The practice of drug substitution refers to the use of one substance, such as methadone, to obviate and negate the cravings for and withdrawal effects of another substance. Recently, hallucinogens have been used to substitute for addictive drugs like heroin, alcohol, etc. This article examines drug substitution using hallucinogens set within the concept of redemption. It examines both religious and secular approaches to the contemporary use of hallucinogens in drug substitution. Current avenues of research are highlighted into the biochemical mechanisms of drug substitution within religious contexts in the United States, Brazil, Peru, and elsewhere. The redemptive model entails freeing someone or something from a less desirable state and restoring them to a desired state. It appears that one drug, through the combination of both neurophysiological and psychocultural factors, can affect the distancing of an individual from the use of another more distressing substance, leading the individual from the use of another to readopt attitudes and behaviors more acceptable to their social group and to a reintegration or redemption within their social milieu. References