I hear you and applaud your concern about the well-being of your fellow humans. Alcohol and many other drugs have done much harm to individuals, families, organizations, and societies. I share your concern about this reality, have done much research, and have come to hold the view that the best thing we can do is to decriminalize (or even legalize) most drugs. This would remove the black market, markedly reduce both gangs and gang violence, reduce the number of people in prison, and it would allow society to treat these matters as the public health matters that they are and to regulate things accordingly (reducing the number of people who are addicted). Portugal is a nation that has already done this. 

That said, sacred plant medicines are not drugs; they are part of spiritual mysticism (though not practiced by the majority of mystics). They are God-given plants and entheogens that create favorable conditions for people to experience the Divine - and Divine healing. I'm most familiar with ayahuasca and psilocybin, so I will speak primarily about them. These two plant medicines are well-researched (John Hopkins, the V.A., etc.) and have been shown to be massively effective in helping treat depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. They've also been shown to be profoundly helpful in ending addiction to alcohol and other drugs. The prison system in Brazil is even using them for that purpose to help inmates be more ready to return to civilian life after release. Studies have also shown that neither ayahuasca nor psilocybin are addictive - though it does seem that people can build tolerance to them and require higher doses if they partake of these plant medicines too frequently. In order for ayahuasca to be effective, a person needs to adhere to a strict diet for at least 7 days prior to partaking - as if there is fat, oils, or salts in their digestive system, it will reduce or even cancel its effectiveness. Moreover, it's rather expensive to partake in it and few people can afford it. Psilocybin on the other hand, doesn't require that sort of preparatory diet, and is far more affordable and accessible. That said, neither of these medicines is appropriate for all people. These plant medicines are not compatible with conventional medicines prescribed for depression and anxiety, and people need to be off of those for several weeks prior to partaking in the plant medicines. Clearly, such persons would do well to consult with their doctors. Moreover, partaking in these plant medicine "journeys" is most effective if one does so with a trained, experienced, and reputable facilitator - who emphasizes the importance of integration work after the journey. Finally, it's important to say that not everyone needs to partake in these sorts of plant medicines - and many people who do partake, only do so once or twice. One can live a perfectly fine, rich, and fulfilling Christian and/or spiritual life without ever experiencing these sacred plant medicines. For more about this, please consider reading chapter 6, "Praying with Plants," in my most recent book Discovering Fire.

~ Rev. Roger Wolsey