Other Ayahuasca Research

Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca alkaloids in healthy humans
A long and continuous history of regular use indicates the utility of hoasca. Signs of physical or psychological deterioration were not observed as a consequence of its use. Instead, the regular use of hoasca in a ceremonial context seems to increase one’s ability to psychologically adapt to the larger process of life (Grob et al., 1996)

The Hoasca Project in Brazil found that adult ayahuasca users with prior psychiatric histories showed remission of symptoms after joining a religious ayahuasca community, though it’s unclear if this was due to the substance or the supportive environment. In a follow-up study, adolescent ayahuasca users within a religious context showed fewer symptoms of anxiety, body image issues, and attention deficits compared to controls, though the small sample size limited statistical significance. The church environment may enhance attention skills and promote traits like confidence, optimism, and emotional maturity, potentially explaining the reduced anxiety and body image concerns among ayahuasca-using adolescents.

Ayahuasca, even outside religious contexts, may have beneficial effects on mood and anxiety due to its pharmacological properties. This study on Santo Daime members, who had used ayahuasca for over a decade, suggests that its positive impact on anxiety, panic, and hopelessness could be relevant to a broader population, as it shares mechanisms with common anxiolytic and antidepressant medications. Effective therapeutic use of ayahuasca, however, depends on factors like the individual’s mindset, environment, and the drug’s purity and dose. Careful management of these elements is essential to optimize benefits and reduce potential adverse effects.

With recent legal support for ayahuasca’s religious use in the U.S. and Europe, its popularity is expected to grow. This study found no adverse and some beneficial effects on personality traits, psychiatric symptoms, and quality of life among Brazilian urban ayahuasca users within a religious setting. Future research should explore ayahuasca’s effects in larger, first-time user groups and examine how various set and setting factors influence outcomes, and compare ayahuasca religions with others to better understand its specific psychological impacts.

Assessment of Addiction Severity Among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca
In conclusion, the ritual use of ayahuasca, as assessed with the ASI in currently active users, does not seem to be associated with the psychosocial problems that other drugs of abuse typically cause. Future studies should further address whether this is due to the specific pharmacological characteristics of ayahuasca or to the context in which the drug is taken.

Ayahuasca’s acute toxicity is significantly lower than alcohol, with an estimated lethal dose about 20 times the effective dose, similar to substances like codeine and mescaline. No serious health risks, aside from potential serotonergic reactions, are documented at customary dosages, and ayahuasca shows low abuse potential due to its unpredictable effects and associated nausea. Toxicology typically avoids spiritual concepts, yet experiences reported by ayahuasca users—similar to those described in spiritual traditions—highlight altered states of consciousness that merit scientific exploration for their potential benefits. Poisoning cases usually involve self-made brews or additional substances.

Gerald Thomas, Philippe Lucas, N. Rielle Capler, Kenneth W. Tupper, and Gina Martin

This paper reports results from a preliminary observational study of ayahuasca-assisted treatment for problematic substance use and stress delivered in a rural First Nations community in British Columbia, Canada.

Methods: The “Working with Addiction and Stress” retreats combined four days of group counselling with two expert-led ayahuasca ceremonies. This study collected pre-treatment and six months follow-up data from 12 participants on several psychological and behavioral factors related to problematic substance use, and qualitative data assessing the personal experiences of the participants six months after the retreat.

Findings: Statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvements were demonstrated for scales assessing hopefulness, empowerment, mindfulness, and quality of life meaning and outlook subscales. Self-reported alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use declined, although cannabis and opiate use did not; reported reductions in problematic cocaine use were statistically significant. All study participants reported positive and lasting changes from participating in the retreats.

Conclusions: This form of ayahuasca-assisted therapy appears to be associated with statistically significant improvements in several factors related to problematic substance use among a rural aboriginal population. These findings suggest participants may have experienced positive psychological and behavioral changes in response to this therapeutic approach, and that more rigorous research of ayahuasca-assisted therapy for problematic substance use is warranted.

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Dennis McKenna

Two kinds of evidence argue that ayahuasca may have therapeutic applications. A considerable body of anecdotal evidence, coupled with a long history of ethnomedical use, indicates that ayahuasca may be useful for the treatment of abuse disorders, such as alcoholism and substance abuse, as well as for physical maladies such as cancer. In addition, the results of a 1993 biomedical study of long-term members of the UDV in Brazil have provided data that may indicate directions for the future direction of clinical studies of ayahuasca.

In the right circumstances, meaning within appropriate supportive settings and social milieus such as the Brazilian UDV, regular and long-term hoasca use may result in profound, lasting, and positive behavioral and lifestyle changes. The most dramatic example is the finding that, prior to their joining the UDV church, most members that were interviewed had histories of alcoholism, substance abuse, domestic violence, and other maladaptive behaviors and lifestyles. These dysfunctional behaviors resolved themselves on subsequent induction into the UDV and regular use of the hoasca sacrament (Grob et al., 1996).

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Evgenia Fotiou

Healing is an essential aspect of Amazonian mestizo shamanism. Not only is it one of the most commonly quoted motives for Westerners for participating in ayahuasca ceremonies, but most elements of an ayahuasca ceremony are aimed to heal and protect. This article is purely ethnographic, and its purpose is to provide insight into the ways healing is conceived by both ayahuasqueros and Western participants in the context of shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru. I show that illness is perceived to have physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions, and healing is a complex process that takes place in and outside of ceremony. I show that a multitude of elements in a ceremony converge to address all three dimensions of illness, one of the most important ones being the element of personal crisis. Often present in healing narratives, the element of crisis becomes the catalyst for positive transformation, including physical, psychological, and spiritual healing. Rather than being seen as a singular event, healing in this context is seen as a process, in which the patient carries the responsibility for their own healing.

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Daniel F. Jiménez-Garrido, María Gómez-Sousa, Genís Ona, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Jaime E. C. Hallak, Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Córcoles & José Carlos Bouso

Two sub-studies were designed for this investigation. In sub-study 1, a psychiatric interview and a battery of questionnaires were administered to subjects (n = 40) before their first ayahuasca use. Two follow-ups were conducted at 1 and 6 months. In sub-study 2, the same interview and battery of questionnaires were administered to long-term ayahuasca users (n = 23) and their scores were compared with those of the ayahuasca-naïve group. In the first assessment, nearly half (45%) of the naïve users were found to meet the diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder. After the ayahuasca use, more than 80% of those subjects showed clinical improvements that persisted at 6 months. The questionnaires showed significant reductions in depression and psychopathology. Regarding sub-study 2, long-term users showed lower depression scores, and higher scores for self-transcendence and quality of life, as compared to their peers in sub-study 1. Further controlled and observational naturalistic studies assessing the eventual risks and potential benefits of ayahuasca are warranted.

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Hallucinogenic Music: An Analysis of the Role of Whistling in Peruvian Ayahuasca Healing Sessions
Fred Katz & Marlene Dobkin de Rios – The Journal of American Folklore (1971)

A Modern-day Shamanistic Healer in the Peruvian Amazon: Pharmacopoeia and Trance
Dobkin de Rios – Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (1989)

Hallucinogenic Drugs and Plants in Psychotherapy and Shamanism
Ralph Metzner – Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (1998)

Psychointegrators: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Therapeutic Effects of Hallucinogens
Michael Winkelman – Complementary Health Practice Review (2001)

Effects os a Psychedelic Tropical Tea, Ayahuasca, on the EEG Activity of the Human Brain During a Shamanistic Ritual
Hoffmann, Hesselink & da Silveira Barbosa – MAPS (2001)

Effects of ayahuasca on sensory and sensorimotor gating in humans
Riba, Rodriguez-Fornells, & Barbanoj – Psychopharmacology (2002)

Shamanism as Neurotheology and Evolutionary Psychology
Michael Winkelman – American Behavioral Scientist (2002)

Plants and the Central Nervous System
E.A. Carlini – Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (2003)

Use of South American plants for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders
Eliana Rodrigues & E. A. Carlini – Neuropsychobiology (2004)

Increased frontal and paralimbic activation following ayahuasca, the pan-amazonian inebriant
Riba, Romero, Grasa, Mena, Carrió, & Barbanoj – Psychopharmacology (2006)

Ayahuasca Versus Violence
Ede Frecska – Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica (2008)

A six-month prospective evaluation of personality traits, psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in ayahuasca-naïve subjects
Barbosa, Cazorla, Giglio, & Strassman – Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2009)

Psychedelic, Psychoactive and Addictive Drugs and States of Consciousness
Ralph Metzner – California Institute of Integral Studies.