| A new report from ICEERS conducted over two years estimates the total number of people consuming ayahuasca worldwide, while also analyzing the deaths the media has attributed to the Amazonian brew. The 196-page report examined various sources including drug consumption surveys, academic research, media reporting, and insights from retreat centers. The report offers approximate figures based on a thorough analysis of the sources available.
“This report not only gives us a detailed picture of those people taking ayahuasca around the world, but also underscores the importance of honoring and supporting the Indigenous Amazonian communities that have been the traditional bearers of this knowledge,” said Carlos Suarez Alvarez Suarez, lead author of the study.
Some Key Facts of Interest:
- We estimate over four million people from the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have consumed ayahuasca at some point.
- Only 10% of these four million people belong to Indigenous groups where ayahuasca has traditionally been an integral part of their knowledge systems.
- In 2019 alone, approximately 820,000 individuals consumed ayahuasca, resulting in nearly 5.5 million servings.
- Among the 58 deaths linked to ayahuasca worldwide, no autopsy has attributed the fatalities to acute ayahuasca intoxication, specifically referring to the traditional brew of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis.
The information provided thus far is just a glimpse of the extensive and detailed Executive Summary recently published on the ICEERS website, available in English and Spanish. The full 196-page report (in Spanish) is also available by request. |
