Source: LA WeeklyPublication Date: November 21st, 2013 Featuring Dennis McKenna and Rick Doblin among others. Quote:One ayahuasca expert estimates that, on any given night, 50 to 100 ayahuasca groups are in session in New York City alone. And thanks in part to L.A.'s yen for spiritual enlightenment, and in part to its willingness to experiment with drugs, ayahuasca is incredibly popular here — with at least three subcommunities flourishing in the area. (See one local woman's account of what it's like to try ayahuasca.)
Some of the same doctors and researchers who have, in recent years, gotten approval from the Food & Drug Administration for breakthrough studies involving MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms now are turning their attention to ayahuasca. Preliminary work suggests the brew could help treat depression, chronic addiction and fear of mortality.
People with less-defined diagnoses but a hunger for something missing say that ayahuasca offers something ineffable: compassion, connectedness, spirituality.
"Ayahuasca is penetrating American society, and its highly successful people, way more than any other psychedelic," says Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit research association based in Santa Cruz. "The number of people who have had incredible experiences with ayahuasca, if they could all surface in the public sphere at the same time, it would be absolutely astonishing." Another piece in this edition of the magazine features Ten Celebrity Ayahuasca Users. "The Menu is Not The Meal." - Alan Watts
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I saw that. Nice article overall. Hated the title though - Vine of the Dead? Let us declare nature to be legitimate. All plants should be declared legal, and all animals for that matter. The notion of illegal plants and animals is obnoxious and ridiculous.
— Terence McKenna
All my posts are hypothetical and for educational/entertainment purposes, and are not an endorsement of said activities. SWIM (a fictional character based on other people) either obtained a license for said activity, did said activity where it is legal to do so, or as in most cases the activity is completely fictional.
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Mitakuye Oyasin wrote:Hated the title though - Vine of the Dead? Ayahuasca means rope (vine) of the dead in quechua, iirc. "The Menu is Not The Meal." - Alan Watts
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Thanks. Did not know that. i've always heard vine of the soul. Let us declare nature to be legitimate. All plants should be declared legal, and all animals for that matter. The notion of illegal plants and animals is obnoxious and ridiculous.
— Terence McKenna
All my posts are hypothetical and for educational/entertainment purposes, and are not an endorsement of said activities. SWIM (a fictional character based on other people) either obtained a license for said activity, did said activity where it is legal to do so, or as in most cases the activity is completely fictional.
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Mitakuye Oyasin wrote:I saw that. Nice article overall. Hated the title though - Vine of the Dead? "Vine of the dead" is ayahuasca translated from the Quechua language as Vodsel said, also sometimes translated as the "vine of the soul".
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