Tobacco – A sacred plant used in cultures since time immemorial around the world in ceremony. If disrespected and abused, will take your breath away and kill you.

Wormwood – The main ingredient in Absinthe, the potion said to have created both Van Gogh’s genius and madness.

Cannabis – Used around the world for centuries for its medicinal and relaxing properties. If disrespected and abused it will take your life force and steal your motivation.

Valerian – Can be a calming and safe herb, until the medicinal constituents are extracted, exploited and exaggerated turning it into Valium, a dangerous pharmaceutical.

I could go on and on and on. My point is that plants and mushrooms are both remedy and poison. There is no plant or mushroom on this planet that is evil, only misunderstood and disrespected. There are plants that are immensely powerful and can do great harm if taken in the wrong context or dosage.

Just as us humans have a shadow side, the kingdom of plants and fungi do as well. For every leaf that has one side facing the sun there is another side which faces the darkness. Mushroom are more similar to humans than plants in their DNA structure. They are a network; the world wide web if you will. They live and understand the darkness of the world and of our bodies and  our shadow sides. They predate plant life on this planet, and I am certain that the plant and mushroom realms will be key to saving this planet.

To hit it home once more: there is no such thing as a bad plant or fungi. It is time we all open our minds to the possibility that nature is trying to help us. It’s speaking to us without words. It is reaching its hand out to be our allies in these crazy times.

In the midst of a devastating opiate and pharmaceutical epidemic we need to reconsider what “drugs” actually are.