Anthropology of Consciousness
August 14, 2022
Jesús M. González Mariscal, Paulina E. Sosa‐cortés
8 citations
Traditional Mazatec medicine has preserved the ritual use of psilocybin mushrooms as part of its health care systems. Renewed interest in psilocybin's effects on consciousness for therapeutic and recreational purposes often overlooks the historical and cultural background of indigenous peoples and the legitimacy of their practices. Through a case study of a foreign participant in a Mazatec ritual night ceremony (velada), the article argues for a transdisciplinary and intercultural approach to research on psychoactive plants and mushrooms. Such an approach reveals the profound complexity of healing in traditional indigenous contexts and highlights the limits of recreational uses or exclusively neopositivist and clinical approaches.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 18, 2023
Raul Escamilla, María Eva González-Trujano, Jesús M. González Mariscal et al.
7 citations
Psilocybin, a natural alkaloid in Psilocybe mushrooms endemic to Mexico, represents a novel and breakthrough therapy for major depression. Current antidepressant treatments require prolonged use with modest effects, adverse effects, and relapse upon discontinuation. This report presents a research project design that includes preclinical toxicity and pharmacological evaluation of a Psilocybe cubensis extract in mice, chemical analysis of the mushroom's constituents, and a clinical study. The clinical component will assess safety and tolerated doses in healthy adults via pharmacokinetic measurements, followed by an open trial in patients with major depressive disorder comparing two single doses of Psilocybe cubensis with assisted psychotherapy to traditional care at a Mexican institute.
Mendelova univerzita v Brně eBooks
January 1, 2021
Tereza Rumlerová, Olivia Marcus, Jesús M. González Mariscal et al.
2 citations
The diet is a traditional Amazonian practice involving strict rules of isolation, diet, and sexual abstinence, during which 'master plants' or 'doctor plants' are taken for healing and learning. Two types exist: therapeutic/medicinal diets for physical, energetic, and emotional problems, and shamanic diets as part of long-term training to become a healer. The research was conducted at Takiwasi Center in Tarapoto, Peru, a nonprofit treating substance use disorders by combining traditional Amazonian medicine with psychotherapy. Since 1996, over 1,900 people from various countries have participated in eight-day retreats that begin with a purgative plant and an ayahuasca ceremony, which induces both vomiting and an expanded state of consciousness.
June 16, 2025
Jesús M. González Mariscal, Genaro Guizasola Martínez
1 citation
Among the Mazatec of Mexico, the Chjota Chjine (wise ones) use Psilocybe mushrooms to communicate with spirits, diagnose imbalances causing illness, and restore health and well-being. These practices are embedded in a system of ecological and cosmological balance, also seeking rain and guiding souls. Mushroom-inspired songs carry messages from the spiritual world, and healing occurs through this sacred language. Today, rites vary, including those led by wise ones, family and community ceremonies, and forms adapted for foreigners. Common structures involve preparation and purification—special diets and sexual abstinence—for healer, patient, and family. The patient must attend to what mushrooms reveal about mistakes leading to illness and commit to change. Dreams integrate ritual experiences and knowledge.