By Bia Labate, Ph.D.; Henrique Fernandes Antunes, Ph.D.; Glauber Lourdes de Assist, Ph.D.; and Clancy Cavnar, Psy.D.
This article originally appeared on chacruna.net.
It is undeniable that that we are living in a psychedelic renaissance with a growing interest in the use of psychoactive plants, not only in Indigenous, religious, or neoshamanic contexts, but also in their therapeutic use (Labate & Cavnar, 2021a). This renaissance is associated, among other factors, with the world ayahuasca diaspora (Labate & Jungaberle, 2011; Labate et al., 2017; Labate & Cavnar, 2018), the global expansion of ayahuasca religions, and the insertion of Indigenous groups in urban ayahuasca circuits in South America and beyond. However, an increasing backlash has also emerged.
Its presence can be seen in the repercussions of the case of a YouTuber who infiltrated a Santo Daime group in Spain for nine months. During this period, he used a hidden camera to film private ceremonies without authorization. This YouTuber edited these recordings and published a very sensationalist and self-promotional video that garnered almost 600,000 views. He also filed a complaint for attempted kidnapping after being discovered by one of the members. Since then, he has been invited onto several TV shows, where he accused the Santo Daime of being a dangerous sect that brainwashes people and provides a number of illicit drugs without any health or safety precautions. In addition to the repercussion of the case, the public perception of ayahuasca got progressively worse, as raids and arrests of members of two neoshamanic groups took place shortly after.
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