The New Indian Express
CHENNAI: Narcotics Control Bureau’s Chennai zonal unit on Thursday said it has arrested two Russians, a man and a woman aged over 40, from Tiruvannamalai for possession of psychedelic substances like N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, psilocybin and magic mushrooms.
NCB said the accused were involved in conducting ‘ayahuasca retreat ceremonies’ in Rishikesh, Manali and Tiruvannamalai. Such retreats are popular and use of such substances is even legal in countries like the US with celebrities vouching for its alleged benefits.
NCB said the Russian duo was making preparations to conduct a similar ‘ceremony’ in Tiruvannamalai from June 15-17. “Potentially fatal substances like amanita muscaria, ayahuasca and kambo (frog poison) were used in these ceremonies. Possession and trafficking of DMT and psilocybin is a punishable offence under the NDPS Act,” NCB said.
Around 240 gm of psychedelic substances were seized from the duo, NCB zonal director P Aravindhan said. The agency is investigating how the drugs were brought into the country. The accused have said they sourced the substances from Belarus through courier.
The couple was also involved with others in organising retreats for people. A few more people are currently under the agency’s scanner, Aravindan said. Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive brew which is used by indigenous cultures and traditional healers in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.
In India, it is sold as ‘detoxification’ retreat in ‘spiritual’ destinations. It is believed to give ‘mystical experiences’ and ‘spiritual revelations’ by stimulating neural cells and also improve a person’s mood, mindfulness and also euphoria. Some users might also experience anxiety, panic and vomiting and diarrhoea.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic pro-drug compound which is produced by more than 200 species of fungi. It is commonly known as magic mushrooms. They are consumed for their hallucinogenic effects.
Kambo is also used as a traditional medicine in ‘purging’ or ‘cleansing’ rituals. Its etymology is drawn from the poisonous secretions of the giant monkey frog or Phyllomedusa bicolor. The secretion is a defense mechanism of the frog to kill or subdue its predators in the animal kingdom, according to literature.
