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Ayahuasca retreat seems unsafe

2022-06-23 00:00:00

The stories in this pretty horrifying but that's-what-you-expect article on an ayahuasca retreat seem to mirror most of what I have heard from friends who have tried this. Several years ago a very close friend of mine approached me and asked for advice as to what they should do regarding their recent realization they had a problem with alcohol. I recommended they try Alcoholics Anonymous, as we were in a city where it is pretty clear AA helps a lot of people.

My friend decided to go travel to a 'clinic' and have an experience similar to those reported in the Vice article. It did not cure their alcoholism, and a few years later, they destroyed everything they'd worked for. "Doctors" who are not doctors are not doctors.

Other friends have had bad but not life-destroying experiences. Some have come back having met their spirit celebrity or whatever worked for them. When I hit the psychedelics these days it's mushrooms and my GenX soul can be found binge-watching TV.

I don't blame the ayahuasca, but before I go looking for answers for anything on a lark with a headful of drugs I make sure I'm really in a place to do such a thing, mentally, physically, and environmentally. Surrounded by strangers in Costa Rica at a camp run by frauds is not a comfortable place for that kind of exploration for me.

There is no room for amateurs in the drug culture.

Vice:
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