Still haven't found what you're looking for?*

With the endorphin levels from the last 42.195km run slowly dwindling, one has to recalculate the possibility of doing it all over again! That is the problem with mankind - Ever since the beginning of mankind, people have found pleasure in these pleasure experiences, which they have found difficult to give up.
Let us look at history...Thanks to the History Channel.

Around 1500 BCE, Aryan invaders introduced scriptures as they invaded India. These scriptures (e.g., Rigveda) tell of pleasurable, heavenly, divine experiences with Soma, an extract or fruit of a tree. It is said to open the consciousness into a different level where one can communicate with God, and the truth of mankind would be laid bare to see. The elusive tree was never discovered - perhaps it was abused to extinction by overzealous devotees or banned due to fear of its potency!

Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations had their own beers and wines to feed the masses. The Sumerians are said to have used 40% of their crops to yield these beverages. Wines were freely used to treat the sick by Jesus. It seems that during the march to the crucifixion, He was offered wine and opium to allay the pain, but He refused.

In some instances, a fungal contaminant in wines produced a psychedelic effect.

Mayan chief forbade a person from
touching a jar of chocolate

In the Middle Ages, the Arabs discovered the technique of distillation to produce aromatic perfumes. The Europeans took one step further and used this same process to produce strong spirits. And everybody in Europe was happy for a while until alcoholism became a real problem.

Christopher Columbus' travels to the New World in 1492 opened the floodgates to the introduction of intoxicants. The Aztecs were using spiced up Cacao drink ceremonially and a daily basis. The invaders started abusing it for its mind-altering property, so much so that the Vatican had once outlawed its use after a nun neglected her duties after overindulging in cocoa beverages.

The Indians (Red) also imparted the concept of a peace pipe and tobacco. It found its way into European everyday life after Sir Walter Raleigh walked to the Queen's courtyard with a pipe in hand. Another American contribution to the world came about when Francisco Pizarro found that the slaves in the Andes worked long hours laboriously at high altitudes after consuming coca leaves.

The Europeans extracted pure cocaine from these leaves, and this alkaloid became a medical miracle. Its use was popularised in the modern world after Sigmund Freud used cocaine for depression. I suppose he also delves into the inner labyrinth of the inner space of the mind to suggest his weird psychological mumbo-jumbo of the Oedipus complex and genital envy!   Pretty soon, it became the panacea for all human ailments, from headaches and coughs to alcoholism and general malaise.

The enterprising John S. Pemburton decided to make a killing by mixing coca and cola (from Africa) to legally sell the addictive substance at the counter of the pharmacy (like a saloon bar), colloquially calling it 'a shot in the arm'!

As psychological dependence increased, cocaine was outlawed.

The irony of all this is that the continent importing the substances is bearing the brunt of their ill effects. The Mayans, Red Indians and the Aztecs were consuming coca, tobacco and cocoa without any problems because they used it with respect for ceremonial reasons, whilst maintaining its sacredness and maintaining the discipline associated with it (the fasting and the rituals). The Red Indians took in alcohol and lost their rich heritage to alcoholism. Drug abuse and addiction are perennial problems in the developing and developed worlds.

P.S. Freud died of throat cancer. He smoked 20 cigars a day!

*I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2)