drug surpasses the user's expectations, he or she may become frightened. Physical setting is one of the most important cultural variables due to the fact that each culture has a distinct physical setting in which they live directly effecting the hallucinogenic experience. Different physical settings (i.e. populated cities, rural country, heat, cold, etc) have a direct effect on the mental state of a person which effects their hallucinogenic experience. Although it is important to have this brief understanding of the cultural variables of this type plant usage, it is not the only aspect of hallucinogenic plants that one must understand.
             A general understanding of the ethical and moral systems of the cultures that use hallucinogenic plants is also important. In most of the societies that use herbal hallucinogens there is an idea that the plant itself possesses a type of "power". This "power" is often referred to as "mana." As Rios explains, "The manna itself, although neutral, can be directed by the drug user (either shaman or layman) to specific moral and ethical ends. At times, it is difficult to use a simplistic notion of good and evil as encapsulated in the Judeo-Christian tradition" (14). When discussing the morality of the plant use, the categorization that Rios uses of good and evil really does not apply to non-western societies. The use of hallucinogenic plants does not pose moral dilemmas for most non-western societies, unlike in western societies. The moral dilemmas in non-western societies are based upon the proper use of the hallucinogens. The mana, or "power", produced by the plants can be used for many things such as healing, foreseeing the future, bewitching someone, and attracting a lover. The moral question posed for these non-western cultures is based upon deciding which (if any) of these uses is ethical. It is important to have an understanding of t...