The God Drug

In Eric Bain-Selbo’s discussion on sports as religion, he notes that the religious nature of sports may be due to the way individuals interpret their feelings. For instance, during sports events, some individuals may interpret their feelings through a religious lens. This depends on the individual and the context (Bain-Selbo 19).

I thought about how this might be applicable in other spheres, and one that came to mind is drug culture. It could be argued that there’s a religious worship around drugs:

For example, Kid Cudi’s appropriately titled song ‘Marijuana’ can be interpreted through this religious lens. He describes marijuana as something he thinks about constantly, needs everyday, something that keeps him leveled, and something that “always has his back.” Religiously, this can be seen as a type of worship.

Amy Winehouse also writes a song that shows this dedication for drug use. However, the song title ‘Addicted’ also highlights a darker side to drug culture. Even as a figure, Amy Winehouse is (unfortunately) notorious for her drug and alcohol abuse, which contributed to her early death. In addition, the idea of addiction may relate to Bain-Selbo’s discussion on interpretation and context: are these individuals interpreting their physiological reactions to drugs through a religious lens?

Some items of popular culture make a more direct connection between religiosity and drug culture. For instance, take this sweater that places a marijuana leaf on the heart of the Virgin Mary. This could be seen as showcasing the worship or devotion towards certain drugs.

Another example of this can be seen in this music video, where Doja Cat utilizes religious imagery for her song ‘So High.’ This also shows an association between drugs and the ‘sacred’ — Doja Cat appears like a Hindu goddess (bindi, blue skin, traditional clothing) while sitting in some kind of marijuana-leaf/lotus hybrid (...?) singing a song that equates romantic love to drugs and feelings of “being high.” These common themes of support, guidance, salvation, devotion, and desire alludes to the religious-like nature of drug culture.

There are countless other examples that can illustrate the religiosity of drug culture. For instance, the Global Marijuana March in Toronto — can this be considered a pilgrimage? Can it evoke a sense of communitas? In a way, it brings people together to worship a common item. Even walking down Bloor street I’ve seen advertisements for things like cannabis yoga, which integrates drug use and a practice that has roots in religious contexts.

So far I proposed the idea that drug culture can be interpreted as religious, focusing mainly on marijuana. However, I also want to explore how drugs are incorporated into religious belief, and how certain drugs can evoke spiritual transformation. For instance, take Emile Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence — this concept describes the instance when an individual experiences a sense of euphoria in a collective group. This can be done through dance or song, or through the ingestion of stimulants/drugs to bring the individual to a higher reality. This can be linked to the feeling that one is ‘more than themselves.’

This can be seen in certain spiritual traditions. For example, in the article Now Let Us Hallucinate, author Alex Bellows describes his experience partaking in a religious ceremony of the Brazilian Santo Daime tradition. In this tradition, practitioners ingest a tea that Bellows describes as a “hallucinogenic jungle brew.” This tea invokes visions and hallucinations as it contains DMT (N,N-dimethlyltryptamine) — a Class A drug. Bellows writes that because the Santo Daime tradition incorporates Christian tradition with local faiths, followers believe that ingesting the drug brings them closer to God through these visions and hallucinations.

Because the experience of DMT can be seen as ‘spiritual’, it is often given names like the God drug (hence the blog post title,) or the spirit molecule, as seen in this book written by Rick Strassman. Some examples of these spiritual experiences can be seen in the following trailer:

As noted in this documentary trailer, those who have taken DMT usually mention the soul, ideas of transporting to another place, having insight into the universe, viewing other life forms, and viewing the world from another dimension/perspective. Again, is this simply interpreting the experience of DMT using religious labels? Or, do these drugs result in an altered consciousness which furthers spiritual belief?

So, what is the relationship between drugs and religion? Can drug culture be seen as religious? Do drugs just evoke feelings that are interpreted religiously? Is religion a drug (e.g., Karl Marx’s popular phrase — religion is the opium of the masses)? Are drugs a part of religious practice (e.g., daime, the Tibetan Book of the Dead as an LSD manual?)? Clearly, the boundaries between these two are complex. What do you think?