Reassessing ayahuasca regulation in Brazil: strategic framing and cumulative gains
Felipe Krause
Drugs Education Prevention and Policy October 14, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2024.2415319 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Framing construction |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that ayahuasca churches in Brazil achieved full regulation by 2010 through three phases of strategic framing—religious, charitable, and scientific—that adapted to prevailing moral codes and built alliances with state actors. |
Abstract
Background In the early twentieth century, ayahuasca gained popularity in northern Brazil, causing political tension due to moral hostility. However, over the course of the century, despite the proscription of DMT and the intensification of the ‘War on Drugs’, three phases of cumulative political gains eventually led to the full regulation of ayahuasca, in 2010. How was this achieved?Methods This paper provides a comprehensive reassessment of the existing literature on ayahuasca in Brazil, utilizing social movement theory. Emphasis is placed on framing methods, or how movements strategically present their aims to particular audiences, in order to effect political change.Results First, ayahuasca churches constructed a religious frame that emphasized their Christian pedigree. Second, when harassment intensified, ayahuasca was reframed as a charitable endeavour. Finally, in the transition to democracy, the religions added a scientific frame, collaborating with the state to review scientific evidence and establish policy parameters for regulation.Conclusion Framing ayahuasca as Christian and focusing on charity and science were neither straightforward nor unproblematic, but did allow ayahuasca groups to successfully avoid persecution, establish relationships with powerful actors, and eventually achieve full regulation. This case study provides unique insights into the role of social movements in successful drug policy reform, especially how movements can strategically adapt to and influence prevailing moral codes, resulting in concrete political victories.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of Ayahuasca Journal of Ethnopharmacology April 1, 1984
- Ayahuasca and the process of regulation in Brazil and internationally: Implications and challenges International Journal of Drug Policy August 19, 2011
- A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced With Controversy. Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States Journal of Travel Medicine July 1, 2009
- Paradoxes of ayahuasca expansion: The UDV–DEA agreement and the limits of freedom of religion Drugs Education Prevention and Policy August 25, 2011
- Religious Uses of Licit and Illicit Psychoactive Substances in a Branch of the Santo Daime Religion Fieldwork in Religion November 27, 2008
and 2 more in the library