The DEA report on ayahuasca risks: “Science” in service of prohibition?-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The DEA report on ayahuasca risks: “Science” in service of prohibition?

Published:2023-09-28 Issue:2 Volume:7 Page:81-89
ISSN:2559-9283
Container-title:Journal of Psychedelic Studies
language:
Short-container-title:JPS

Author:

Labate Beatriz¹²,Ermakova Anna O.¹,Sloshower Jordan³,Galvão-Coelho Nicole⁴,Palhano-Fontes Fernanda⁵,Antunes Henrique Fernandes¹,Loures de Assis Glauber¹,Cavnar Clancy¹,de Araújo Draulio⁵,Ribeiro Sidarta⁵⁶^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, USA

2. Naropa University, USA

3. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, West Rock Wellness, New Haven, CT, USA

4. Department of Physiology and Behavior, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

5. Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

6. Center for Strategic Studies, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

AbstractOn February 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a document to the legal team representing the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (“CEC”). This disclosure came two years after the church, in conjunction with Chacruna Institute, submitted two FOIA requests to the DEA and the Department of Justice requesting all records pertaining to ayahuasca. This report, titled “Ayahuasca: Risks to Public Health and Safety,” was issued in July 2020. In the present article, we challenge a number of claims made in the DEA report and highlight significant factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. We will demonstrate that the DEA report severely downplays the safety profile and therapeutic potential of ayahuasca and overemphasizes the risks. It also fails to include current research on ayahuasca demonstrating its potential benefits.

Publisher

Akademiai Kiado Zrt.

Subject

Pharmacology (medical),Biological Psychiatry,Psychiatry and Mental health,Clinical Psychology,Anthropology,Health (social science),Social Psychology

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