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→Early Use of Recreational Drugs
In Egypt, one popular drug was the blue water lotus, where it has hallucinogenic qualities and was known to have been consumed with wine. In fact, paintings of drunken festivals with descriptions and depictions of likely orgies suggest that it was ingested for recreational use. However, recreational use may have also been part of worship ritual, as descriptions of the use of the blue lotus have been found at Karnak, the site of Egypt's most holy temple. The famous burial of Tutankhamun contained the blue lotus, which could suggest its ingestion during the life of the pharaoh. In later periods, both Greek and Roman cultures ingested opium, including using it in wine.
Recreational drugs also included other forms, including types of mushrooms. In Saharan and sub-Sahara Africa, mushrooms containing psilocybin were used as a hallucinogenic. They were used by nomadic populations and they could be found in the springtime. Rock art from 9000-7000 years ago may suggest that mushrooms were ingested in North Africa as part of rituals and visions seen and painted. Representations of mushrooms are also shown, which would suggest their use as part of the visions or drawings shown.
==Recreational Drugs in the Medieval and Early Modern Period==
