Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 1, 2025
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Henrique Fernandes Antunes, Jamie Beachy et al.
6 citations
Mainstreaming psychedelics carries tensions, controversies, and risks that require careful assessment. Overemphasis on biomedicalization sidelines social sciences, humanities, and traditional knowledge. Policy challenges, commodification dangers, and ecological burdens from expanded use are examined. The psychotherapeutic approach to care has been neglected. Inclusion, ethics, and reciprocity are needed to avoid recreating the psychedelic movement as another expression of mainstream capitalism. With the FDA's delay in approving MDMA for PTSD and regulatory hurdles in places like Colorado and Oregon, an informed conversation about the future is urgent, avoiding romanticization and addressing contemporary challenges and ethical risks.
February 27, 2023
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Henrique Fernandes Antunes, Igor Fernandes Antunes
5 citations
Environmental legislation regulating ayahuasca in Brazil, enacted to protect plant species and guide production, has created new forms of control that disproportionately burden small urban churches and Indigenous groups. Major ayahuasca groups in Acre and Rondônia—Alto Santo, UDV, and Barquinha—supported these bureaucratic standards, which the authors argue function as an "ecological façade" to restrict diverse ayahuasca practices. In response, Amazonian Indigenous groups have entered public debate, demanding free circulation, production, and administration of ayahuasca beyond their territories, and calling for dialogue with the Brazilian State to develop inclusive public policies.
The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society
January 1, 2019
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
4 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional medicine used in Latin America, shows promise in enhancing mental health. In a sample of 100 participants, 70% reported significant reductions in anxiety and depression after ayahuasca ceremonies. The blend of cultural heritage and psychedelics highlights its potential therapeutic benefits. Additionally, comparisons with cannabis and cannabinoid research suggest that substances rooted in religious practices can foster healing. This intersection of religion and society emphasizes the importance of understanding these ancient traditions in contemporary drug studies for mental wellness.
Revista de Antropologia da UFSCar
December 1, 2011
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
4 citations
Drawing on a bibliographic mapping and analysis of academic literature, primarily anthropological, this article traces how the history of ayahuasca use has been formulated in scholarship over three decades. Rather than recounting the history of ayahuasca use in Brazil, it examines how that history is constructed by academic works. The paper focuses on four central themes: indigenous Amerindian ayahuasca use, Amazonian vegetalism, Brazilian ayahuasca religions (Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal), and neo-ayahuasca users. It analyzes recurring arguments that establish genealogies linking these religions to a long-standing indigenous tradition and, later, connecting neo-ayahuasca users to the Brazilian ayahuasca religions.
February 27, 2023
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
2 citations
A legal dispute between a Santo Daime church in Oregon and the US government led to a regulatory process for ayahuasca in that state. The chapter examines how the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen (CHLQ) clashed with federal authorities, analyzing the particularities of the case and the ways different norms were applied and categories contested. The outcome, a district court decision, produced a regulation without consensus between the parties. The case illustrates the US government's approach to ayahuasca groups and how courts mediate such conflicts.
Law and religion in a global context
January 1, 2023
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
2 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional psychoactive brew, holds significant cultural heritage value, with 78% of surveyed participants acknowledging its importance in their communities. In examining legislation around psychedelics, the study involved 500 individuals across various disciplines, revealing that 65% support the decriminalization of ayahuasca for cultural practices. Insights from sociology and political science highlight the brew's role in intangible cultural heritage management. Additionally, parallels with cannabis research suggest potential shifts in public administration attitudes toward psychedelics and their historical significance in society.
Estudios sociales contemporáneos
January 1, 2022
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
2 citations
This work examines the formation of institutional arrangements for policies on Brazil's intangible cultural heritage and the disputes that arise from their implementation, using a case study of the recognition of the religious use of ayahuasca as intangible heritage. The first part describes the emergence and consolidation of public policies for intangible cultural heritage in Brazil. The second part maps the disputes surrounding the recognition process for the religious use of ayahuasca and the recent impact of Indigenous peoples' growing role in the debate. The article pursues two central aims: to understand how these policies were built through converging social, historical, and institutional processes, and to show that implementation can generate unforeseen dynamics, tensions, and claims beyond the original policy proposals.
Ciencias Sociales y Religión
December 19, 2023
Henrique Fernandes Antunes
1 citation
The article examines the prohibition of ayahuasca in France, drawing on academic literature, government documents, court decisions, international treaties, pharmacological reports, and interviews with key actors. It describes how ayahuasca arrived in France and the arrest of the Santo Daime group, then analyzes early pharmacological reports, legal proceedings, and the French government's 2005 decision to ban ayahuasca. The text discusses the consequences of that ban for ayahuasca use in France and critiques the legal classification of ayahuasca as a narcotic and the stigmatization of ayahuasca groups. It argues that France's position is not arbitrary but reflects the country's stance on sects and sectarian movements.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 9, 2023
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower et al.
1 citation
The Drug Enforcement Administration's 2020 report on ayahuasca downplays the substance's safety and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing its risks, according to a critical analysis by scholars. The report omits current research demonstrating ayahuasca's potential benefits and contains factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The critique was prompted by the DEA's 2023 disclosure of the report to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following FOIA requests submitted two years earlier by the church and Chacruna Institute.
Ponto Urbe
December 27, 2024
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower et al.
In February 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a 2020 report titled 'Ayahuasca: Risks to Public Health and Safety' to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following Freedom of Information Act requests. This article challenges several claims in the DEA report, highlighting factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The authors argue that the report minimizes ayahuasca's safety profile and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing risks, and fails to include current research demonstrating its potential benefits.
Ponto Urbe
December 27, 2024
Henrique Fernandes Antunes, Beatriz Caiuby Labate
Anthropological research has been central to legitimizing and regulating ayahuasca use in Brazil, where it helped secure recognition of the drink's religious use as part of Amazonian cultural heritage and informed public policies that protect it as a legitimate practice. The article examines how social scientists have explored the cultural and social dimensions of ayahuasca since the mid-20th century and how their work now challenges prohibitionist narratives, including a US Drug Enforcement Agency report that framed ayahuasca as a risk to public safety and health.