Mystical and even ego-dissolution experiences can be elicited from entheogens, like sacred potions of ayahuasca and jurema. Although composed of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and having met at a historical moment, ayahuasca and jurema have different rituals, symbolic references, and origins. This article aims to describe ayahuasca and jurema rituals, in psychometric measures of mysticism and...
En la actualidad el uso excesivo de antidepresivos de origen químico en el Ecuador ha aumentado en los últimos años, con el tiempo el abuso de antidepresivos, bloquea la acción del neurotransmisor que es el responsable de mantener en equilibrio el estado de ánimo (serotonina), ocasionando en las personas altos niveles de depresión y ansiedad, derrames o lesiones cerebrales, pérdida de memoria e...
Santo Daime is a religious movement that originated in the nineteenth century in Brazil. It blends shamanic practices, Christianity, and other traditions. Daimistas drink ayahuasca, a mind-altering...
Changes in narcissistic traits (e.g., entitlement) following the ceremonial use of ayahuasca were examined across three timepoints (baseline, postretreat, 3-month follow-up) in a sample of 314 adults using self- and informant-report (N = 110) measures. Following ceremonial use of ayahuasca, self-reported changes in narcissism were observed (i.e., decreases in Narcissistic Personality Inventory...
O aumento de casos de depressão na população mundial leva ao questionamento sobre a eficácia dos tratamentos farmacológicos e fomenta a busca por tratamentos alternativos. Estudos a respeito da ayahuasca e seus efeitos na depressão vêm sendo realizados. Por meio de uma revisão integrativa, a partir da questão norteadora: “Quais são os efeitos da ayahuasca em indivíduos com depressão?”, neste...
Psychedelics have attracted medical interest, but their effects on human brain function are incompletely understood. In a comprehensive, within-subjects, placebo-controlled design, we acquired multimodal neuroimaging [i.e., EEG-fMRI (electroencephalography-functional MRI)] data to assess the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) on brain function in 20 healthy volunteers....
Background: Ayahuasca is a serotoninergic hallucinogen that plays a central role in the Amazonian traditional medicine. Its psychoactive effects are associated with the presence of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO-A). Advances in neuroimaging investigations have provided insight into ayahuasca’s neurobiological mechanisms of action. Methods: Selecting only...
Renewed interest in psychedelic substances in the 21st century has seen the exploration of psychedelic treatments for various psychiatric disorders including substance use disorder (SUD). This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of psychedelic treatments for people with SUD and those falling below diagnostic thresholds (i.e. substance misuse). We systematically searched 11 databases, trial...
Ayahuasca is a plant-based brew of indigenous Amazonian origin. It has psychedelic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, cytotoxic, and anti-parasitic effects, which are primarily due to monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This article describes the case of a woman in her late thirties with complex trauma due to severe, years-long sexual abuse in early...
Abstract Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant used throughout South America for religious, cultural and healing ceremonies. Previous studies have analysed it as a therapy method from either the microperspective, such as physiological and psychological effects of substance use, or the macroperspective, such as legal issues or cultural appropriation of ayahuasca by Westerners. There is a need to...
ABSTRACTAyahuasca has become a subject of great interest in recent years. Academics, spiritual seekers, communities, and curious individuals have all been intrigued by this topic through either writing about it or direct participation in the contemporary spiritual phenomenon that is ayahuasca, which holds promises of bestowing upon its users profound wisdom or healing. However, what...
Abstract Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant brew originating in the Amazon basin. It is typically made from two basic components: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi), containing various harmala alkaloids, and the leaves of a plant containing the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT), such as the chacruna plant (Psychotria viridis). Evidence suggests the brew has been used for at least...
Abstract There is substantial contemporary interest in psychedelic agents as medicines for maladies of the mind. This follows research in the 1950s and 1960s exploring the use of LSD and other psychedelics to treat a range of psychiatric illnesses as well as addictions. This research was shut down after prohibition of these drugs; however, the last decade has seen a major renewal of interest in...
This chapter looks at the various proactive approaches that may be taken in the quest to regulate plant medicines. It opens with a legal analysis of the refusal by the Secretary of State in the UK—and subsequent applications to appeal this decision—to allow an ayahuasca-using church, the União do Vegetal (UDV), to be granted a license to import, possess, and supply its sacrament. This is...
This chapter aims to investigate the genealogy of the ayahuasca cultural heritage registration process in Brazil. Through a historical and comparative perspective, we identify the main players involved, as well as the conflicts, disputes, and alliances that form this scenario. First, we describe briefly the cultural heritage registration process of various psychoactive plants in Latin America....
February 27, 2023Amar Dhall, Torsten Wiedemann, Manav Satija1 citation
The legal framework that regulates ayahuasca in Australia has federal, state, and territory dimensions. This chapter will tease out the complex relationships that exist between various agencies and legislation across these jurisdictions to make plain the state of ayahuasca regulation in 2018. A brief review of unsanctioned ayahuasca use is provided, outlining the implications of imported,...
In this interview, performed in 2018, anthropologist and ayahuasca researcher Dr. Bia Labate speaks with Dr. José Carlos Bouso, who is a clinical psychologist with a PhD in pharmacology and is Scientific Director of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS). Dr. Bouso speaks on his first experience being a defense expert witness on ayahuasca in Spain...
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...
February 27, 2023Alhena Caicedo Fernández3 citations
In Latin America, the consumption of yagé, or ayahuasca, has spread under different forms of use in each country. In Brazil, religious use is recognized, while in countries such as Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, therapeutic use has allowed the recent expansion of ritual consumption. In fact, in the latter case, it has been the close relationship between yagé and Indianness in the national...
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the legal dispute between the US government and a Santo Daime church—the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen (CHLQ), located in Ashland, Oregon—that culminated in the regulation process of ayahuasca in that state. Initially, I will briefly describe the insertion of the Santo Daime into the United States, the beginning of tensions with the governmental...