🦷 NEW FINDING: Humans Were Using Drugs 25,000 Years Ago

Synopsis: Archaeologists studying the teeth of ancient hunter-gatherers in Indonesia found evidence that people were sucking psychoactive Betel Nuts as far back as 25,000 years ago. The discovery predates agriculture & is now considered the earliest direct evidence of habitual human drug use.

My Take: I’ve said this many times: humans love drugs. We did them before cities, organized religion or modern civilization existed. That doesn’t mean every drug is safe or beneficial…Betel Nut certainly isn’t. But the idea that society can eliminate drug use is a fantasy contradicted by the entire history of our species. The question isn’t whether people will alter their consciousness…it’s whether we give them safer ways to do it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/science/scientists-discover-the-earliest-evidence-of-drug-use-in-really-old-teeth.html