Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in College Students With Harmful Alcohol Use: A Single-blind, Feasibility, Proof-of-Concept Trial.
Journal of clinical psychopharmacology Lucas Silva Rodrigues, José Augusto Silva Reis, Giordano Novak Rossi et al. 8 citations
A single dose of ayahuasca, a plant hallucinogen containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine, was given with psychological support to 11 college students who drank alcohol harmfully. The treatment was well tolerated and produced strong psychoactive effects. Days of alcohol consumption per week dropped from about 2.9 to 2.1 between weeks 2 and 3, but this reduction was not statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. No other measures—craving, anxiety, impulsivity, self-esteem, or social cognition—showed significant changes, except faster reaction time on an empathy task. The small sample and mild baseline drinking likely limited the findings. The study demonstrates the protocol is feasible for future larger trials.