Adolescent Drug Use in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Charles S. Grob, Marlene Dobkin De Rios
Journal of Drug Issues 1992 DOI: 10.1177/002204269202200108 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Comparative analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Australian Aboriginal males, Tshogana Tsonga females, and Chumash youth |
| Intervention | hallucinogenic plant ingestion |
| Keywords | Cultural hallucinogen use Ethnopharmacology Traditional psychedelic use Indigenous drug practices Ritual plant use Sacred plant use Coming-of-age rituals Youth initiation Socialization rituals Puberty ceremonies Indigenous cultural practices Traditional societies Aboriginal culture Chumash culture Tsonga culture Ethnocultural traditions Psychoactive plant use Entheogenic plants Plant-based psychedelics Traditional plant medicine |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key points | Adolescent hallucinogenic plant ingestion in these tribal societies is a managed, culturally sanctioned practice for socialization, contrasting with abusive drug patterns among American adolescents. |
Abstract
An analysis is made of adolescent hallucinogenic plant ingestion during initiation rituals among Australian Aboriginal males, Tshogana Tsonga females and among Chumash youth of Southern California. This use pattern contrasts with abusive patterns of drug abuse found among American adolescents. Findings indicate the existence of managed altered states of consciousness in the tribal societies studied, where plant hallucinogens are given by elders to youth as part of an intensive, short-term socialization for religious and pedagogical purposes. The use of hypersuggestibility as a cultural technique to “normalize” youth in the tribal societies under study is analyzed in contrast to the role of pathology of drug ingestion patterns among American adolescents.