- Eight Frequently Asked Questions About Ayahuasca Globalization - February 13, 2024
- Ten Tips for Standing in Solidarity with Indigenous People and Plant Medicines - January 18, 2024
- Genocide by Other Means: Indigenous Peoples and the War on Drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean - December 14, 2023
- Eight Frequently Asked Questions About Ayahuasca Globalization - February 13, 2024
- Liberté, Égalité et Fraternité? Santo Daime’s Fight for Religious Freedom in France - February 15, 2023
- A Call for Public Support Against the Current Demonization of Ayahuasca Practices in Spain - January 5, 2023
- Eight Frequently Asked Questions About Ayahuasca Globalization - February 13, 2024
- Ten Tips for Standing in Solidarity with Indigenous People and Plant Medicines - January 18, 2024
- Psychedelic Parenthood: A New Ancestral Way of Raising a Family - November 2, 2023
- Eight Frequently Asked Questions About Ayahuasca Globalization - February 13, 2024
- Ten Tips for Standing in Solidarity with Indigenous People and Plant Medicines - January 18, 2024
- Opening Remarks – Queering Psychedelics II - April 24, 2023
It is undeniable that we are living in a psychedelic renaissance with a growing interest in the use of psychoactive plants, not only in Indigenous, religious, or neoshamanic contexts, but also in their therapeutic use (Labate & Cavnar, 2021a). This renaissance is associated, among other factors, with the world ayahuasca diaspora (Labate & Jungaberle, 2011; Labate et al., 2017; Labate & Cavnar, 2018), the global expansion of ayahuasca religions, and the insertion of Indigenous groups in urban ayahuasca circuits in South America and beyond. However, an increasing backlash has also emerged.
Its presence can be seen in the repercussions of the case of a YouTuber who infiltrated a Santo Daime group in Spain for nine months. During this period, he used a hidden camera to film private ceremonies without authorization. This YouTuber edited these recordings and published a very sensationalist and self-promotional video that garnered almost 600,000 views. He also filed a complaint for attempted kidnapping after being discovered by one of the members. Since then, he has been invited onto several TV shows, where he accused the Santo Daime of being a dangerous sect that brainwashes people and provides a number of illicit drugs without any health or safety precautions. In addition to the repercussion of the case, the public perception of ayahuasca got progressively worse, as raids and arrests of members of two neoshamanic groups took place shortly after.
These circumstances have reignited the debate about the use of the beverage in the country, led by the sensationalist media coverage that frequently ignores the scientific data readily available. The allegations are the same: Ayahuasca groups are sects that use dangerous drugs to manipulate their adepts (or “targets”), commonly described as fragile and gullible people, for financial gain. The emergence of ayahuasca as a public health and safety issue, however, is not limited to the case of Spain. In March 2022, the Italian Ministry of Health issued a decree banning ayahuasca and its component plants, as well as its active constituents (Berazaluce, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c). The Italian government’s decision took Santo Daime members in the country by surprise, forcing them to hold their ceremonies drinking water instead of ayahuasca as a form of protest, as the União do Vegetal did in the United States during their court case.
Italy followed a similar approach to France. In 2005—just three months after the acquittal of a Santo Daime group in Paris who were accused of consuming and trafficking illicit substances—the French government, through the Ministry of Health, banned ayahuasca and the plants used in its making. In 2019, the leader of the same Santo Daime group acquitted in 2005 was arrested again. He was released on bail after being detained for four days. He is currently awaiting his trial, and he could be sentenced to several years in prison. In the French case, the ban of ayahuasca was assisted by the contribution of the MIVILUDES, the governmental Inter-Ministerial Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances (dérives sectaires), whose representative gave a presentation on ayahuasca during the meeting of The Commission of Narcotic Drugs that established the prohibition of ayahuasca in France (Bourgone, 2012; Novaes & Moro, in press). This unique partnership shows that ayahuasca is perceived and portrayed by public authorities not only as a health risk but as a dangerous social movement with sectarian tendencies. They suspect not only ayahuasca the drink, but the practices of ayahuasca groups themselves, without presenting any substantial evidence to support their claims. We cannot fail to mention the prohibition of ayahuasca by the Dutch courts in 2018, after almost two decades of the decision that allowed the religious use of ayahuasca by a Santo Daime church in the country (ICEERS, 2018)
Amid this scenario of arrests, prosecutions, sensationalist reports, and the dissemination of fear, distrust, and misinformation, it is necessary to approach the subject in a judicious way, leaving aside prejudices and preconceptions. It is crucial in a moment like this to analyze the accumulated knowledge on the subject of the religious use of ayahuasca (Labate et al., 2008), as well as to understand the contexts in which the regulation of the brew has occurred successfully, creating public policy models that can be studied and adopted in other sociocultural contexts.
Despite the growing interest in ayahuasca in recent decades, its ritual use dates back to centuries ago. In fact, the first historical records of ayahuasca in the Amazon region date back to the late seventeenth century (Antunes, 2011). Historically, the Amerindian use of ayahuasca, present in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, had several uses. Ayahuasca has been used to facilitate communication with spiritual realms and to explore relationships with the fauna and the flora of the environment. Shamans often drank it to diagnose and cure illnesses. It was also used for divinatory purposes. Ayahuasca was vital not only in shamanic practices; it was also a significant part of the sociocultural life of several Indigenous Amazonian ethnic groups (Luna, 1986).
The use of ayahuasca has not only been historically important for the Indigenous populations of the Amazon forest; it holds still a crucial role in identity and territorial processes, and in the development of organized social movements to preserve the forest and its traditions.
The use of ayahuasca has not only been historically important for the Indigenous populations of the Amazon forest; it holds still a crucial role in identity and territorial processes, and in the development of organized social movements to preserve the forest and its traditions. This happened not only in Colombia, with the creation of an Indigenous association focused on the use of yagé, but also in Brazil, where a number of Indigenous ethnic groups established a political alliance to strengthen their cause regarding the Indigenous uses of ayahuasca. Since 2017, these groups have organized several Indigenous conferences on the subject (The representatives of the Indigenous Peoples of the Juruá Valley, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2022).
In countries like Colombia and Peru, besides the Indigenous use of ayahuasca, there is also a form of folk medicine based on psychoactive plants, chants, and diets. These folk healers are called vegetalistas (Dobkin de Rios, 1972; Luna, 1986). Their practice is mainly found among rural populations who retained elements of ancient Indigenous knowledge about plants while absorbing some influences from European esotericism and urban environments. Particularly in Brazil, there was the unique development of a religious phenomenon centered on non-Indigenous populations who consumed ayahuasca, known as Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal. These religious groups, founded between the 1930s and 1960s, have reinterpreted local traditions with a strong influence of Christianity, incorporating elements of Amazonian shamanism, folk Catholicism, African-Brazilian traditions, and Kardecist spiritism, among other traditions (Labate, 2004). These groups have expanded throughout the early 1980s to some of Brazil’s major cities. In the early 1990s, these groups expanded to Europe and North America, mainly because of the influence of foreigners who discovered ayahuasca in Brazil and wanted to establish branches in their home countries.
In addition to ayahuasca religions, anthropology has been noting, in recent decades, the emergence of new modalities of ayahuasca consumption in urban centers (Labate, 2004). Among the new uses, there is the use of ayahuasca in meditation sessions, in the treatment of drug addiction, in psychotherapy sessions, for artistic inspiration, and in group therapies. It is also possible to point out the intersection of ayahuasca with Afro-Brazilian religions and neoshamanism. The reinvention of the use of ayahuasca and the emergence of neoayahuasquero groups is part of the social and cultural process that unfolded during the expansion of ayahuasca religions. These elements circulated, mingling with the vegetalistas and Indigenous people in the large cities of South America where Amazonian traditions met local urban practices in a process that has led to alliances, exchanges, and new forms of ayahuasca use.
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Although ayahuasca use by non-Indigenous people is a relatively new phenomenon, its development is associated with the emergence of a certain type of religiosity characteristic of urban centers, creating new networks, such as the neo-esoteric and therapeutic networks, that have gained their own autonomy within the New Age universe. On the other hand, many of these groups present an affiliation or some kind of connection to traditional ayahuasca religions, or to Indigenous groups, forming an intersection between urban networks and the traditional Amazonian uses of ayahuasca.
In Brazil, the Federal Council on Narcotic Drugs (CONFEN) presented a report that found no evidence that the religious use of ayahuasca posed health risks or social harms (CONFEN, 1987). In the following decades, the public policies on ayahuasca moved progressively towards the recognition of the religious use of ayahuasca as a religious and cultural phenomenon protected by the Brazilian Constitution (Antunes, 2019; MacRae, 2014). In an historical decision involving scholars, scientists, jurists, public authorities, and representatives of the ayahuasca religions, the National Council on Drug Policy recognized the religious freedom of the use of ayahuasca in Brazil (CONAD, 2006, 2010). In the 2000s, the initiation of a process to recognize the religious use of ayahuasca as an “intangible heritage” of Brazilian culture, established by the Institute for National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), marked an important change in Brazil. Ayahuasca would no longer be an object of drug policies; instead, it entered the realm of affirmative policies, attesting to recognition by the Brazilian government of the historical and cultural value of the religious use of ayahuasca in Brazil (Labate, 2010; Antunes, 2019; Labate & Assis, in press).
We must also highlight Peru’s recognition of ayahuasca as national cultural heritage. The heritage safeguarding in the Peruvian case aims to protect traditional and Indigenous uses of ayahuasca in the country. In Colombia, although there is no formal regulation of ayahuasca, various attempts at self-regulation have been made by Indigenous peoples, as well as administrative rulings legitimizing the use of yagé. Traditional Indigenous medicine and the Indigenous use of yagé became part of the country’s cultural heritage policy directives in 2009 (Labate & Assis, in press). There was also the creation of the Union of Indigenous Yagé Medics of the Colombian Amazon (UMIYAC). The Union developed The Code of Ethics For the Practice of Indigenous Medicine in the Amazon Piedmont of Colombia (UMIYAC, 2000), establishing a number of guidelines to prevent the commodification of traditional forms of yagé use (Caicedo-Fernández, in press). This self-regulatory measure was not an isolated case; on the contrary, it was preceded by the Declaration of Principles of the Religious Groups who Consume the Tea Hoasca, produced by ayahuasca groups in conversation with Brazilian authorities in the early nineties (Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos [NEIP], 2017). In Spain, the first activist group created around ayahuasca produced a similar initiative (Plantaforma para la Defensa de la Ayahuasca, 2009). Years later, UMIYAC published the Declaration from the Spiritual Authorities, Representatives, and Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Region (UMIYAC, 2019). These cases prove not only the cultural and historical value of the use of ayahuasca, but they also demonstrate that it has a central role for a number of Indigenous and religious groups, not only socially and culturally, but also as a contemporary form of political expression.
Besides the important contributions of Indigenous groups and ayahuasca religions to advance the political agenda for the regulation of ayahuasca, NGOs, research institutes, and a number of scholars have also promoted the responsible use of ayahuasca and demanded its recognition.
Besides the important contributions of Indigenous groups and ayahuasca religions to advance the political agenda for the regulation of ayahuasca, NGOs, research institutes, and a number of scholars have also promoted the responsible use of ayahuasca and demanded its recognition. In that regard, one must highlight the Statement on Ayahuasca (Anderson et al., 2012), the Manual de Recomendaciones para el uso de la Ayahuasca (Gabriell, 2021), the Ayahuasca-Good Practices Guide (ICEERS, 2014), and the Ayahuasca Technical Report 2021 (ICEERS, 2021). The Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines has also played an important role, not only through the development of The Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, but also by publishing important guidelines for ayahuasca groups, such as 7 Best Practices for Ayahuasca Legal Harm Reduction, and the Guide to RFRA and Best Practices for Psychedelic Plant Medicine Churches. These initiatives are part of a collective effort to spread awareness about the responsible use of ayahuasca and to bridge the gaps between government, academia, and ayahuasca groups.
Besides these innovative examples, there are other important cases regarding the regulation of the religious use of ayahuasca outside South America. In the United States, the União do Vegetal and a branch of Santo Daime won the right to use ayahuasca in a religious context. The Supreme Court established a ruling in 2006 attesting that the federal government could not produce any evidence that the religious use of ayahuasca posed health or safety risks for its users, nor for the country. The Supreme Court, therefore, granted União do Vegetal the right to import and consume ayahuasca. Two years later, a Santo Daime branch in Oregon had a similar victory. Since these rulings, no legal issues have arisen in the country regarding União do Vegetal nor the Santo Daime branch. Sometime after, the DEA established an application process for groups that want to obtain a legal exemption for the religious use of ayahuasca. Canada has also granted five exemptions allowing groups to practice their religion without legal restrictions (Rochester, 2017). The first two exemptions were granted in 2017 by Health Canada to Santo Daime and União do Vegetal. So far, the majority of exemptions were given to branches of Brazilian ayahuasca religions; ironically, the same groups that are now targeted as dangerous sects in some European countries.
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These examples highlight that ayahuasca can be successfully regulated, not only in countries where it’s use is part of the cultural practices of traditional populations, but also in very different social, cultural, and economic settings. The cases in South America, and the exemptions granted in the United States and Canada, are proof that compromises can be made; that there are possible ways to successfully regulate the use of ayahuasca, not only protecting the rights of ayahuasca groups and traditional populations, but also creating codes of ethics and guidelines for its responsible use. We should not fail to note that the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has declared that ayahuasca is not subject to international control, an involved discussion that we will not get into here (see Tupper and Labate, 2012).
It is also important to note that União do Vegetal contributed directly to the first biomedical research on the use of ayahuasca, the Hoasca Project, in 1993. The project compared the physical and psychological health of several members of União do Vegetal with ten years or more of ayahuasca use and a control group that had never taken ayahuasca. After several tests, the researchers concluded that there was no evidence that the use of ayahuasca in a ceremonial context presented any risks for ayahuasca users. This trailblazing project served as inspiration for a number of research projects that focus on the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca (Labate & Cavnar, 2014, 2021b). Some recent double-blind research has shown that ayahuasca could be useful for treating certain treatment-resistant diagnoses, such as depression, drug addiction, PTSD, and anxiety (Dos Santos, 2013; Palhano-Fontes, 2019).
This collection of examples of successful regulation processes, the scientific data on safety and effectiveness, and the findings of the academic literature on the use of ayahuasca points to the fact that, if done in a controlled environment with the guidance of experienced people, it is a benign practice that poses no harm nor risk to public health and safety. In light of recent events, and the ongoing stigmatization of ayahuasca, we hope that this article can serve as a call for ayahuasca groups, academia, international agencies, and national governments to open up a channel for dialogue and for change.
We cannot simply accept the fact that ayahuasca groups are being treated as criminals, having their homes and workplaces raided by the police with machine guns. The recognition and accommodation of minorities needs to part of the political agenda.
We cannot simply accept the fact that ayahuasca groups are being treated as criminals, having their homes and workplaces raided by the police with machine guns. The recognition and accommodation of minorities needs to part of the political agenda. While raids are being made, there are calls that are not being answered from these groups to start a dialogue with public authorities to establish guidelines for the regulation of the use of ayahuasca.
Ayahuasca is not a threat to public health and the ayahuasca religions are not criminal organizations. To treat legitimate faith practices from minorities of the Global South as international traffic of dangerous drugs is a violation of human rights and reveals a complete lack of anthropological sensitivity and a serious Eurocentric prejudice against other cultures.
The prohibitionist bias linked to the stigma associated with ayahuasca groups as dangerous sects found in the media and proclaimed by public authorities serves only to obscure and exoticize religious minorities and traditional populations. In fact, the terms “sect” and “cult” are no longer used in the academic literature or by scholars of religion (Introvigne, in press). Abandoned by scholars, they have become accusatory and derogatory terms that frequently serve as tools to spread fear and prejudice and are used to constrain and control religious practices and to attack religious freedom. It is not a surprise, therefore, that these same notions are being used to classify ayahuasca groups and to justify repression of ayahuasca use in the alleged name of public order and health. We cannot abide by that. We are here to affirm the legitimacy of well-established cultural and religious practices and to defend the rights of traditional populations, bona fide religious institutions, and social minorities. The regulation of ayahuasca and the recognition of ayahuasca groups are not only desirable accomplishments, but necessary ones.
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We stand in solidarity and urge authorities to respect the religious freedom of ayahuasca drinkers.
- Sean T. McAllister, JD, Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Lorien Chavez, Social Strategy and Communications Officer, Chacruna Institute
- Alejandra Barajas, Program Coordinator, Chacruna Institute
- Fernando R. Beserra, PhD, Coordinator, Associação Psicodélica do Brasil (APB)
- Jon Dennis, JD, Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Joseph McCowan, PsyD, Racial Equity and Access Committee
- Arti Chhabria, MSS, MLSP, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation
- Thiago Rodrigues, PhD, Fluminense Federal University
- Manuel Villaescusa, MSc, Plantaforma para la defensa de la Ayahuasca
- Robert Heffernan, Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Caroline Dorsen, PhD, RN, Rutgers University School of Nursing
- Melissa Lavasani, MS, MPP, Psychedelic Medicine Coalition
- Joseph Mays, MSc, Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative Program Director, Chacruna Institute
- David Bronner, CEO, Dr. Bronner’s
- Daniela Peluso, PhD, University of Kent
- Nicholas Spiers, MSc, Research Coordinator, Chacruna Institute
- Edward MacRae, PhD, Associate Professor, Federal University of Bahia (Brazil)
- Anja Loizaga-Velder, PhD, Director of Research, Nierika Institute for intercultural Medicine
- Kelan Thomas, PharmD, Chacruna Chronicles
- Marca Cassity, BSN, RN, LMFT, Native American Trauma Therapist, Psychedelic Researcher
- Ana Gretel Echazu B., PhD, Associate Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil)
- José Sanchez Marquez, BSc, Plantaforma para la defensa de la Ayahuasca
- Henrique Soares Carneiro, PhD, University of São Paulo
- Hena Malik, Social Media Coordinator, Chacruna Institute
- Mauricio Fiore, PhD, Centro Brasileiro de Análise a Planejamento
- José Arturo Costa Escobar, PhD, Escola Livre de Redução de Danos
- Douglas Finkelstein, MBA, CEO, Empathic.Health
- Sandra Lucia Goulart, PhD, Nucleus for Interdisciplinary Studies on Psychoactive Drugs (NEIP)
- Luciana Zaffalon, PhD, Plataforma JUSTA
- Danielle Negrin, Executive Director, San Francisco Psychedelic Society
- Brian Anderson, MD, MSc, UCSF School of Medicine; Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Jesse Gould, Founder, Heroic Hearts
- Paulo José dos Reis Pereira, PhD, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo
- Leonardo R. PEREZ, PhD, Maloca Internationale, NGO with U.N. consultative status
- Joe Tafur, MD, Church of the Eagle and the Condor, Modern Spirit, Inc.
- Lucas O. Maia, PhD, Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Ayahuasca Research and Outreach (ICARO), University of Campinas
- Massimo Introvigne, PhD, CESNUR
- Gayle Highpine, MA, Independent Researcher and Author
- Wen Feng, MD, Stanford University, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System
- Claudio Kutzwor, Plantaforma para. Defensa de la Ayahuasca
- Jessica Nielson, PhD, University of Minnesota, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
- José Eliézer Mikosz, PhD, Unespar – Universidade Estadual do Paraná
- Igor Fernandes Antunes, MA, University of São Paulo
- Gillian Scott-Ward, PhD
- Helle Kaasik, PhD, Ayahuasca Researcher
- Richard Grossman, LAc, PhD, Sacred Plant Alliance
- David F. Rodríguez-Mora, MSc, University of Texas at San Antonio
- Marc G Blainey, PhD, Psychotherapist / Chaplain, Homewood Health Centre
- Ana Elda Maqueda, PhD, Independent Researcher and Author
- Walter Moure, PhD, Medical Anthropology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo; CrossCultural Philosophy, FFyL, Universidad de Buenos Aires
- Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe, PhD
- Corine de Boer, MD, PhD, Consultant Chief Medical Advisor MAPS PBC
- Wendy Chapkis, PhD, University of Southern Maine
- Stanley Krippner, PhD, California Institute of Integral Studies
- Frederico Policarpo, PhD, Universidade Federal Fluminense
- Bruno Ramos Gomes, PhD, Chacruna’s Ayahuasca Community Committee
- Dráulio Barros de Araújo, PhD, Brain Institute, UFRN, Brazil
- Nige Netzband, DPsych(c), MSc, Onaya Science
- Claudia Schwarz-Plaschg, PhD, University of Edinburgh
- Simon Ruffell, MD, PhD, Onaya Science
- Leor Roseman, MD, PhD, Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London
- Amy Jones, EdM, LCSW, Psychotherapist
- Sebastian Torterola, MD, Independent Researcher, Translator & Journalist
- Carlos Miguel Gómez, PhD, Universidad del Rosario
- Olivia Marcus, PhD, MPH, New York University
- Nicole L Galvão-Coelho, PhD, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Brazil
- Carlos Suárez Álvarez, MA, Independant Researcher and Author
- Iñaki Berazaluce Pintado, BA, Researcher and Journalist (Plantaforma)
- Julie Holland, MD, Psychiatrist and Author
- Rick Doblin, PhD, Executive Director of MAPS
- Santiago López-Pavillard, PhD, President of Eleusis Association
- Victor Alfonso Cabral, LSW, Licensed Social Worker, Psychedelic Therapist, and Poiicy/Advocacy
- Ben Sessa, MBBS, BSc, MRCPsych, Psychiatrist and Author
- Jenny Neal, Marketing at MAPS
- Lígia Duque Platero, PhD, Education Program Associate
- Liana Gillooly, Strategy Officer at Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
- Zane Bader, Communications Officer at MAPS
- Philippe Lucas, PhD, President, SABI Mind
- Devon Christie, MD
- Martha J. Hartney, JD, Attorney, Member of Counsel for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Ismael Apud Peláez, PhD, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de la República
- Kim Hewitt, PhD, SUNY Empire State College
- Gilbert Paul Carrasco, Professor of Law Emeritus, Willamette University College of Law
- Vicky Dulai, MS, MAPS Board
- Merlin Sheldrake, PhD, VU, Amsterdam
- Justin Williams, MSc, Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- Sophia Rokhlin, MSc, Author, Rainforest Foundation US
- Emily Sinclair, PhD (C), Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Medicines
- Tom John Wolff, PhD, Dipl-Psych, Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Author
- Analia Castaños-Davis, MA, LMHC, Psychotherapist, Educator
- Laura Dev, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
- Ignacio Cano, Plantaforma para la Defensa de la Ayahuasca
- Jack Silver, JD, Law Offfice of Jack Silver
- Guilherme Borges, PhD, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Brazil
- Sylvia Thyssen, Senior Editor, Erowid Center
- Gabby Agin-Liebes, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar and Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Azadeh Momenghalibaf, MSc, Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Medicines
- Kathleen Harrison, MA, Botanical Dimensions
- Sara Gael Giron, MA, LPC, MAPS
- Verónica Hernández, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
- Karina Biondi, PhD, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA), Brazil
- Rae St. Arnault, BA, ND, Psychedelic Development Corp.
- Adele Lafrance, PhD, Emotion Science
- Shirelle Noble, Beckley Academy
- Allison Hoots, JD, Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, Chacruna Institute
- Mareesa Stertz, Lucid News
- Clara Novaes, PhD, Psychologist
- Elena Argento, PhD, MPH, University of British Columbia
- Genesee Herzberg, PsyD, Sage Integrative Health
- Janis Phelps, PhD, Founder, CIIS Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research
In addition to the original signatories above, the following individuals have signed this letter of support:
- Ben Meeus, MA, Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute
- Jamal Cameron, MA, Access to Doorways
- Óscar Álvarez Bobo, MD, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu
- Igor Domsac, PhD, Communications, ICEERS
- Monica Silva Gonzalez, PhD, International Development Cooperation
- Genís, MSc, ICEERS
- Maja Kohek, PhD, Medical Anthropology Research Centre (MARC), University of Rovira i Virgili
- Jerónimo Mazarrasas, BSc, ICEERS
- José Carlos Bouso Saiz, PhD, ICEERS
- Òscar Parés, MA, ICEERS Foundation
- Kiko Castellanos, Comms & IT Production Manager at ICEERS
- Constanza Sánchez Avilés, PhD, ICEERS
- Ricard Faura, PhD, ICEERS & Open University of Catalonia
- Sergio Pérez Rosal, MD, OVID
- Benjamin De Loenen, MA, ICEERS
- Sara Lewis, PhD, Naropa University
- Ginger Coy, BA, Threshold Foundation
- Jessica M. Jones, LCSW, Pa’lante Psychotherapy, LLC
- Nick Domitrovic, MSc, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
- Stephen Eric Sienknecht, PsyD, Polaris Insight Center
- Nick Lu, MD
- Mark Achba, BFA, International Psychedelics Awareness Foundation (Director)
- Ricky Jinks
- Don St John, PhD, UDV
- Jamie Lantz, MA, Body Intelligence
- Maya Hill, self-employed
- Bonnie Cardell, MA, LMFT, Self-Employed
- Osiris Sinuhe Gonzalez Romero, PhD, University of Saskatchewan
- Lorene Stanwick, BA, BEd, MEd
- Paula Berry, MSW
- Rick Garcia, BA, American University
- Katie Holz, MA, Antioch University
- G Lenkut, MSc, Bentley University
- G. William Barnard, PhD, Southern Methodist University
- Gregory Wells, PhD
- Jason Polen, JD, Lewis & Clark College
- Cristina Pacilio, BSc
- Rachael Andrews, BA, University of California, Irvine
- Yvonne Read, BSc, Naropa University
- Maya Armstrong, MD, New Mexico Department of Health
- Natalia López, BA, Stibrawpa
- Pamela Banting, PhD, University of Calgary
- Maudisa Meroe, MSW, LCSW, Meroe Counseling & Wellness, LLC
- Timothy Pickett, BSc, UC Davis
- Peter Brandt, BA, California Institute of Integral Studies
- LissaIvy Tiegel, MA, CIIS
- Anja Cehnar, MA, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Stuart Hurst
- Michael Metzler, PhD, MD, Pioneer Memorial Hospital
- Willow Bowler, MA, MAPS
- Sherry Rais, BA, MSc, Enthea
- Tatjana Hardy, MA, Société psychédélique française
- Sergey Vardanyan, MA, EntheoBliss Foundation
- Duprat
- Björn Goldstein, PhD, Bielefeld University
- Linda Graham, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
- Susanna Gutmann
- Rob Zwinkels
- Tonya Bathe, MSc, NHS
- Aleksander Wronam, BDC
- Anne Katrin Schlag, PhD, Drug Science
- Andrea Olivari, MD, Accounting Manager ICEERS
- Andrea Pennington, MD, Conscious Evolution
- James Johnson, MA
- René Tastet
- Frederico Romanoff, MA, UFSC
- Mike Logghe, BSc, MAPS
- Leigh Ann Roberts, JD, End of Life Doula & Integration Coach, Thresholding, LLC
- Keli & Sizer Yerger, MA, AAMFT
- Allison Lockshier, BA, RN, AEP
- Matthew Brockmeier, JD, Psilodyne
- Jason LeValley, MA, University of Redlands
- John Walker
- Ethan Nadelmann, PhD, JD, Psychoactive Podcast
- Shawn Rubin, PsyD, California Institute of Integral Studies
- Jessica DeWitt, PhD, Network in Canadian History and Environment
- Luís Fernando Tófoli, PhD, MD, Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Ayahuasca Research and Outreach (ICARO) – University of Campinas, Brazil
- Christina Muncy, Seeking Santosha
- Deborah Parrish Snyder, Synergetic Press
- Itacir Jose Rockenbach, BA, Santo Daime Iceflu Brasil
- Cat Chaney, MSc
- Sylvia Pinto, MA, NASW-California
- Sitaramaya Sita, PlantTeachers
- Alberto Ribas-Casasayas, PhD, Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, Santa Clara University
- Joanndith
- Niklas Rieke, SSDP
- Alejandro, MA
- Sidarta Ribeiro, PhD, Brain Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
- Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, PhD, Brain Institute, UFRN
- Jonathan Glazer, BA
- Adriana Gonçalves Veras e Silva, BA, ICEFLU
- Helen Loshny, MA, Founder, Psychedelic Development Corp.
- Anya Oleksiuk, MA, Co-director of the Psychedelic Society, UK
- Sam Rames, Kentucky Certified Adult Peer Support Specialist
- Claude Bauchet, Santo Daime France
- Lorien Nemec, BA, Global Psychedelic Society
- Mauricio Genet Guzmán Chávez, PhD, El Colegio de San Luis México
- Paulina Valamiel Lopes, PhD, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
- Julio Santiago, MSc, Federal University of Minas Gerais State
- Walquiria Barros Valamiel Lopes, Psicopedagoga, Sim
- Antonio, MA, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
- Karina Sergi, LMFT, MA, Treatment and Research in Psychedelics
- Sabrina Eisenberg, MSc, USF
- Resat, SMC
- Miguel Pichardo, BA, CEFLURGM
- Caitlyn Davis, MA, Antioch University Los Angeles
- Daniel Torockio, MA, California Institute of Integral Studies
- Dawid, BA, McKenna Academy
- Margaret Ross, PsyD, St. Vincents Hospital Melbourne
- Oleksandra Mishkur, MA, Kyiv National Economy University
- Lucas Nunes Faria, MSc, DTU
- Kieve Pinto, BSc, UCL
- Sunil Aggarwal, PhD, MD, AIMS Institute
- Cristina Sánchez, PsyD, ICEERS
- Justin, MA, MAPS Canada
- Chafik Kahla, BA
- Paige Mallory, PharmD, MAH
- Akmal Aiman bin Alias, BA, Intel
- Simone Weit, MSc, Synthesis Institute
- Breanna Starr, BA
- Mickey Starr
- Maria Eduarda Braga Machado, MSc, Faculdade Maurício de Nassau
- Ruanda Marli Felisberto Flor, Cursando Ensino Médio, Dellasul
- Flavia, MSc, Espaço olhos da alma
- Louise Diad, PUC – BR
- Yu Stavale, MSc, Divina Estrela
- Thiago Santos Moreira, Licenciatura de História, Secretaria Municipal da Educação de São Paulo
- Anya Ermakova, PhD, Chacruna Institute
- Tatiane Cristina Gil Bassi, Instituto Atmater
- Ricardo Marcondes, Artist, Aliança São Paulo
- Daniela Massuia, BSc
- Thaisa, BSc, Mackenzie
- Júlia Umbelino Silva, Não Tenho
- Patrícia Arnosti, BA, Ceu da Lua Cheia
- Marcos Vinicius Oliveira Bernardino, BA, Não Tenho
- Renata Magalhães, BSc, Ceu de São Francisco
- Kamila Midori Shinzato de Queiroz, BA, USP
- Kamila Queiroz, BSc, Tenda de Umbanda Rosário da Mata Santa
- Juliana Pedrosa Cortez, MA, Peregrinos de Gaya
- Fabiana Libera, BA, Universidad Católica De San Pablo
- Jorge Lima dos Santos, CEFETMG
- Jamie, MD
- Sherry Younker, RMT
- Florencia Chapuis, PhD, ICEFLU
- Giuliana Metedieri, MA, Santo Daime
- Eduarda Freitas
- Vivian Fischer Sarmento, Ayahuascaes
- Edson Alexandre de Almeida Gomes, JD, Universidade Federal do Acre, Brasil
- Marian Andrade, Céu flores de acácia
- Alins, MSc, ESCS
- Josiane Goularte, BA
- João Vítor Fraga Becker
- Vanessa Bolfoni Schmitt, BSc, FURG
- Josiane Patricio Fraga Becker
- Maria Laura da Silva Melo, BA, Ceflucetri, Uberlândia- MG
- Rodrigo Semim Putini, UFPR
- Alexandre Oviedo Gonçalves, PhD, Universidade estadual de Campinas UNICAMP
- Julian Voss-Andreae, BA, MSc
- Cires Beijamar Herr, BA, Ceu de San Diego, CA
- Nuno Quaresma, MSc
- Lauren, BSc, AID
- Ana Carolina Morita Forastieri da Silva, Bacharel em Economia (Unicamp), Orgânicos Sul de Minas
- Patricia, BA
- Emanuel Balata, Círculo Xamânico Casa do Sol
- Rosana Carvalhal Martins, MA, UNB
- Urias de Oliveira, Círculo Xamânico Casa Do Sol
- Lucia Regina Lobato da Costa, Serviço Social, Circulo Xamã Casa do Sol
- Alexander Lebedev, PhD, MD, Karolinska Institutet
- Luccas Gonçalves, Grupo Zurah
- Gabrielle Moura Santos, BA, Katharsis
- Igor Rodrigues de Abreu, MA, UFMG
- Marcio José de Araujo Costa, PhD, Federal University of Maranhão – Brazil
- Sean Stinson, BA
- Sergio Mafei, BSc, PUCSP
- Renata Figueiredo, MSc, Casa do Sol
- Camila Sampaio, PhD, Universidade Federal do Maranhão
- Talia Gabrielle Santos Azevedo, MA
- Silvana, BSc, MSc, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão
- Raimunda Nonata Mesquita Bezerra, Circulo Xamãnico Casa do Sol e Fraternidade Colibrir
- Aniko Benedek, Columbia School of Social Work
- André Baptista, MA, FCSH
- Dominique Morisano, PhD, University of Toronto
- Tiffany Uno, MA, University of Porto
- Sergio Daniel CaptakAcosta, Santo Daime
- Justin, BSc, Appalachians For Psychedelics
- Cezary Wieczorek, SWPS Uniwersytet Humanistycznospołeczny Wrocław, PL
- Rafael Bonchristiano Reis, BSc, UNESP
- Montserrat Arenas Cortez, BSc, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Eduardo Salgado Escobar, BA, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Tomislav Majic, MD, Psychedelic Substances Research Group Berlin
- Rosemeire da Cruz, Santo Daime, Brazil
- Nelson Borges
- María, BA, RDA
- Mariom Luna, Chacruna Institute
- Virginia, Santo Daime
- Tamir Jordi Satorra, Institut de Música Primordial
- Jordi, BA, BSc, MA, Chacruna Institute
- Daniel Martin, MSc, Universidad Uned
- David Sanchez Lopez, MSc
- Armando Márquez
- Luis Ortega Puig, Santo Daime
- Micaela, MSc
- Lorien Chavez, BSc, Chacruna Institute
- Luis Rochel Yanez, Santo Daime
- Eva, BA
- Dana Kittrelle, BA
- Livia
- Alba Franch
- Bet Carreras Cots
- Marc Colomer, BA
- Aleksander Althamer, BA, Akademia muzyczna im. Grażyny i Kiejstuta Bacewiczów, Łódź, Polska
- Christopher Soda, BA, Drug Policy Alliance
- Konstantin Kuteykin-Teplyakov, PhD, NeuroCreate
- Jose Manuel Royo Taberner, MA, Music Therapy
- Jordi Piñero Subirana, MD, Santo Daime
- Ovidiu Brazdau, PhD, Research Director, Consciousness Quotient Institute
- Sameet Kumar, PhD, Memorial Healthcare System
- Clancey Cornell, MSW
- Helen Loshny, MA, Board member of Ketamine Assisted Therapy Association of Canada
- Jasmine Virdi, MA, MSc, The Alef Trust, Liverpool, John Moores University
- Julio, Engineer
- Marcos García Párraga, Licenciado en CCII por la UCM de Madrid
- Ronald W. McNutt, JD, Psychedelic Bar Association Member
- Pep Torné, MA, Mestre Jardiner
- Guichardan Rene, MA, Université Lyon II
- Sarah, MA
- Richard Grossman, BSc, MSc, PhD, OMD, Sacred Plant Alliance
- Anna Boix Lladó, BSc
- Nicolae Gabriel Serban, MA, Boehringer-Ingelheim
- Patricia Jimenez, Chacruna Institute
- Sultan
- Jeffrey Haney, Chacruna Institute
- Greg Shanken, Empathic Health
- Ksenia Cassidy, MA, The New School for Social Research
- Tobias Navarro Schroeder, PhD, NTNU
- Valerie Rosenfield, LCSW, NASW
- Guilherme Kfouri, BA, PUC-SP
- Rudá Muto
- Fermín Santamaría, Bachillerato, Santo Daime
- Adria Montesinos, ITI
- Jon Durden, BSc, Warp Corps
- Carol Rae Bradford, MEd
- Ana Carla de Almeida, MA
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