ayahuasca

7 Stories

What It's Like Inside a Ayahuasca Church

Participants claim they're healed, though a crackdown could be coming. The AP digs in

(Newser) - One night in October in a small town in Utah, a mix of military veterans, corporate executives, thrill seekers, ex-members of a polygamous Mormon sect and a man who supposedly struck it rich on a game show converged for a $900 "healing" weekend. Together, overseen by a Colombian shaman,...

Another City Decriminalizes Magic Mushrooms

Oakland, Calif., follows Denver's lead

(Newser) - Oakland, Calif., has followed Denver's lead in decriminalizing magic mushrooms—but also peyote and ayahuasca. The move came Tuesday after a unanimous vote by the Oakland City Council, which directed law enforcement to stop investigating and prosecuting individuals for possession or use of plant-derived hallucinogens, reports USA Today . Ahead...

Prosecutors: Tourist Lynched in Amazon Had Bought a Pistol

Prosecutors say Sebastian Woodroffe is main suspect in shaman's killing

(Newser) - The Canadian man lynched in the Amazon last Thursday is the No. 1 suspect in the death of an octogenarian shaman, prosecutors say. Reuters reports on the new evidence that brought them to that conclusion: a silver-colored pistol prosecutor Ricardo Jimenez says Sebastian Woodroffe purchased in early April. They were...

In Peru's Amazon, a Shaman Is Killed, Then a Tourist Lynched

Police investigating the death of Sebastian Woodroffe, 41

(Newser) - The death of a Canadian man is making headlines for its location, manner, and the murkiness around it. The body of Sebastian Woodroffe was found in a shallow grave Saturday in the Ucayali region of Peru's Amazon by police who began searching for the 41-year-old after a video was...

Hipsters Are Healing Their Souls With 'Grandmother' Drug
Hipsters Are Healing
Their Souls With
'Grandmother' Drug
in case you missed it
Sep 17, 2016 4:25 PM CDT

Hipsters Are Healing Their Souls With 'Grandmother' Drug

Amazon's ayahuasca is said to offer therapeutic benefits—though not without a cost

(Newser) - A psychedelic concoction known as yage, or ayahuasca, has been brewed in indigenous communities in the Amazon region for centuries. But now it's found a relatively new audience: Americans immersed in what Ariel Levy, writing for the New Yorker , calls "the Age of Kale," who are tapping...

Tourist Killed in Psychedelic Ritual in Peru

Brit allegedly attacked Canadian with a knife, was killed

(Newser) - Phoenix Ayahuasca describes itself as "offering a safe and supportive place to experience plant medicines" near Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon. On Wednesday, things went wrong. Witnesses say a British man was killed during a bad trip after consuming a hallucinogenic brew at Phoenix Ayahuasca, which the Independent calls...

Hallucinogenic Brew May Help Depression
 Hallucinogenic Brew 
 May Help Depression 
study says
Apr 12, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Hallucinogenic Brew May Help Depression

Results from first human clinical trial of ayahuasca are promising

(Newser) - A psychedelic brew from the jungles of Brazil shows promise as a treatment for depression—in fact, as a treatment for those who don't respond to more traditional medication. Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo have just published the results of the first clinical trial involving the anti-depressant...

7 Stories