Psychedelic Nation? (De)Provincializing the Psychedelic Renaissance from Brazil
Science Technology & Human Values December 20, 2024 Pietro Benedito, Emilia Sanabria 2 citations
Brazil has developed a distinctive, globally relevant research paradigm for psychedelic substances, driven by a strong pharmaceutical innovation system and the legal status of ayahuasca. Unlike most countries, this research is primarily publicly funded through universities, showcasing Latin America's ability to produce competitive science despite severe financial limitations. Shaped by traditions of social medicine, psychiatric reform, and harm reduction activism, Brazilian psychedelic science maintains close ties to local communities, particularly ayahuasca churches that partner with clinical research labs. The authors argue that provincializing the psychedelic renaissance means challenging the patent-driven, neoliberal mindset that makes a shared, publicly funded psychedelic research commons seem impossible, an ideal quietly put into practice in Brazil as long as its universities received adequate public funding.