In this video, Dr. Rebecca Stone, retired Carlos Museum Curator of Art of the Americas, discusses key objects in the collection that display imagery of sacred (visionary) plants and/or animals. Then she considers differing attitudes towards mind-altering substances. To shamans, they are teachers that reveal cures and other truths, whereas the U.S. government outlaws their use as “Schedule 1 Drugs” that have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Recently, Western science has begun to recognize that some “Schedule 1 drugs” are indeed of therapeutic value and acknowledge that the sacred plants used by shamans are non-addictive.
This presentation was recorded in conjunction with a project for the Science Gallery Atlanta's inaugural exhibition Hooked! in spring 2022. For more details, click HERE.
