Ayahuasca in Uruguay
Juan Scuro, Ismael Apud, Sebastián Torterola
February 27, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9780429001161-12 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Key points | Argues that ayahuasca-related legal cases in Uruguay reveal ongoing tension between religious freedom, public health concerns, and drug policies. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca appeared in Uruguay in the 1990s through different groups such as Santo Daime church and different neo-shamanic and holistic centers. Since then, different legal cases and public discussions arose, in a debate where drug policies and religious rights were involved. The current chapter describes and analyzes some cases that recently emerged in the public scenario. First, we will briefly describe the general background of ayahuasca in the country, under the general background of psycho-spiritual networks. Next, we will discuss one specific case involving the confiscation of 30 liters of ayahuasca from the church of Santo Daime. Legal aspects of Uruguayan drug policies will be described, in order to analyze this particular case. After this, we will analyze two cases related to ayahuasca groups, and how they were treated in the mass media, with different public opinions, some of them under the idea of dangerous sects, using drugs to indoctrination. The first case is a denounce by the father of a former ayahuasca user and spiritual seeker who committed suicide. The second case is related to the arrival of the group Ayahuasca International to the country, and the different debates that it produced after a meeting organized by the leader of the center. Finally, we will discuss the tension between religious freedom, dangerous cults, public health, and drugs in the Uruguayan contemporary context.
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 |