Ayahuasca

Magic mushrooms can be eaten raw yet are often brewed into a tea to help stomach the bitter and earthy flavors more easily. Ayahuasca, pronounced aa·yuh·waa·skuh (also called aya), originated as a tea. It is the combination of two plants: (a) the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and (b) Psychotria viridis shrub leaves (which contain DMT, the psychoactive element of ayahuasca). The plant-based and psychedelic nature of the tea combine to make ayahuasca one of the big five psychedelics.  

Cultural Significance of Aya

The Western world more recently began to look at the properties of ayahuasca. However, Indigenous peoples in South America have utilized ayahuasca for medical, spiritual, and religious purposes for thousands of years. The word itself comes from the Quecha language and translates to “vine of the soul” because of the spiritual and divine connections and experiences that are believed to result from drinking the tea. Ayahuasca made its way through Brazil and then around the world beginning in the 1950s when Unio Do Vegetal (a small Christian sect) began spreading the spiritual use of ayahuasca after its founder drank the tea himself. 

Psychedelic Effects of Aya

If you have read our other blogs, then you can probably guess that ayahuasca is going to produce psychedelic effects similar to those that are produced by the other big psychedelics (i.e., MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ketamine). This means that you can usually expect things like visual and auditory hallucinations, euphoria, feelings of connection, and introspection. These effects typically last around 4–6 hours.

Side Effects of Aya

As we mentioned with psilocybin, however, being in the wrong set and setting can often lead to not-so-great experiences on ayahuasca, such as anxiety and panic. Another physical effect that is somewhat unique to ayahuasca is the increased susceptibility to feel nauseous or vomit. Although we doubt most people want experience these physical symptoms, they are actually considered to be purgative in a positive way—they cleanse the mind, spirit and body of any gunk that it doesn’t need!

Aya and Mental Health

Two brothers—Dennis McKenna and Terence McKenna—conducted the first research exploration on the potential therapeutic effects of ayahuasca when they went to the Amazon in the 1990s. After studying a group of men (half of who ingested ayahuasca and half of who didn’t for a certain period of time), they found that the men who did ingest ayahuasca had a large shift in their orientation toward life. These participants shared that the ayahuasca allowed for psychological and moral growth that positively affected their relationships in multiple realms (e.g., work, home). 

Since this pioneering study, there has been more and more research on the beneficial aspects and therapeutic uses of ayahuasca on mental health. Again, although anxiety can be a side effect of any psychedelic when certain factors are in play, much research on ayahuasca has shown its therapeutic effects of being calming and emotionally regulating. On the more spiritual side, ayahuasca’s effects of spiritual connection and subsequent growth and self-development are evident in the literature. This preliminary research opens up a whole world of potential for the therapeutic uses of ayahuasca.

Aya and the Law

Where does ayahuasca stand in the eyes of the law in the United States? As with many other psychedelics, ayahuasca is not seen as a friendly substance. Again, despite Amazonian peoples using ayahuasca for 3,000 years, the understanding of ayahuasca in the Western world is limited. It should come as no surprise that ayahuasca is a Schedule I substance because of the presence of DMT.

Ending With Ayahuasca

This wraps up our fifth and final blog on the big five psychedelics. Currently, ayahuasca is used more commonly in religious and spiritual settings. However, as with the other major psychedelics, there is an untapped potential for ayahuasca to be used therapeutically and to be taken as a legitimate medicinal approach in the medical and mental health field.