Ok, I just did a bit of searching for studies on hunter-gatherer use of drugs. This paper [1] supports my characterisation of being mostly for shamanistic/ritu

Ok, I just did a bit of searching for studies on hunter-gatherer use of drugs. This paper [1] supports my characterisation of being mostly for shamanistic/ritualistic use. And this paper [2] suggests that drug use also had medicinal benefits. But that is from a modern hunter-gatherer society that has undoubtedly been influenced by outside societies (indeed the drug they smoke has been imported from another continent), so I'm not sure how indicative of pre-historic hunter-gatherer use it is. Where I remain dubious is the assertion that drugs have always been used for 'stress relief'. My feeling is that stress - as we understand it - was not something much experienced by hunter-gatherer societies. [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140512155025.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140512155025.h... [2] https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/wsu-wrs052915.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/wsu-wrs05291...