Changes

While opium was likely the most common drug in the Old World, recreational drugs in the New World included cocoa leaves that were chewed in South America as early as about 8000 years ago. After 3000 BC, cocoa was commonly chewed and consumed by cultures east of the Andes. Later, it was introduced to the Incas and was added as part of tea or commonly chewed. The Incas considered it a divine plant and likely saw the psychedelic effects as a divine influence or ways to communicate with the gods. The Incas created a monopoly of production and was more limited in its use, probably the upper classes and nobles mostly used it. After the collapse of the Incas, the use of cocoa likely spread across South America.<ref>For more on cocoa and its use in history, see: Afoakwa, Emmanuel Ohene. 2014. <i>Cocoa Production and Processing Technology</i>. Boca Raton London New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, pg. 9. </ref>

While cocoa was the likely dominate drug in South America, in North America peyote was the likely dominant drug. The earliest evidence of its use dates to about 3700 BC in the Rio Grande region of Texas. Evidence suggests it was used by Native Americans as potentially a recreational drug but also as a way to communicate with spirits. The use of peyote spread in use across much of the Western United States and Mexico. Interestingly, research on the Huichol, who may have been using the drug for over 1500 years, show no evidence of adverse effects on their chromosome that would suggest long-term genetic damage from continuous drug use.<ref>For more on peyote, see: Stewart, Omer Call. 1993. <i>Peyote Religion: A History</i>. Norman [Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press.</ref>

Another similar drug to peyote is salvia, which has been recently rediscovered in North America. It is a native mint-like plant that grows in northern Mexico. Similar to peyote, it was popular in ingesting for shaman rituals among native groups. It was used to communicate with the spirits but also likely taken for pleasure. The hallucinogenic is generally not toxic, even at high levels, while it is also very potent and among the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogenic plants. It is consumed by chewing or smoking usually. Other Native American stimulants have included tobacco, which was one of the first drugs to be traded from the New World to the Old World. It was one of the first gifts that Columbus received when arriving in the New World. It was often smoked to seal important events among native groups, such as a peace treaty between warring tribes.<ref>For more on salvia, see: Carod-Artal, F.J. 2015. “Hallucinogenic Drugs in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Cultures.” <i>Neurología</i> (English Edition) 30 (1): 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrleng.2011.07.010. </ref>