Secret societies in Victorian England actively encouraged their elite members to smoke excessive amounts of hashish

A closer look

Upper-class British society loudly preached strict moral etiquette, but they absolutely loved getting utterly blasted in secret basements. Esoteric groups, heavily inspired by poorly translated eastern texts, often incorporated heavy drug use into their mystic initiations to achieve 'astral projection.' It turns out, sitting in a velvet robe and chanting archaic Latin is vastly more entertaining when everyone in the room has just consumed massive quantities of imported cannabis.