifacts from indigenous groups in Ecuador for
ayahuasca from 2000 BCE have also been discovered (Krippner & Sulla 2000).
Hinduisms soma in the use of Vedic sacrifices, the Zoroastrian haoma used in rituals, the
kykeon drink of the Ancient Greeks, and the wine of Dionysis the Liberator are just a few
historical and religious entheogen examples discussed by philosophers that convey the
importance and historical relevance of entheogens (Walsh, 2003). However, it was not until 1936
that Philippe de Felice became the first scholar to investigate the sacramental use of psychoactive
substances, claiming that the use of psychotropic substances is deeply embedded in human
culture, andit is intrinsically intertwined in a most basic human instinct- the search for

transcendence (Shanon, 2002). Thus, the use of such psychoactive drugs is more than just
rituals and rediscovered artifacts and is potentially at the roots of all religions.
Cultural and Religious Context:
Many of worlds societies are polyphasic, actively deriving their understanding of reality
from multiple states of consciousness, through various methods such as dreams, drugs,
meditation, yoga, and trance. Conversely, the West is mainly monophasic, deriving their view of
reality from the typical conscious wakened state (Walsh & Grob, 2005). Due to this vast contrast
in mindsets over how one can reach different levels of consciousness, the Western world,
specifically North America, scoffs at the notion of psychoactive substances being used for any
purposes, even religious.
For many religious groups, using entheogens to achieve spiritual insights is considered a
serious and official matter; for instance, the Tukano Indians of the Columbian northwest Amazon
consume an ayahuasca-based mixture known as caapi for specific ceremonies, like funerals,
diagnosis of serious ailments, and shamanic vision quests (Krippner & Sulla 2000). Ayahuasca,
on the other hand, is used by tribes in the Amazon and in three Brazilian churches- Santo Daime,
Uniao do Vegetal, and Barquinha (Krippner & Sulla, 2000). The Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic
scripture, is a collection of hymns to Soma, a Hindu ritual drink. In these hymns, worshipers
often praise the drink as a divinity and mark its energizing qualities; Zoroastrian hymns to their
homa beverage are similarly praising (Shanon 2002). More recently in religion, in 1991, Charles
Tart performed multiple studies involving psychedelics, all of which occurred with an extremely
low casualty rate. In one of his studies, he found that a significant percentage of Western Tibetan
Buddhism students believed that psychedelics had done a large part to initiate their practice
(Fadiman, Grob, Bravo, Agar, & Walsh, 2003).

The validity of these religions, however, is debated by theologians, as some refer to those
entheogen-using groups as cults instead of sects; in more recent years, several scholars have
hypothesized that the use of entheogenic agents has been the source of more institutionally
established religions, including Christianity and Judaism (Shanon 2002). Despite the usage of
entheogens in other cultures to achieve spiritual enlightenment, North America continues to be
frightened by the power of the entheogens, thinking the consequent experiences are unnatural
and not equivalent to natural, spontaneous religious experiences.
Contexts Continued
These chemicals have fascinated some of the greatest names in psychology, philosophy,
and religion in the twentieth century. Renowned philosophers such as Aldous and Laura Huxley,
prestigious religious scholars like Huston Smith, experts on Shamanism like Michael Harner, and
spiritual teachers such as Ram Dass have dedicated their time and efforts to studying and
understanding the complicated experiences driven by various entheogens.
Multiple contexts have set the stage for the continuation of entheogen usage around the
globe. Although the historical, religious, and cultural contexts surrounding entheogens has been
discussed, the psychoactive substances can be viewed in two additional contexts. The first is
entheogenic which states that religion must be a private act and that governmental suppression of
internal events is fundamentally against humanity. The other is psychedelic which outlines the
potential to help people live better lives and develop medical alternatives (Fadiman, Grob,
Bravo, Agar, & Walsh 2003). Evoked spiritual experiences could address existential issues, such
as finding meaning in life, by allowing uninhibited reflection on ones experiences in order to
establish a personal theology.
Neural Functioning

Although the validity of entheogen-use is still disagreed upon for religious and spiritual
purposes, the biological responses that occur when one ingests a psychoactive substance are
mostly known, but not entirely understood. The way entheogens work in the human brain,
similar to psychedelics, gives them their unique effects which are perceived as otherworldly
experiences. A spiritual experience is defined as the superimposition upon ordinary sensations
of a unique numinousmystical feeling facilitated by a neurolimbic substrate (Jade, 2013).
Research suggests that classic hallucinogens (LSD, DMT, mescaline, and psilocybin) do their
work in the brains cortical regions, where they can activate 5-HT2A receptors, which are widely
distributed in the basal ganglia, cortex, and temporolimbic structures, and are normally activated
by serotonin (Jade, 2013). Some neuroscientists believe there is already an existing
hallucinogen receptor in the brain, designed for such substances (Fontanilla, Johannessen,
Hajipour, Cozzi, Jackson, & Ruoho, 2009). Others, such as neuroscientist Vilayanur
Ramachandran, suggest that entheogens excite the temporal lobe, which sends excited messages
to the amygdala, the basis of where people derive their religious experiences of emotional
exaltation and overwhelming significance from, so-called the God spot (King 2012). While
mescaline, ayahuasca, and LSD function this way as partial agonists, salvia divinorum is not one
and thus works differently; these two categories of drugs need to be compared and evaluated to
see if because different receptors are used, different responses are created.
Specific Entheogens
To better compare the effects entheogens, this paper will closely evaluate (three or five)
of the most well-known substances. The first entheogen is psilocybin mushrooms, commonly
referred to as magic mushrooms or simply shrooms. These are found in Mexico, Central
America, and the United States, are sometimes called sacred mushrooms, and have been

integral to the religious ceremonies of Indians in Mexico and Central America for at least two
thousand years. In 1962, Walter Pahnke performed his acclaimed double-blind Marsh Chapel
Good Friday Experiment using psilocybin and vitamin B-6 on theology students in Boston
University; he found that students who received the psilocybin reported significantly more
mystical phenomena than those with the vitamin (Richards 2003). Currently, there are at least
150 known species of hallucinogen mushrooms, which are ingested orally, but can also be
brewed into a tea to attempt to mask their bitter flavor.
There is an important distinction between psilocybin and psilocin in the composition of
shrooms, although they are both tryptamine compounds and serotonin-like pseudohallucinogens. Psilocybin is the naturally-occurring, relatively stable psychoactive ingredient in
mushrooms that, when ingested, is metabolized by the enzyme alkaline phosphatase into its
much less stable compound psilocin, which is what gives the fungi its unique effects. Ingestion
of magic mushrooms produces an altered state of consciousness, including changes in mood,
perception, and thought, and changes in the experience of time, space, and self, similar to what
one experiences in dreams, spiritual-type exaltations, acute psychoses, and near-death
experiences. Researchers have found that a trip on the fungus lasts for about eight hours,
psilocybin is generally well-tolerated, and subjects feel like their normal selves within twentyfour hours. As a chemical cousin of LSD however, at the various serotonin receptors, both
psilocybin and psilocin interact mainly at the 5-HT2A, which is widely spread out in the basal
ganglia, cortex, and temporolimbic structures, and limit the action of serotonin. Neural circuits
activated by psilocybin are also involved in mood and affective disorders, non-drug-induced
mystical experiences, and affect neural pathways in humans that may adaptively promote
subsequent bonding and cooperation. Of all the illicit drugs, psilocybin and thus mushrooms are

proclaimed to have the highest lifetime prevalence rates, but due to rapidly developing tolerance
and inconsistent effects, use is typically occasional and later stopped (Jade 2013).
Also in the tryptamine family with psilocybin is the next entheogen, Ayahuasca, which is
composed of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) one of the most powerful hallucinogen substances
known, which is also produced naturally in the body by the pineal gland. There is a theory by
Doctor Rick Strassman that in times of extreme physical stress, some near death experiences, and
even during deep REM sleep, the body releases DMT; it is affectionately nicknamed the God
molecule for the deities and beings from other universes people claim to see while tripping and
for the opportunity to understand God. (Strassman 2000). It is found in several Amazonian
plants, such as in the Banisteriopsis caapi vine which is affectionately called the vine of the
souls, and contains type-A monoamine oxidase inhibitors that are found throughout the body and
counteract the effects of this enzyme allowing DMT to freely bind to serotonergic sites in the
brain. The drink is also used in the religions of Santo Daime, Uniao do Vegetal, and Barquinha as
a sacrament. DMT has no effect when taken orally because saliva breaks down the chemical, so
people smoke either the compound DMT itself or drink the ritual beverage Ayahuasca. Users of
this entheogen claim losing all sense of time, place, and reality along with instantaneous
psychedelic effects described as nuclear cannons (Krippner & Sulla 2000).
The third entheogen is LSD-25 (diethylamide lysergic acid), commonly known as simply
LSD or acid was partially created by man. In 1938, Swiss researcher Albert Hofmann developed
the semisynthetic chemical compound; the naturally occurring component, lysergic acid, is the
basis of all major ergot alkaloid fungi, which have important uses in medicine, for instance in
relieving migraine headaches (Grof 1980). Beginning in 1970, The Maryland Psychiatric
Research Center accepted 108 mental health professionals into its LSD training program to study

LSD in the treatment of alcoholism and of severe neuroses. These trainees were administered an
initial assessment battery of multidimensional personality tests and then each was individually
administered LSD under the supervision of MPRC staff during up to three training sessions. The
subjects were asked to narrate their LSD experiences immediately after the sessions and were
also contacted at six-month and one-year intervals after the sessions to survey any effects the
sessions had on their life (Richards 2003).
The Value of Entheogenic Experiences
Although entheogens continued to be used world-wide and have been for centuries, the
experiences people have vary greatly in the value. All spiritual and religious experiences share a
progressive increase of unity over diversity, a progressive sense of transcendence or
otherworldliness, progressive incorporation of an observing Self in the experience, and a
progressive increase of certainty in the objective existence of what was experienced in the state
(Krippner & Watts 2006). EXPAND
In a religious context, the importance the individual sees in their experience is completely
subjective and depends on ones mind set, environmental setting, and drug dosage. This is the
hard problem in consciousness research- that conscious qualities and attributes of subjective
experience are so qualitatively different from the processes of the objective description that no
brain processes can form an adequate explanation (King 2012).
However, from a medicinal perspective, many entheogens have undeniable importance in
modern medicine. When used carefully and clinically, psychedelics are among the safest drugs in
the medical pharmacopoeia, contrary to the medias distorted perception, an after-effect of the
massive psychedelic increase in the U.S. from the 1960s and 1970s (Fadiman et al. 2003).
Entheogens show promise for diverse medical problems, such as in treating severe

psychosomatic disorders, chronic alcoholism, death anxiety in cancer patients, and posttraumatic stress disorder, including Concentration Camp Syndrome; on the other hand, perfectly
healthy people have shown psychological and spiritual benefits as well. As shown through many
studies, but specifically those done by Rich Strassman in 1984, the clinical use of psychedelics
results in no deaths and extremely low morbidity. Strassman was able to conclude that in in well
screened, prepared, supervised, and followed-up psychiatric patients taking pure psychedelic
drugs, the incidence of serious adverse reactions is less than 1%. It is even lower in normal
volunteers (Fadiman et al., 2003).
William Richards takes the unique perspective that one must have a strong sense of
personal identity and ego strength before experimenting with other states of consciousness. He
claims that failure to have these two pieces are why many young people who try entheogens
report little significance from their experience or get into psychiatric trouble. According to him,
the mature, stable adults are who would benefit the most from exploring alternative states of
consciousness, since they have had more life experience and are more in-touch with themselves
(Richards, 2003).
In regards to the validity of entheogenic experiences, Stanislav Grof, an experienced
psychedelic researcher and creator of LSD, stated that
At the present after 30 years of discussion, the question of whether LSD and other
psychedelics can induce genuine spiritual experiences is still open. At the present
time, both research data and theory suggest an answer to this decades old
question. That answer is a very qualified yes. Yes, psychedelics can induce
genuine mystical experiences, but only sometimes, in some people, under some
circumstances.
There is a likely possibility that drug-induced mystical experiences are the same as some
spontaneous mystical experiences, adding to the entheogens validity in producing such
experiences (Walsh, 2003). Despite the evidence supporting entheogens as true sacraments and

religious insight tools, there is a strong expectation of what the experience should be like when
one is taking a psychoactive drug and thus placebo effects are likely (Walsh & Grob, 2005).
Despite the hype and expectations surrounding entheogens and psychedelics, many theologians
agree that there is at least some legitimacy to using these substances for religious insight and
self-understanding.
Seeking Validity
Despite the evidence that entheogens can be at least slightly spiritually enlightening to certain
individuals some of the time in the right settings, there are four big arguments against the validity
of entheogens. The first argument is that some drug trips are clearly anything but mystical and
beneficial. While this is true, it can also be argued that not all drug experiences are religious, but
some are; it depends on the importance the individual places on their experience, their mind-set,
and the context surrounding them. Similarly, critics claim that experiences induced by drugs are
different than those from genuine mystics. However, through various research and experiments,
like the Good Friday Experiment, done throughout the decades, it is widely agreed on by religion
and neuroscience experts that drug and natural mystical experiences can be descriptively
indistinguishable, although they are not always. Another coherent argument against the validity
of entheogenic experiences are that these mystical raptures are gifts of God that can never be
brought under human control, but ones response to his depends on religious and personal
beliefs, even though there are multiple religions that do use the psychedelics as medicinal
sacraments. The principle of causal indifference invalidates the last argument that drug-induced
experiences are too quick and easy, and thus not of equivalent to those achieved through years of
religious discipline, because it has been determined that subjectively identical experiences can be
produced by multiple causes, so if the states are virtually identity, then the fact that they are from

different sources may be irrelevant. Despite refuting these arguments against the validity of
entheogens, the after-effects of drug-induced experiences are undeniably different, less
beneficial, and less long-lasting than those of other methods and have different long-term effects.
For instance, one spiritual journey does not guarantee a spiritual lifestyle or an ethical life.
Conversely, long-term practice and multiple experiences appear to have a snowballing impact,
regardless of the method used, but lasting transformation typically requires long-term practice. It
turns out that different long-term effects of chemical and contemplative experiences could occur,
even if the original experiences are identical. Similarly, there is a likely possibility that druginduced mystical experiences are necessarily the same as some spontaneous mystical experiences
(Walsh 2003).
Keeping in mind that it is possible for a specific altered state to be reached in more than
one way through different methods, there are multiple theories for understanding mystical
experiences. One theory is about equifinality, which is when the brain process used is different,
but the resulting state of consciousness is similar; this can be done through many ways such as,
reducing muscle tension, visualizing restful scenery, repeating a pacifying thought, or focusing
attention on the breath (Walsh 2003).
Although measuring the validity of entheogens is subjective, there are a few common
ways psychedelic researchers have evaluated experiences. One way is through using the Casto
Spirituality Scoring System, a measure designed to identify spiritual content in dream reports
(Krippner & Sulla 2000). Another method is through using an experients report, a journal of the
visual and auditory changes, such as phosphenes and voices, and the feelings of the person on the
drug; this can be done by the individual themselves, but a sober third-party person is suggested
(Krippner & Sulla 2000).

Conclusion
Therefore, it has been determined that classic entheogens function like hallucinogens in
the brain, through serotonin 2A receptors, to produce thoughts and feelings that are interpreted as
religious and mystical insight. However, the Western side of the world is much more hesitant to
accept entheogens that bring different states of consciousness, which prohibits religions from
practicing freely, people reaching self-actualization and the drugs being used for medical
reasons.
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