Ayahuasca

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic tea (or occasionally, snuff) made by boiling a mixture of plants. According to Dr. Streem, the main active chemical is a substance called dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

“Ayahuasca is traditionally used by people in the Amazon River basin — that’s South American countries like Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador,” Dr. Streem shares.

Within these cultures, a shaman or curandero is responsible for preparing Ayahuasca, which has spiritual and religious significance. Outside of ritual use in those countries, DMT can also be smoked, snorted or injected.

“DMT has a structure that looks similar to serotonin, which is a very important brain chemical,” he explains. “The boiling process also releases other chemicals that increase absorption. DMT can also be chemically extracted from the same plants using industrial processes.”

At a chemical level, Ayahuasca is similar to psychedelics like LSD, mescaline and psilocybin.