Rejecting both the behaviorist theory that animals have no consciousness and the Western cultural assumption that using drugs is a negative action or the result of an illness, an Italian ethnobotanist explores the remarkable propensity of wild animals to seek out and use psychoactive substances. From mushroom-loving reindeer to caffeine-dependent goats to nectar-addicted ants, this behavior suggests that the desire to experience altered states of consciousness is a natural drive shared by all living beings. August.