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.
Looking for another way to donate? Contact [email protected] to find a method that works for you!
Are you involved with a Church that uses psychedelic sacrament? Do you want to learn how to protect your sacrament? Or are you just generally curious about the laws surrounding the religious use of psychedelic plant medicines? Come join us, get informed, and put to rest some of the myths that circulate around the Religious […]
Join us for an in-depth discussion as we explore the importance of cultivating deeper connections with plant medicines beyond psychedelics. Explore the significance of traditional protocols, the importance of building relationships with all plants, and the integral role of local ecosystems. Discover how embracing various plant relationships, from culinary herbs to gardening, enhances and complements […]
Join us for a discussion on navigating reciprocity in the psychedelics and plant medicine fields. Explore the application of ESG principles, Indigenous reciprocity, legal structures, non-extractive finance options, and access and benefit sharing. This comprehensive conversation will address legal and policy, financial and business, and cultural aspects, including reflections on how to advance diversity and […]
Join our discussion on the groundbreaking efforts to establish federal safe harbor for psilocybin-assisted therapy for individuals with life-threatening conditions. We’ll explore the current legal status of psilocybin as a Schedule I substance, the challenges this poses for access to therapy, and potential pathways for change, including the Right to Try Act and rescheduling efforts. […]
Join us for a thought-provoking exploration at the intersection of Islam, psychedelics, and mental health. We will discuss the diverse Islamic practices, the historical bond between Islam and medicine, and the nuanced attitudes of Muslim communities towards psychedelics. This forum will engage in discussions on bridging psychedelic research with Muslim communities, integrating psychedelics into mental […]
This course will be composed of a series of independent lectures taught by the Chacruna Institute’s team and affiliates. It will lay out the foundation of the use of sacred plants through historical, cultural, indigenous, ‘traditional’ and contemporary lenses. We will explore topics such as shamanism in Amazonia, peyote use among the Wixárika, psilocybin use […]
Join us for a captivating forum exploring the pioneering work of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson before psychedelics, their Boasian anthropology influence, and their roles as public intellectuals during the Cold War. Discover their interactions with early psychedelic researchers, the impact of major foundations like Macy, Rockefeller, and Ford, and their personal acquaintance with psychedelics. […]
Explore the future of mental health treatment in our upcoming forum dedicated to MDMA-assisted therapy. We’ll dive into critical topics such as evaluating efficacy in experiential treatments, assessing the combined value of psychotherapy and medicine, and comparing risks between daily versus intermittent dosing regimens. Gain insights into FDA considerations for unmet medical needs and the […]
Psychedelics have encompassed a colorful history of the enchanted, wayward, and weird; its history also includes concrete ways queer folk have fundamentally shaped the substance, style, and spirituality of the psychedelic movement. At the same time, some queer people have been harmed by psychedelic culture’s heteronormative assumptions. As the psychedelic renaissance reaches a pivotal moment […]
Join our discussion on the growing intersection of Judaism and Psychedelics, and its role in the renewal of Judaism through altered states of consciousness. We’ll explore how psychedelics are changing Jewish culture and how Judaism itself is becoming an expression of and a container for psychedelic experiences. We’ll also discuss the role of Judaism as […]
