People who have never used psychedelics express mixed views about their use in mental health treatment, acknowledging potential benefits but also voicing concerns about safety and control. Interviews with eight participants recruited through snowball and convenience sampling revealed four themes: Imbalance within Control Dynamics, Therapeutic Efficacy, Across Generations and Borders, and Growing Awareness. Age and culture appear to shape these perceptions. While participants recognize that psychedelics could help treat mental health conditions, they remain apprehensive about their application in controlled settings.
The concentration of psychoactive alkaloids in ayahuasca tea—N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), harmaline, harmine, and tetrahydroharmine—varies with the environment where the plants are grown and with how the plants are dried before brewing. Drying Psychotria viridis leaves at 43°C and Banisteriopsis caapi stems at 45°C in a forced-circulation oven best preserved alkaloid content. Neither fresh nor dried plant preparations showed cytotoxic effects on human keratinocyte cells in vitro.