Drawing on the experiences of shamanic culture drawn from living with African tribes, American Indians and the peoples of South America, the author of this book provides a study of humanity's use of mind-altering drugs. He presents a convincing thesis that the synergism between early man and the various plants with which they interacted and co-evolved was a decisive causative factor in the development of language, superior intelligence and spirituality. He argues that man has an intrinsic need for spirituality, and that the loss of this shamanistic experience, about 10,000 years ago, has led to the development of the highly addictive drugs of modern day society (alcohol, white sugar, morphine, heroin and television) and to a patriarchal dominator culture and environmental toxification. As an alternative to this situation, the author advocates the religious use of organic psychoactive drugs as a way to recover our relationship with nature, expand our spiritual understanding and provide a humane and open-ended future for the planet.