Alcoholism in Mongolia: A National Crisis

By Colin Gilbert

After the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Mongolia was left on shaky ground. When the Russians left, the country’s economic infrastructure quickly deteriorated and countless Mongolians were left jobless. One commodity that did survive the collapse, though, was liquor. Cheap vodka and other alcoholic beverages were available at every corner, and the masses of people left in poverty turned to it in an effort to cope with their plight.

Sadly, not much has changed in Mongolia since it became an independent country. There is a shop selling cheap liquor on almost every corner, and the number of people addicted to alcohol is astronomical. The U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2006 that 22 percent of men and 5 percent of women in Mongolia are alcoholics. The rate of alcohol dependency is three times higher than that of Europe. Furthermore, about one in five Mongolian men binge drink every week.

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Bipolar and Blue: Does It Matter What Culture You Belong To?

Bipolar mental illness, along with schizophrenia, affects people in different cultures all over the world. These biologically based and possibly inherited tendencies are part of the human condition, it seems. Yet there are also regions of the planet, and cultural “islands”, where the bipolar tendencies toward depression and suicide are less common, or less severe. And then there are a few areas where they are more severe. So does culture matter in the prevention and care of bipolar spectrum disorders? Three core elements create some of the major differences between cultures in ways that may matter: location –where a culture is located and the environment from which it draws sustenance and meaning; food — what foods a culture eats the most; and social structure –what kinds of relationships make up the community and how they structure the every day lives of the people of that culture. … Continue Reading

Burning Man: A New Religion, with Drug and Alcohol Risk

Burning Man started in 1986 as a group of friends meeting on a beach to burn an eight foot wooden structure, as a kind of New Year’s resolution ritual, but on Labor Day. It has evolved into an art festival without parallel, bringing together thousands of people from all over the United States and other countries. Participants begin planning in the spring, saving for tickets, identifying rides to the week-long festival in the Nevada desert, and connecting with groups to camp or cook with during the week. Once at the festival, after getting in with a ticket, no money transactions are allowed. No “buying” or “selling” of any kind occur. Yet giving gifts is a central tenet of the festival culture, and sharing is a way of survival for the whole week, allowing free giving and receiving of art, food, drinks, and drugs. … Continue Reading

Peyote: The Importance of Cultural Set and Setting for a Powerful Plant Hallucinogen

By Catherine H. Knott, Ph.D

“Compared to other hallucinogens, peyote is a very focused and concentrated fire, an inner fire that causes an increase of energy, giving spiritual insights.”
–Anonymous source

Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) a small cactus without spines, found from Mexico to Texas and Southern California, has inspired generations of poets and musicians, as well as members of the Native American Church through the ingestion of its button-like growths. Peyote’s psychoactive alkaloids affect the mind through hallucinogenic experience, and may help some to transcend the material world, enhancing transformation of the spirit. Indigenous people of the Southwest and Northern Mexico have used peyote in ritual religious ceremonies for over five thousand years to heal their communities. Yet contemporary non-native people using peyote at parties or other events may be missing its potential to assist in positive life changes, because of the importance of the “set” and “setting” in which people use this powerful plant. Both the mental states people bring and the environment in which they find themselves when they ingest the plant, or drink tea made from it, provide critical context for the type of experience they will have. … Continue Reading