In this book, Pollan focuses on three mind-altering substances that come from plants: opium from poppies, Caffeine from coffee and tea and mescaline from peyote cactus.
The war on drugs caused some very interesting issues with these. It was legal to grow poppies. However, it was not legal to produce drugs from them. You could be arrested if you had poppies and knew how to produce the drugs from them. (The same drugs are legal when concentrated in prescription drugs.)
Peyote is connected to a revitalized Native American Church. However, it was also caught in the war on drugs. This led to some interesting conflicts involving religious exercise, cultural appropriation, native rights and drugs.
Caffeine is a drug that has been well accepted in society. Part of this may be due to what it replaced. Alcohol was a "safe" beverage that could be consumed. However, it led to drunkeness. Coffee and tea were consumed using boiling water, thus also tended to be safe. They led to sharper thought, thus making them an ideal replacement for alcohol. Alas, caffeine also can become addictive. It must be daily consumed to overcome the withdrawal symptoms.
It is interesting that "legality" of plants can be quite different than the "danger" of certain plants.
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