Ayahuasca
Dolphins and Money New Age |
![]() |
Cosmic concepts |
Spiritual selections |
Ayahuasca (a.k.a. yagé) is a hallucinogenic and entheogenic concoction used ceremonially in certain native Peruvian and Brazilian religions. The use of ayahuasca was first described outside of South American communities in the 1950s by ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes.[1]
Users of ayahuasca describe having "profound life-changing spiritual experiences," and "a sense of inner peace and acceptance of self, others, and the world."[2] However, it also makes you vomit and shit, and basically feel terrible. At first you're afraid you're going to die, then you're afraid you're not going to die. In recent years, people from other countries have been traveling to South America to have such an experience. This is ayahuasca tourism. Some shamans charge a whole heap of money for their goods and services.
Pharmacology[edit]
The active ingredient is N,N-dimethyltriptamine (DMT),[3] which is a Schedule I substance in the USA ("drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse").[4][5] DMT, also known as "the spirit molecule", is normally metabolized in the stomach by monoamine oxidase (MAO), and so never reaches the bloodstream; but those cunning shamans long ago discovered that a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) prevents first pass metabolism of DMT, which in turn allows the full effect of the DMT to be felt. As luck would have it, DMT is plentiful in shrubs of the Psychotria genus, and MAOI can be found in jungle vines of the Malpighiaceae family (e.g., Banisteriopsis caapi). Let the party begin.
History[edit]
The use of psychoactive plants is known to have occurred in South America thousands of years ago, specifically coca.[6][7] The ancient use of ayahuasca has been claimed, seemingly without evidence.[8] However linguistic and folkloric evidence among indigenous South Americans indicates that its use is less than 500 years old,[9] and possibly only about 50 years according to anthropologist Bernd Brabec de Mori.[10] William Burroughs in his 1963 book The Yage Letters, described using yage (another name for ayahuasca) in 1953, marking its use as being older than 72 years.[11]
In recent years, ayahuasca use has been increasingly the subject of so-called "spiritual tourism" from non-indigenous populations.[1] The claim of ancient usage has also been used in its promotion to tourists.[12]
Alleged benefits and known dangers[edit]
Claimed benefits are roughly the same as for LSD and other psychedelic hallucinogens — namely, that it produces experiences described as being "spiritual" or "life-changing" in nature. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has also conducted a preliminary observational study suggesting that ayahuasca may be helpful for treating certain aspects of addiction.[13]
Complications include death, cardiac arrhythmia caused by the harmala alkaloids, and acute psychosis.[14] Some of the deaths attributed to ayahuasca may have been misattributed or in some cases caused indirectly (e.g., suicide[15]).[16] Documented social dangers include rape of female ayahuasca users and, obviously, daylight robbery of the rich by the poor. There have been reports of other hallucinogens being mixed in (usually plants that contain scopolamine), to give the turistas "that extra buzz".
As the harmala alkaloids in ayahuasca mixture are MAOIs, they strongly potentiate many prescription drugs. Specifically, they allow serotonin re-uptake inhibitors to generate far greater levels of extracellular serotonin, which may cause serotonin syndrome
or death in extreme cases. Participants are advised not to take drugs unless they're sure they do not interact with MAOIs.
Ayahuasca tourism exploits and distorts indigenous knowledge, and is associated with illegal hunting practices, including jaguar hunting to provide souvenirs made of jaguar parts to tourists.[17][18][19]
Where to find it[edit]
Celebrity ayahuasca tourists[edit]
The cult of ayahuasca[edit]
Argentinian entrepreneur Alberto José Varela (–2023) ran an ayahuasca business called Inner Mastery based in Spain from 2013 onward. In 2008 Varela went to prison for 14 months for 14 months for "crimes against public health" in an incident where police found 40 kg of ayahuasca and found children and adults watching a porn film together.[15][37] Varela falsely claimed to promote his business that an indigenous community in Colombia had authorized him to administer ayahuasca.[15] In 2015, more than 100 academics, including anthropologists, signed a letter that claimed Inner Mastery had taken advantage of the "ignorance, credulity, good faith and vulnerability of many people"[15] ("…ignorancia, credulidad, buena fe, y de la vulnerabilidad de muchas personas.")[38] Before Varela's 2008 arrest, he had developed his own form of psychotherapy cobbled together from other therapies. Varela was domineering and confrontational as part of the therapy and frequently told people to break up with their partners as part of the therapy. Though Varela became rich from the business, his employees frequently went into debt and were overworked and underpaid and poorly trained. Workers and participants were at times put under unsanitary conditions during therapy.[15]
In July 2023, Varela and 17 of his employees were arrested and have faced criminal charges of "criminal conspiracy, crimes against public health and practising medicine without a licence." Varela died in December 2023 from a brain [[tumor]. Inner Mastery have continued after his Varela's death and the arrests, and still offers ayahuasca.[39]
External links[edit]
- See the Wikipedia article on Legal status of ayahuasca by country.
- "Erowid Ayahuasca Vault" (retrieved October 2015)
- Think Twice Before Bringing Ayahuasca Back to the US After Your Retreat (retrieved August 2014)
- Stepping Into the Fire — documentary, mainly about the Shimbre Shamanic Center
- Kyle Nolan story from Mail Online 12 Sept 2012 (retrieved August 2013). Nolan died from ayahuasca in 2012 having paid $1200 for the experience.
- 50-min documentary Shamans of the Amazon by Dean Jefferys
- Web site promoting the film.
- New-Age proponent Taylor Marie talking about how ayahuasca changed her life.
- Taylor again, this time with clean hair, talking about how ayahuasca tourism has somewhat corrupted the "pure" experience.
- Ayaadvisor.org — an ayahuasca resource in the English language
- Online aya forums
- 5-min Video about the Gringo Shaman of the Amazon
- Ayahuasca: Grieving parents issue warning to backpackers after son's death on jungle drug retreat
- How an ayahuasca retreat claimed the life of a 24yo Kiwi tourist in the Amazon
- Peru's brutal murders renew focus on tourist boom for hallucinogenic brew
- Ayahuasca Retreats in Brazil with Yoga and Workshops for Spiritual Development
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Magnificent Visions by Ted Mann (November 11, 2011) Vanity Fair.
- ↑ Ayahuasca Effects The Vaults of Erowid.
- ↑ DMT Basics The Vaults of Erowid.
- ↑ Drug Scheduling United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
- ↑ 'N,N-Dimethyltriptamine (DMT) (March 2025) United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
- ↑ "Early Holocene coca chewing in northern Peru" by Tom D. Dillehay et al. (2010) Antiquity 84(326). doi:10.1017/S0003598X00067004.
- ↑ Coca leaves first chewed 8,000 years ago, says research by Jason Palmer (2 December 2010) BBC News.
- ↑ Who Will Benefit From Psychedelic Medicine? These substances are being touted as a game-changing intervention for mental health. But it’s not clear if their promise will be accessible to all. by Whitney Joiner (September 21, 2020) The Washington Post.
- ↑ Is Ayahuasca Possibly Less than Five Hundred Years Old? by Bernd Brabec de Mori (June 18, 2020) Chacruna.
- ↑ The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’ by Manvir Singh (1 May 2025 00.00 EDT) The Guardian.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Yage Letters by William S. Burroughs (2001). City Lights Publishers. ISBN 0872860043.
- ↑ Ayahuasca Shamanism The Temple of the Way of Light.
- ↑ Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada by Gerald Thomas et al. (2013) Current Drug Abuse Reviews 6(1):30-42. doi:10.2174/15733998113099990003.
- ↑ The Dark Side of Ayahuasca by Kelly Hearn (Dec 4, 2017 6:27 PM EST) Men's Journal.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 ‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational by Sam Edwards (3 Jul 2025 00.00 EDT) The Guardian.
- ↑ Examining the Deaths Misattributed to Ayahuasca by Carlos Suárez Álvarez (21 August 2023) ICEERS.
- ↑ ‘Ayahuasca tourism’ is a blight on Indigenous peoples and our environment by Nina Gualinga & Eli Virkina (17 Jun 2025 09.02 EDT) The Guardian.
- ↑ Waska: the cost of spiritual healing in the Amazon (17/06/2025) The Guardian.
- ↑ The ayahuasca tourism boom: An undervalued demand driver for jaguar body parts? by Alexander Braczkowski et al. (2019) Conservation Science and Practice 1(12):e126. doi:10.1111/csp2.126.
- ↑ Blue Morpho
- ↑ Caya Shobo
- ↑ The Temple of the Way of Light
- ↑ Ayahuasca Retreats (2021) Heroic Adventures.
- ↑ Ayahuasca Retreat
- ↑ Colombian shaman has no remorse in UK teen's death by Joshua Goodman & Marko Alvarez (May 2, 2014 7:32 AM) Yahoo News (archived from May 4, 2014).
- ↑ Aya Quest Native American Church Heroic Adventures.
- ↑ Retreat Directory Heroic Adventures.
- ↑ ‘Spirit Voices’: Paul Simon’s bizarre ayahuasca trip by Tom Taylor (2 January 2025 19:32) Far Out Magazine.
- ↑ Q&A: Sting. Rolling Stone interviews former Police frontman by Jancee Dunn (February 5, 1998) Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Tori talks about drugs Toriphoria.
- ↑ Robin Quivers Recounts Her Experience Taking Ayahuasca The Howard Stern Show (Apr 25, 2019) YouTube.
- ↑ [Ayahuasca Experience and the War on Consciousness Ayahuasca Recipes.
- ↑ Megan Fox Didn’t Have a Great Time Doing Ayahuasca by Mia Mercado (July 14, 2021) The Cut, Vox Media.
- ↑ Aaron Rodgers Fully Trips Out in a Mind-Bending New Ayahuasca Doc by Kase Wickman (December 17, 2024) Vanity Fair.
- ↑ Will by Will Smith (2021) Penguin Press. ISBN 1984877925.
- ↑ Silicon Valley's new craze is flying to Peru to take a psychedelic you can't legally get in America by Melia Robinson (Dec 6, 2016, 8:36 AM PST) Business Insider.
- ↑ Desmantelada en un chalet de Las Rozas una asociación que organizaba fiestas con «yajé» (05/01/2009) ABC España.
- ↑ La Carta de los Cien: El Mundo Académico se Vuelca en Apoyo a los Cofanes y Contra la Practicas de Ayahuasca Internacional (August 2015) Varela y Yo (Blogspot).
- ↑ Garantía de calidad Inner Mastery.