My take on why a state needs to "allow" a person to consume anything whatsoever: this attitude has roots in cultural and religious values. For centuries, the C

My take on why a state needs to "allow" a person to consume anything whatsoever: this attitude has roots in cultural and religious values. For centuries, the Christian religion sought to eradicate "witchcraft" and pagan practices in the Western world. The use of mind-altering substances in particular is commonly associated with taboos, in an anthropological sense. It's no secret that they can bring a person to visionary ecstasy, to experience heaven and hell, to see or even be God. (Subjectively, I might add.) The history of prohibition and the legal justifications are, in my opinion, symptoms of these unconscious, generational mindset in society, heavily shaped by religion. I'm glad to see the tides change - after decades of criminalization, we're collectively gaining more understanding of the therapeutic potential of these substances.