Reflections on Cannabis, Ayahuasca and the mystery of plant teachers

True story: A close friend of mine took Ayahuasca with a shaman and was then committed to a psychiatric facility in New York for almost a week. She was badly shaken up by the experience. I guess she didn't have good support, or she wasn't suited to taking it, but obviously the experience turned out to be horrific. So be careful with decisions like this...

It is very unfortunate that this happened to your friend.

However, brief anecdotes like this are not incredibly useful without a great deal of additional information.

* Did your friend or others in her family have a history of mental illness?

* Was she depressed or otherwise suffering from mental illness at the time of the trip?

* Was she on any other drugs (prescribed or not) apart from ayahuasca?

* Had she had much previous experience with psychedelics?

* Did she try to fight the experience or was she able to surrender to it and go with the flow (a very important skill to have, when using psychedelics)?

* Was she in a safe environment, among trusted people during the trip?

* Did she have a concrete, positive intention for the trip? Or was she just taking it for the hell of it?

* How much did she know about what she was getting in to?

* How qualified was the shaman she took the brew with?

Unfortunately, many self-styled shamen don't have the proper training, or (occasionaly) any training at all. There could be incentive for people to misrepresent themselves and their credentials, especially when money is involved.

Yes, one should definitely be very careful, and avoid taking psychedelics when one or one's family has a history of mental illness, is currently suffering from mental illness (including plain old depression), or is using any other psychoactive medication (such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc).

You should also seriously check out the credentials of any shaman or guide you're taking the medicine with, and be sure you are in a safe, supportive environment during the trip.

Finally, thoroughly educate yourself on the substance and constructive ways of using it.

A lot of the descriptions of Ayahuasca are similar to mushrooms (everything depends on dosage of course!) Truly life-augmenting experiences.

As a 10 year pot smoker I stopped rather randomly about 4 months ago. I didn't do it for any reason besides respiratory health, and probably wouldn't have changed if I had a good vaporizer. It's fine not smoking but I drink more and find my mind moving away from the broad thinking pot encouraged. I'll probably find a way to balance it in in some way again in the future.

The likes of psychedelics, however, are framing or pivotal events in my life, generally done in the wilderness. My feelings are similar to Steve Jobs... they are incredibly powerful experiences and I yearn to share them with those I'm close with. I imagine I'll be having these experiences throughout my life.

Some feel that psychedelics have had and continue to effect our industry?

Similar to mushrooms? Maybe the perception change, but as for...

"a mixture of foot-rot, raw sewage, battery acid, sulfur and just a hint of chocolate. Within about 45 minutes of drinking it you frequently begin to suffer bouts of severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea."

This is NOT anything like mushrooms unless you've taken the wrong kind.