One of the better known monumental stone sculptures that define the archaeological center of Tiahuanaco is the Gate of the Sun, a portal to other realms. The gateway shares many of its iconographic elements with the paraphernalia to inhale psychedelic snuff powders. I will compare a spectacular snuff tray in the collection of the Denver Art Museum that depicts a feline figure surrounded by a variety of entities providing access to other worlds. The stone monumental gateway contrasts with the intimate wooden snuff fray plated with gold, inlaid with spondylus shell and precious stones. I propose that the inhaled psychoactive substances allow access to modified states of consciousness in an intimate context while the monumental gate permits a collective and public event. The relevance of the study of the past is appropriate in this moment when drug legalization is discussed detached from everyday life. We can see ourselves as archaeologists from the future collecting the detritus of past civilizations that we hope could teach us how to properly handle this opportunity for renewal. Thus, emphasizing the importance of looking at past moments as models when human beings were confronted with the opportunity to change our life. This presentation is supplemented by other monumental gates at Tiahuanaco and the neighboring site of Puma Punku. A total of nine gates plus numerous smaller gates exist at these two locations, plus 64 Tiahuanaco style snuffing kits found at the San Pedro de Atacama oasis document intimate moments of pre-Columbian psychedelic events.