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→Recreational Drugs in the New World
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.
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.
==How Recent Trends Differed from the Past==
