PsychedelicSF/2012-03-04

Lecture Topic

Ayahuasca in a Global Context: Controversies, Public Debate, and Regulation

This presentation will address the internationalization of ayahuasca, a psychoactive substance made generally from the plants Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis. Ayahuasca has traditionally been used in indigenous, mestizo shamanic, and religious rituals in South America. In the last 20 years, its use has spread beyond the Amazon to the world, and has been accompanied by great controversy. This presentation will analyze the public debate around the expansion of the use of this substance. It will contemplate the discussions in media and society around legalization, religious freedom, cultural diversity, and health risks. This analysis makes use of ethnographic fieldwork in the main new contexts of use of this substance, such as ayahuasca tourism in Peru, and the expansion of the Brazilian ayahuasca religions (Santo Daime and UDV) around the world.