Second installment of the biography of Antonio Escohotado, the drug-loving master.

by Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

Since 1971, Jean-Pierre CHAUMEIL, a French ethnologist, has spent several periods in the Peruvian Amazon, especially among the Yagua of the northeastern region, with whom he lived for more than three years together with his wife. His primary interest is the comparative study of shamanism and, more generally, everything surrounding the new forms of religiosity in the Amazon. He is the author of several books, among them “Voir, savoir, pouvoir” (Ed. de l’EHESS, Paris, 1983) and “Ñihamwo” (CAAAP, Lima, 1987). A research officer at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), he belongs to its Amerindian Anthropology Research Team (France).

In previous installments, we discussed ergot, a fungus that parasitizes certain cereals and enabled the discovery of LSD and the synthesis of highly useful drugs (see Spannabis Magazine No. 51 and No. 52). Now, we will focus on botanical, medical, and pharmacological aspects, exploring how this fungus has played a starring role in various historical moments.

LSD, My Problem Child by Albert Hofmann

In Rome, drugs were regulated by the Lex Cornelia, and while many substances were used, opium was the most common for pain treatment and forgetting life's troubles (Torres et al. 1997: 12).