Page 36 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper March/April 2018 Edition

36 Ayahuasca: The Dark Side and Dangers

Ayahuasca: The Dark Side

and Dangers

Continued from Page 35

What is Ayahuasca Tea?

Ayahuasca tea is an herbal drink that combines
plants found naturally in the jungle of the
Amazon, and it’s been in use for centuries as
part of religious and healing ceremonies.
Proponents of ayahuasca tea feel that it has
therapeutic benefits, and it causes
hallucinations. Western medicine has been
paying attention to ayahuasca for the potential of
the tea to help people who suffer from disorders
like depression and anxiety.
The use of ayahuasca tea has become so
popular that an entire tourism industry has
developed around it in South America, since one
of the critical ingredients, DMT, is a Schedule I
substance in the U.S. and is illegal in many other
countries.
Ayahuasca tea is made with the leaves of
a flowering vine called baisteriopsis caapi. The
tea may also be combined with the leaves of a
In general, there isn’t a definitive answer When you take DMT particularly as an
shrub called Psychotria Viridis or depending on
to is ayahuasca tea safe. Proponents would say ayahuasca tea, it can have a variety of effects.
the country the tea is being made in, other shrubs
may also be combined. Ayahuasca tea is mixed yes, but the scientific research is very limited, so One of the most serious is the raised heart rate it
with a plant species that contains DMT, which in while there may be benefits to its use, there is no can cause, which is one of the reasons there have
the example above is the Psychotria viridis. guarantee that it’s safe. been a few reported deaths involving ayahuasca.
Other side effects can include agitation, an
Without this, the tea doesn’t have the
Ayahuasca vs. DMT—What Are the increase in blood pressure, dilated pupils, chest
psychoactive effects.
Typically if someone were to ingest Differences? pain, rapid movements of the eyes, and
dizziness.
DMT, it would be digested by the enzymes in
When someone smokes DMT, the effects
their stomach and wouldn’t affect their mind, While the terms ayahuasca and DMT are often
are different as compared to drinking ayahuasca
but when it’s paired with the ayahuasca vine, it used interchangeably that’s not the necessarily
allows the DMT to cross the blood-brain barrier. accurate. They are different substances, and tea. When someone smokes DMT, it can change
The necessary leaves are boiled alone or ayahuasca causes the effects of DMT to work in your sense of reality, but the effects last only a
together, and ayahuasca tea contains a MAO a certain way, but it’s the DMT in ayahuasca tea few minutes.
If someone takes DMT in high doses, it
inhibitor along with the psychedelic element of that’s actually the hallucinogen.
can lead to very serious side effects such as
the DMT. In places where the tea ingredients are
seizures and respiratory arrest.
native, there are often preparation ceremonies What Is DMT?
DMT impacts the brain by working on
that take place.
the neural circuits that utilize serotonin. The
Some other ingredients that may be People may be familiar with ayahuasca, but not
added to ayahuasca tea include ayahuma bark, necessarily DMT, despite the fact that the two primary effects of DMT take place in the frontal
capirona bark, uchu sanago and wyra Caspi substances go hand-in-hand. DMT is the cortex.
bark. substance that’s illegal in most places in the So how do DMT and ayahuasca
When someone consumes ayahuasca tea, world, and it’s the psychoactive element compare?
they often say they have spiritual revelations and included in ayahuasca tea.
deep insight that helps heal their emotional DMT stands for dimethyltryptamine, and Comparing DMT and Ayahuasca
wounds and allows them to become a better it’s a hallucinogenic substance that is naturally
person. present in plants and animals. It’s been used for Ayahuasca is something that refers to an ancient
thousands of years in South American tea that’s long been made and used by
Is Ayahuasca Tea Safe? ceremonies and religious events, and it can be indigenous people in South America. The
ingredients may vary as does the brewing
produced synthetically as well. In addition to
process depending on the people and the
People frequently wonder if ayahuasca tea is naturally occurring in various plants, DMT is
location, but the concept is the same. Ayahuasca
safe. One of the most common side effects of also found in small amounts in the brains of
tea is often used in religious and healing
using ayahuasca tea that occurs is vomiting, animals, and it’s a very strong psychedelic
ceremonies, and when you drink it the tea, you
although in religious and spiritual ceremonies substance.
very often vomit and sometimes experience
this is often equated with releasing negative When someone takes DMT orally, it
elements from your life. doesn’t become activated as a hallucinogenic diarrhea, which people feel is part of a cleansing
If people were to ingest an excessive without the inclusion of another substance that experience.
When a person drinks ayahuasca tea,
amount of ayahuasca tea it could lead to acts to stop the metabolism of the substance, and
they will have changes in their perception and
serotonin syndrome, which will be detailed that’s where ayahuasca tea becomes effective.
sense of reality, and the experience can last for
below. There have been a few reported deaths The DMT can be combined with various other
hours.
related to participation in an ayahuasca substances to enhance the psychedelic effects
While people have been drinking
ceremony, usually because of undiagnosed heart and prevent DMT from being metabolized
ayahuasca tea for thousands of years, it’s
conditions, interactions with other drugs, or the before it crosses the blood-brain barrier.
use of substances like recreational drugs or In addition to using DMT in ayahuasca become popular in Western culture more
nicotine. There have been limited reports of tea, it can also be snorted, smoked or injected, recently, and people believe it can treat things
potential allergic reactions because of ayahuasca but without the presence of certain alkaloids, it like addiction, OCD, and PTSD.
tea as well. would have no effect.
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