Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew from the western Amazon. It contains DMT together with β-carboline alkaloids that block the enzyme MAO, which would otherwise destroy DMT in the gut and liver. It is used in Indigenous and Mestizo traditions, in Brazilian churches and, more recently, at retreats around the world.
How old the practice is remains disputed. A ritual bundle from southwestern Bolivia, dated to about 1,000 CE, held traces of both DMT and harmine, but it was a snuffing kit, so it is not proof that anyone drank a brew (Miller et al., 2019). Some anthropologists argue that drinking ayahuasca for “healing” is a fairly recent development.
The best-known controlled study is one small trial in treatment-resistant depression: at day 7, 64% responded on ayahuasca against 27% on placebo (Palhano-Fontes et al., 2019). Vomiting made blinding hard, and follow-up was short. Because the brew blocks MAO, combining it with some medicines, including SSRI antidepressants, can be dangerous.
In Canada the brew has no separate listing, but N,N-dimethyltryptamine is item 7 and harmaline item 9 of Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, so a preparation containing them is controlled. This is not legal advice.
Sources
- Miller et al., 2019, PNAS: 1,000-year-old ritual bundle
- Palhano-Fontes et al., 2019, Psychological Medicine: ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression
- McKenna, Towers and Abbott, 1984, Journal of Ethnopharmacology: MAO inhibitors in ayahuasca
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Schedule III (Justice Laws)
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