Global pressure on ayahuasca threatens Amazonian plants and knowledge systems
June 23, 2026 DOI: 10.66709/news-321692 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical |
|---|---|
| Population | Amazonian Indigenous communities and global ayahuasca users |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Amazon rainforest Indigenous Traditional knowledge Amazonian State computer science Environmental resource management Amazon basin Environmental planning Environmental protection Agroforestry Warning system |
| Key points | Argues that the Amazon is being destroyed, threatening its role as a source of medicines, and that ayahuasca is a subject of growing debate. |
Abstract
“One of the world’s largest pharmacies is being destroyed,” says Benki Piyãko, a leader of the Ashaninka Indigenous people in the Brazilian state of Acre. The warning points to multiple threats advancing on the Amazon but also to growing debate surrounding one of the so-called forest medicines: ayahuasca. This Indigenous beverage with psychedelic properties is […]