Scientists have found evidence that early human foragers in Indonesia were using the betel nut as a drug.
  • bedwyr@piefed.caEnglish
    17·
    17 days ago

    Drug use in fact would absolutely predate homo sapiens. We already know some animals use drugs nowadays. Bears in the PNW for instance, when injured have been observed to seek out and eat the bark off of devil’s club, aka alaskan wild ginseng, which helps with stuff like that, (and TB and diabetes.) But there are other examples.

    Cats with catnip perhaps. Dolphins like fuck some weird toxic fish then consume the toxins it secretes as protection to get high if I recall vaguely. I am sure our ape pals are up to stuff too.

    • atro_city@fedia.io
      9·
      17 days ago

      Monkeys and other animals get drunk on fermenting fruit that still smells and tastes nice. It’s something they probably have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years too. We aren’t special.

      • bedwyr@piefed.caEnglish
        4·
        17 days ago

        Right, parrots and some other birds get drunk too as well, and probably for millions of years with them.

        I used to have a conyur, a small kind of parrot, maybe blue jay sized, that I shared alcohol with, gin and tonic, ale, beer, wine. He would drink a bit then just throw it around with his beak, he knew when enough was enough.

    • sik0fewl@piefed.caEnglish
      2·
      17 days ago

      To be clear, Homo sapiens date back to 300kya, so that’s not what this research is suggesting.

      That being said, I agree it’s hard not to believe that we’ve been doing drugs for hundreds of thousands of years.

  • Dr_Uggs@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    17 days ago

    people have been around for a million years, mushrooms for much longer. ofcourse there would be “happy little accidents” for much longer while eating some of them