Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines is a registered California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN 84-3076078). We are a community-oriented organization run by a small staff of experts and enthusiastic volunteers who work to bring education and cultural understanding about psychedelic plant medicines to a wider audience. We promote a bridge between the ceremonial use of sacred plants and psychedelic science and envisage a world where plant medicines and other psychedelics are preserved, protected, and valued as part of our cultural identity and integrated into our social, legal, and health care systems.
Help us to achieve our mission! From our beginnings in 2017, we have stood apart from other psychedelic education and advocacy organizations by pioneering initiatives that support and provide a platform for diverse voices, including women, queer people, people of color, Indigenous people, and the Global South. In efforts to address the lack of diverse representation in the expanding psychedelic landscape, we centered our mission around the empowerment of marginalized voices to foster cultural and political reflections on topics like race, gender, and sexuality in psychedelic science. We believe now more than ever, given the current social and political climate, our work is critical to the future of psychedelic healing for humanity.
Please become a member so that you are able to help Chacruna, yourself, and the world. Support of any amount helps this cause and allows us to provide psychedelic education to anyone who wants to access it.
Articles in Chacruna's upcoming Global History of Psychedelics series will highlight the global dimensions and future possibilities of psychedelics. The series highlights chapters in the edited collection, Expanding Mindscapes (MIT Press), and will run weekly through March 2024.
A new resource from Chacruna provides a platform for Indigenous perspectives on psychedelics, compiling years of talks and presentations. Since it was founded, Chacruna Institute has centered Indigenous perspectives, recognizing their vital importance to the history and future of the psychedelic movement.
Chacruna’s newest course offering highlights connections between psychedelic history and LGBTQ history. The course begins on August 28th and enrollment is currently open.
Registration is now open for Chacruna's new lecture series that highlights topics from shamanism to commodification. The course will begin on August 8th and run until November 21st. Focusing on a decolonial approach, course participants will learn from a a variety of experts in the field of psychedelic studies.
In partnership with leading ayahuasca experts, the Chacruna Institute published an article in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies in response to the DEA's 2020 ayahuasca report.
The Queering Psychedelics II program highlights queer visionaries, histories, and futures in the psychedelic community. The conference will take place April 22 and 23rd, and registration is open now.
As psychedelic-assisted therapy gains traction in popular culture and through policy reforms, Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine aims to foster accessibility and diversity in psychedelic science, practice, and discourse.
Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, in partnership with the University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, is offering a spring course, Diversity, Culture and Social Justice in Psychedelics, part of its Psychedelic Justice Curriculum. Over nine sessions beginning February 6, participants will gain a deep understanding of historical context, contemporary topics, and future opportunities within the psychedelic world.