Obviously I'm not advocating that DMT be given to children.
But in a religious context, it already is. Santo Daime children in Brazil drink during the ceremony along with the adults. In terms of the social rather than physical side of things, I have also heard of a similar situation where parents in peyote religions give sacrament to children. Is this healthy?
This practice may make a Westerner feel uncomfortable. However, I can imagine that it might be healthy if done responsibly. Alcohol is one of the Christian sacraments, generally in the form of red wine, and is also used recreationally by most Westerners. Parents in countries such as France give their children small quantities of wine with a meal, which fosters a responsible and social attitude, backed up by their culture in general. Contrast that to a culture such as in England, where this doesn't happen so much and kids get blasted as soon as they're old enough for a fake ID. Of course, a teenager brought up in France whose family then move to England may well succumb to the English binge drinking culture (I don't know if this would happen or not as a general rule).
On the other hand, giving children DMT might be child abuse, if DMT affect the chemistry of their developing brains permanently (the same goes with alcohol and peyote etc). But for all I know, maybe even a full dose of ayawaska could be physically safe (although would a child be able to process the visions mentally without panicking?).
What if a religion had a sacrament of smoked DMT? Would it be safe to give children a tiny puff for a weak threshold experience? Seems like thin ice here, the dosing would be problematic and the child may experience full hyperspace (only bad if that's unhealthy for a child physically or psychologically). Perhaps in this instance, the sacrament should be first introduced for initiation into adulthood, such as the babongo tribe do with iboga. Perhaps this abstention until adult initiation should occur whatever the method of consumption, smoked or drunk.
But in a religious context, it already is. Santo Daime children in Brazil drink during the ceremony along with the adults. In terms of the social rather than physical side of things, I have also heard of a similar situation where parents in peyote religions give sacrament to children. Is this healthy?
This practice may make a Westerner feel uncomfortable. However, I can imagine that it might be healthy if done responsibly. Alcohol is one of the Christian sacraments, generally in the form of red wine, and is also used recreationally by most Westerners. Parents in countries such as France give their children small quantities of wine with a meal, which fosters a responsible and social attitude, backed up by their culture in general. Contrast that to a culture such as in England, where this doesn't happen so much and kids get blasted as soon as they're old enough for a fake ID. Of course, a teenager brought up in France whose family then move to England may well succumb to the English binge drinking culture (I don't know if this would happen or not as a general rule).
On the other hand, giving children DMT might be child abuse, if DMT affect the chemistry of their developing brains permanently (the same goes with alcohol and peyote etc). But for all I know, maybe even a full dose of ayawaska could be physically safe (although would a child be able to process the visions mentally without panicking?).
What if a religion had a sacrament of smoked DMT? Would it be safe to give children a tiny puff for a weak threshold experience? Seems like thin ice here, the dosing would be problematic and the child may experience full hyperspace (only bad if that's unhealthy for a child physically or psychologically). Perhaps in this instance, the sacrament should be first introduced for initiation into adulthood, such as the babongo tribe do with iboga. Perhaps this abstention until adult initiation should occur whatever the method of consumption, smoked or drunk.
