Reports by explorers and travelers and the first scientific studies on ayahuasca (dating from 1850 to 1950) within the current debate on the “psychedelic renaissance”
História Ciências Saúde-Manguinhos January 1, 2023 Vinícius Maurício de Lima, Maria Gabriela Silva Martins da Cunha Marinho 1 citation
Between 1850 and 1950, encounters between indigenous and Western uses of ayahuasca set the stage for the current "psychedelic renaissance." Scientific interest in psychoactive substances revived around 2000 after being halted by anti-drug policies in the 1960s and 1970s. Early twentieth-century studies and expedition reports from Amazonia, analyzed through actor-network theory, reveal how historical accounts illuminate present-day political debates over indigenous practices, classifications, and meanings of ayahuasca, as well as pharmaceutical interest and the broader debate on "drugs."