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.
The Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative (IRI) attempts to address the profound gap between the promises of psychedelics as defined by the mainstream and the needs of Indigenous and local communities. What does “reciprocity” mean in response to the colonial structures of increasingly globalized plant medicine spaces? How can relational ontologies inform a different way of building […]
As the psychedelic renaissance gains momentum, new vibrant communities are popping up all over the world, playing a pivotal role in fostering individual growth and driving collective professional transformation. This forum will discuss the crucial significance of these communities, spotlighting the instrumental role played by the Global Psychedelic Society in bringing groups together and helping […]
Join us for this Community Forum where we will delve into the intricacies of interethnic research, the convergence and divergence of Indigenous worldviews and Western science, and the challenges and opportunities of integrating Indigenous voices into academic research teams. We will discuss the co-creation of research teams that value Indigenous wisdom as legitimate knowledge systems […]
This workshop will challenge participants to take Indigenous claims on plant medicines seriously, to learn about traditional cultures and practices, and to engage in collaborative, horizontal and non-transactional relationships. With a combined 35 years of experience drinking and studying ayahuasca and other plant medicines, and 20 years of fieldwork in Mexico and South America, workshop […]
Join us in exploring the fascinating intersection of sacred ceremonial practices and psychedelic psychotherapy. We’ll delve into the unique contributions these practitioners bring, from their competency in working with spiritual material to their nuanced understanding of power dynamics and non-ordinary states of consciousness. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, they offer a vital counterbalance to biomedical perspectives, enriching […]
Join us for an engaging community forum where we explore the intercultural dialogues, co-creations and dissonances between Indigenous wisdom and cutting-edge psychedelic research. Together, we will delve into the complexities of dialoguing traditional knowledge with modern scientific inquiry, navigating challenges while fostering meaningful collaboration. Join our vision of a future where Indigenous voices play a […]
Join us as we discuss the HOPE Consensus Statement. This pioneering document aims to help steer the future of psychedelics with a strong ethical compass, highlighting psychedelic experiences beyond their medical use, advocating for essential aftercare in clinical trials, and exploring the innovative use in couples therapy. It’s a call to action for everyone interested […]
In this forum we will explore the geopolitics behind access and benefit sharing within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol. Discover the crucial role of Indigenous peoples and local communities, their rights enshrined in Brazilian legislation, and the challenges they face in protecting genetic resources for psychedelic use. We will delve […]
As we approach The Bay Area’s Annual Spring Conference on Plant Medicines & Psychedelic Science, Psychedelic Culture 2024, we would like to offer space for some of the speakers, Chacruna staff, conference attendees and the general public to come together and explore some of the important conversations that will be held. Psychedelic Culture 2024 will platform […]
Chacruna started producing large-scale conferences in Mexico in 2015, and then yearly spring conferences in the West Coast since 2018. Psychedelic Culture 2024 will continue our tradition of exploring cutting-edge themes that are largely absent from the mainstream psychedelic conversation, related to our main initiatives: Indigenous Reciprocity & Decolonial Dialogues, Psychedelic Justice, Protection of Sacred […]
