I used to enjoy writing after a few beers. Of course, the intensity and the quality of that state of consciousness would change as the actual metabolic process was underway. Now in tandem with drinking I've largely shifted to activities such as music, media enjoyment, wood carving, or just conversation or observing nature, oftentimes after intense work. Light tobacco use can be combined nicely with some of these activities.
For the contemplative activities, say reading and writing or listening to or watching something intellectually stimulating, tea seems to work better.
For a lot of spiritual pursuits, stone sobriety does the trick, as these states tend to induce an alteration of their own that is all the more potent the less interference there is, though one can often combine physical and metabolic effects such as diet changes or maintenance, light fasting, cleansing, listening to tones or drones, smelling incense or burning sage, and etc.
In the matter of using the body's own faculties of alteration, exercise can provide some powerful altering effects, especially in combination with environment. A rigorous hike in view of a mountain range can induce a profound sense of heightened awareness for example: it seems through the flowing oxygen and endorphins one is opened up further to natural beauty. I could go on.
Part of the point here, is that there are many ways one can make use of one's own body in combination with a whole variety of activities, pursuits, and external material and non-material influences to profoundly alter perceptions and experiences, and much of this is further dictated by lifestyle, intensity of activity and ingestions, and the cultural and social forms in which those things appear.
Curious that certain of types of these forms - such as the uptake of a given plant material - are called "intoxications" whereas others can simply be referred to as "purifications" or "medicines" or "therapies" or what have you.
There is a further instrumental usefulness for the individual or a tradition to making these distinctions of course, but a lot of these distinctions are also passively received as a given society's "code, which itself can induce certain pressures to either encourage or dampen an activity.
