Sorcery, black magic, and supernatural harm are central to many Amazonian shamanic traditions, yet their role in contemporary Western psychedelic culture has received little systematic empirical attention. Ethnographic work suggests that Western participants in ayahuasca tourism often downplay indigenous sorcery frameworks in favour of psychological or therapeutic interpretations of difficult...
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychoactive brew, has gained increasing attention for its potential health benefits; however, no previous research has investigated its use in Portugal. This study aims to evaluate the health status, lifestyle behaviors, and psychosocial well-being of Portuguese ayahuasca users, comparing their self-reported health indicators with population norms. A...
The increasing interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and cannabis underscores the need to understand their long-term neuropsychological and personality effects. This cross-sectional study compared regular users of ayahuasca (n = 69), cannabis (n = 56), and non-substance users (n = 94) on a battery of neuropsychological tasks and psychological questionnaires. Participants were...
PLoS OneOctober 13, 2025Francisco González-espejito, Laura Esteban Rodríguez, Eduardo J. Pedrero Pérez et al.
Ibogaine, an indole alkaloid derived from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga, has long been used in traditional Bwiti healing rituals and shows promise for treating opioid dependence and neurological conditions, but existing psychometric tools fail to capture its distinctive subjective/oneiric (dream-like) effects. To address this gap, we developed the 70-item Ibogaine Experience Scale (IES)...
1. In the published article, there was an error. The error was regarding the average number of ayahuasca uses in the ayahuasca group in Study 1. A correction has been made to the Results section in lines 387-390. This sentence previously stated:Briefly, on average, our study participants have used ayahuasca (mean = 69.4 ± 98.7), 6.4 times more than psilocybin (mean = 10.7 ± 15.4, U = 1378, p <...
Introduction Despite an emerging understanding regarding the pivotal mechanistic role of subjective experiences that unfold during acute psychedelic states, very little has been done in the direction of better characterizing such experiences and determining their long-term impact. The present paper utilizes two cross-sectional studies for spotlighting – for the first time in the literature –...
Este artículo presenta un estudio de caso de una mujer que emigró de la selva brasileña a Barcelona hace diecisiete años, y su camino para convertirse en una curandera que trabaja con ayahuasca, kambó (veneno de rana) y sananga (colirio herbal). Se discuten las nociones de autenticidad, communitas y autoatención. Sostenemos que el chamanismo, la religión y la salud son procesos fluidos y...
Background The global drug control landscape is undergoing remarkable change. Many jurisdictions around the world, including jurisdictions in the United States, have decriminalized the possession and use of plant- and fungus-based psychedelics, such as psilocybin-containing mushrooms (PCM). With ORS 475 A, Oregon has gone a step further by becoming the first US state to legalize and regulate...
Hallucinations are currently associated almost exclusively with psychopathological states. While it is evident that hallucinations can indicate psychopathology or neurological disorders, we should remember that hallucinations also commonly occur in people without any signs of psychopathology. A similar case occurs in the case of hallucinogenic drugs, which have been long associated with...
Can the emerging field of psychedelic research benefit from natural product research? We believe it can. In this manuscript we delineate certain topics of research with hallucinogens that directly connect with research on natural products in general.
Ibogaine is one of the alkaloids naturally found in plants such as Tabernanthe iboga, which has been traditionally used by members of the Bwiti culture. Since the discovery of its anti-addictive properties by Howard S. Lotsof in 1962, ibogaine has been used experimentally to treat substance use disorders (SUD), especially those involving opioids. We aim to provide a detailed understanding of...
The COVID-19 pandemic has made evident the need to develop effective strategies to cushion the psychological consequences of social catastrophes. Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of hallucinogens is a protective factor that mitigates against such stressors. However, the underlying mechanisms must be further explored. This study specifically focused on the potential role of coping...
Ayahuasca is a plant decoction in traditional Amazonian medicine. Its ritual use has been internationalized, leading to policy challenges that countries should address. This study evaluates the impact of regular ayahuasca ceremony participation on health by assessing the health status of 377 participants in ayahuasca ceremonies in the Netherlands using validated health indicators. A...
Cannabis is a plant with a rich history of medical, recreational, industrial and spiritual uses. This paper aims to explore drug use rituals as methods of community-controlled use that help maintain a self-regulated and healthy relation to the substance in questions. Furthermore, it explores how cannabis is used in developing spirituality and a sense of community. The ritual use of cannabis is...
Abstract Ibogaine is the most abundant alkaloid present in the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga . As a result of the lack of research on the acute subjective effects, the purpose of this study was to identify categories of the ibogaine experience and gain a better understanding of the internal processes while under its effects. We created a semistructured interview and recruited twenty...
Assessing the health status of ayahuasca users has been challenging due to the limitations involved in randomized clinical trials and psychometric approaches. The main objective of this study is the implementation of an approach based on public health indicators. We developed a self-administered questionnaire that was administered to long-term ayahuasca users around Spain. The questionnaire was...