If you’ve read Paul Devereux’s wonderful book The Long Trip: A Prehistory of Psychedelia, you’ll know how prevalent the use of shamanic plants was throughout the ancient world. But what about the use of hallucinogenic honey?
Nepal’s Gurung people live mostly in small villages in the vast Annapurna mountain ranges. In this remote region, they practice an ancient tradition of honey hunting where they descend towering cliffs on handmade ladders, to harvest honey nestled under jagged overhangs.
In spring, the Gurung’s honey contains a rare substance called grayanotoxin from rhododendron flowers that’s known for its intoxicating effects. While some accounts say it’s a deadly poison, others refer to it as an aphrodisiac, powerful medicine, and a hallucinogenic drug.
VICE travelled deep into the Annapurna mountains to join a Gurung village on their spring hunt and understand Mad Honey’s effects.
The use of ‘mad honey’ wasn’t just restricted to Nepal though; people in Turkey, Japan, Brazil, North America, and various parts of Europe have over the years been intoxicated by hallucinogenic honey.
