The DEA report on ayahuasca risks: “Science” in service of prohibition?
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower, Nicole Leite Galvão‐coelho, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Henrique Fernandes Antunes, Glauber Loures de Assis, Clancy Cavnar, Dráulio Barros de Araújo, Sidarta Ribeiro
Journal of Psychedelic Studies June 9, 2023 DOI: 10.1556/2054.2023.00279 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe Drug Enforcement Administration's 2020 report on ayahuasca downplays the substance's safety and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing its risks, according to a critical analysis by scholars. The report omits current research demonstrating ayahuasca's potential benefits and contains factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The critique was prompted by the DEA's 2023 disclosure of the report to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following FOIA requests submitted two years earlier by the church and Chacruna Institute.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Economic justice Law enforcement Political science |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | The DEA report severely downplays the safety profile and therapeutic potential of ayahuasca and overemphasizes the risks, while failing to include current research on its potential benefits. |
Abstract
Abstract On February 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a document to the legal team representing the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (“CEC”). This disclosure came two years after the church, in conjunction with Chacruna Institute, submitted two FOIA requests to the DEA and the Department of Justice requesting all records pertaining to ayahuasca. This report, titled “Ayahuasca: Risks to Public Health and Safety,” was issued in July 2020. In the present article, we challenge a number of claims made in the DEA report and highlight significant factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. We will demonstrate that the DEA report severely downplays the safety profile and therapeutic potential of ayahuasca and overemphasizes the risks. It also fails to include current research on ayahuasca demonstrating its potential benefits.