This session will promote a discussion on ancestral/traditional and ritualistic uses, as well as the recent ‘renaissance’ of research on psychedelic plants and fungi. The discussion will focus on mental health, analysing promising studies on the use of ayahuasca (dimethyltryptamine - DMT) and certain ‘magic’ mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis (psilocybin) in the treatment of conditions such as resistant depression, post-traumatic stress and other comorbidities. On the other hand, the discussion will also address the dangers associated with their use and possible excesses.

Beyond the biomedical dimension, the debate will cover sociocultural, legal, religious, and ethical aspects, and the appropriation of indigenous knowledge and the challenges of integrating these substances into contemporary society will be discussed. In short, this session aims to foster an open dialogue that overcomes stigmas and responsibly assesses the complex place of psychedelics in our past, present, and future.

Watch: Por que tem tanta gente tomando ayahuasca no Brasil? (DW Brasil)
Read: William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, The Yage Letters (selections) || Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert, The Falling Sky (selections)

Activity within the scope of the research project ECO - Animals and Plants in Cultural Productions about the Amazon Basin (ERC Consolidator Grant No. 101002359) and the  working group ECOSOC/CES - Ecology and Society Lab