Podcast Summary: Acontece que no es poco | Drogas: Tan necesarias en los banquetes griegos como útiles en las guerras

Podcast: Todo Concostrina (SER Podcast)
Host: Nieves Concostrina
Date: June 26, 2025

Overview

This episode of "Acontece que no es poco" explores the historical use of drugs, tracing their presence from the ancient Greek and Roman banquets to their strategic and brutal employment in warfare. With her signature wit, Nieves Concostrina uncovers how substances like cannabis, opium, and amphetamines were far from taboo in the past—in fact, they were not only accepted but highly valued for their social, medicinal, religious, and military properties. The episode also touches on the blurred lines between medicinal and recreational drugs across cultures and eras.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Drugs in the Ancient World: Banquets & Religion

• Drugs and Social Rituals:
  Nieves explains how in ancient times, bringing cannabis to a dinner party was as prized as bringing a fine wine today. Drugs were not stigmatized; they were considered versatile gifts from nature: for eating, healing, connecting with gods, or simply having fun.

  • Quote: “En la antigüedad clásica, llevar cannabis a un banquete de amigos era un detallazo, como llevar ahora un vinazo reserva.”
    — Nieves (01:18)

• Cannabis and Incienso in Religious Context:
  Both cannabis and incense were used to create spiritual atmospheres and, perhaps conveniently, to make people more receptive to religious messages or mystical experiences.

  • Quote: “El botafumeiro de Compostela, eso los endroga a todos para que se crean las cosas más locas. Están todos fumados cuando lo mueven.”
    — Nieves (04:30)

• Opium as Medicine and Divine Secret:
  In Greek lore, gods like Asclepius or Hermes supposedly bestowed the benefits of opium on mortals. It was prized for both medicinal and ritualistic uses, though its allure grew by being advertised as something divine and limited to the gods.

  • Quote: “Era el dios Asclepio, el dios de la medicina griego, el que le dijo a los mortales, ... el opio que sale de la adormidera está de vicio. Pero mis colegas dioses no quieren que lo sepáis porque se guardan su consumo en exclusiv.”
    — Nieves (05:22)

Drugs and Warfare: Soldiers "High" on History

• The Thin Line Between Medicine and Escape:
  Drugs have always been used to deal with pain, to stimulate, to summon courage, or to escape fear—especially in war.

  • Quote: “¿Quién puede aguantar el miedo en una trinchera?... Pues de las drogas.”
    — Nieves (06:39)

• World War II: The Age of Methamphetamine (“Pervitin”)
  The Nazis famously distributed pervitin (methamphetamine) to soldiers, pilots, and even submarine crews to keep them awake, alert, and unafraid, fueling their rapid and relentless attacks.

  • Quote: “Cuando se lió ya la guerra... los nazis vieron lo bien que funcionaron los soldados durante la invasión de Polonia en 1939. Introdujeron esta metanfetamina de manera sistemática para que la consumieran cuanto más mejor.”
    — Nieves (08:51)
  • Quote: “Los motoristas iban y venían con las órdenes... haciendo cientos de kilómetros sin parar, sin dormir. Las columnas de soldados avanzaban con un brío que eso no era normal.”
    — Nieves (09:25)
  • About the Blitzkrieg:
    “Cómo los franceses vieron a los nazis paseándose por París sin entender cómo habían llegado hasta allí en 15 días... fue gracias a la pervitina.”
    — Nieves (10:13)

• Not Just the Nazis:
  All armies used stimulants: British and Americans used “bencedrinas” (amphetamines), and in earlier wars, drugs like cocaine, morphine, and hashish were widespread among soldiers.

  • French troops in Egypt used hashish when deprived of wine (Napoleon, campaign in Egypt).
  • After wars, trauma often led to drug epidemics, such as the U.S. heroin crisis after Iraq/Afghanistan.

• Vikings and the Magic Mushroom:
  Viking berserkers reportedly used Amanita muscaria (“magic mushrooms”), which could induce hyperactivity and hallucinations, making them see enemies as smaller and themselves as invincible.

  • Quote: “La fama de bestias de los vikingos a lo mejor puede ser por la manita muscaria esta... porque sin drogarse, lo mismo eran gente encantadora.”
    — Nieves (14:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On drug use through history:
  “Las drogas han acompañado al hombre desde siempre. Para calmar el dolor, como estimulante, para sacar valor de donde no hay, para relajarte, para dormir, para mantenerte despierto.”
  — Nieves (05:58)

• On the recurring cycle of drugs and post-war trauma:
  “Cuando acaban todas esas guerras, también llegan las malas noticias. Porque los traumas, las pérdidas, el terror sufrido, las heridas, empujan a seguir tomando drogas para olvidar.”
  — Nieves (13:22)

• Closing on the universality of vice:
  “Pues terminar la semana de acontecer, que no es poco, con sexo, drogas y rock and roll... Bueno, no sé si está bien o mal, pero es algo.”
  — Carlos, in a lighthearted sign-off (15:05)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:08] — Crackling intro on the modern and ancient imagery of drugs
• [03:35] — Cannabis and incense in ancient religious and social life
• [04:30] — The intoxicating ritual of the botafumeiro in Compostela
• [05:19] — Opium’s sacred origins
• [06:39] — Drugs as morale boosters in warfare
• [08:17] — Nazi Germany’s systematic distribution of methamphetamines (pervitin) in WWII
• [10:00] — Pervitin and the “blitzkrieg”; pilots and submariners powered by drugs
• [12:17] — A chronology of drugs in different wars: Vikings, Napoleon, American Civil War, Vietnam, etc.
• [14:03] — The Vikings and their magic mushrooms

Tone & Language

Nieves keeps a tone that's casual, witty, and irreverent, enlivening history with vivid anecdotes and playful skepticism. Carlos’s questions facilitate deeper dives into episodes across eras and inject humor, while Nieves never shies from calling out myth, hypocrisy, or uncomfortable truths. The episode weaves sharp historical insight with accessible, engaging storytelling.

Concluding Note

The episode demonstrates that far from being a plague of modern times, drugs have accompanied humanity throughout its history—sometimes as medicine, sometimes as an escape, and too often as an essential tool in both feasts and battles. As Nieves summarizes, perhaps nothing reveals so much about our enduring search for relief, courage, and transcendence as the substances we have chosen along the way.