british tourist killed ayahuasca

A British Tourist Has Been Killed at a Peruvian Ayahuasca Ceremony

A uthorities accuse a Canadian man of killing a Briton in the Peruvian Amazon in a brawl after they drank the hallucinogenic beverage ayahuasca at a spiritual retreat on Wednesday night.

The incident occurred close to the northern city of Iquitos after U.K. citizen Unais Gomes, 26, attacked 29-year-old Canadian Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens with a knife in a drug-fueled frenzy, regional police chief Normando Marques said, according to Reuters. Stevens resisted, and allegedly killed Gomes in self-defense after stabbing him in the stomach and chest with the same knife. He is now in police custody.

The drink, known for its psychedelic properties, is made by combining two different plants — the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and chacruna, a kind of shrub, the BBC reports. The active ingredient is called dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The substance has been known to help with managing depression and is rarely associated with violence, Reuters says.

Ayahuasca ceremonies have become increasingly popular in recent years among those seeking a spiritual experience. The drug is widely available in North and South America.

[ Reuters ]

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British tourist Unais Gomes was stabbed to death during drug ritual in Peru

IT IS a ritual that is meant to promote spiritual healing and cleansing. However, this potent drug can be deadly.

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IT IS a ritual that is meant to promote spiritual healing and cleansing. However drinking the potent ayahuasca tea can also be deadly.

The controversial potion claimed another life last week after a deadly brawl broke out between two tourists at an Australian-run retreat in Peru.

British tourist Unais Gomes was allegedly stabbed by his friend after taking the hallucinogenic drug during the Amazonian ritual at the Phoenix Ayahuasca jungle retreat.

According to reports, Gomes, a former London banker, sent worrying text messages to his girlfriend shortly before his death.

Gomes, who began his own start-up last year, ran away from the retreat, saying he had a “bad experience”.

The next day he sent more messages.

He texted “Crazy here as well” and “I don’t like it” , the Evening Standard reported.

“It’s just the place I went to didn’t feel right,” he added.

The next day he completely changed his mind telling his girlfriend Christelle Ory, 24, that he was going back saying, “Now they have called an amazing shaman to clean up that place”.

Exact details of what took place remain unclear however it is believed Gomes may have attacked by a fellow Canadian traveller after taking the potion.

Local police chief Normando Marquez said witnesses described a fight breaking out between the two, during which a knife was pulled against the Canadian.

The same knife was allegedly used by the Canadian to kill Gomes, the chief said, but charges against the Canadian have since been dropped.

The Australian owners of the retreat, brother and sister Mark and Tracie Thornberry , who were in Australia at the time of the incident, posted a statement on Facebook yesterday.

Ms Thornberry, who is a drug and alcohol counsellor, said the entire retreat had been left in shock.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by what happened at our centre,” she wrote. “I’m unable to make a detailed statement until I’m advised that the police have fully completed their investigation.

“I have been in Australia for the past two weeks and my brother is recovering from pneumonia and was released early from hospital to return to the centre.

“As you can imagine I am reliant on information coming to me from thousands of miles away in a jungle setting. I have full faith in our staff to act appropriately even in difficult situations. “Unfortunately their physical intervention could not prevent this tragedy. I have accounts of the events by the people present and cannot see how it could have been prevented had either Mark or I been there.

“The fatal moments, when a knife was used, happened so quickly. This is such a rare and unusual event that we are all stunned. Our deepest condolences go to the families of all concerned.”

The British man’s death is not the first to be claimed by the potent ayahuasca.

Its use among tourists in Peru has surged, with dozens of jungle retreats now offering it under the supervision of a guide or shaman. Many travellers believe it will help ease depression and other mental health issues.

According to reports, Mr Gomes was on a 10-day, $1650 stay the Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat when the tragedy occurred.

Guests take part in meditation, “relaxing floral baths” and the ayahuasca ceremony.

Ayahuasca is a boiled blend of an Amazonian vine and dimethyltryptamine, containing plants traditionally used by indigenous tribes in medical and spiritual ceremonies. It is not normally associated with violence and is said to have healing properties to bring inner peace by purging toxins.

It can also have side effects, such as vomiting, and psychedelic experiences can last between six to 10 hours.

Kiwi Matthew Dawson-Clarke also died after taking part in a tobacco-purging ritual in September.

The 24-year-old fell violently ill after drinking the concoction then went into cardiac arrest, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Canadian Jennifer Logan also died after she suffered an adverse reaction to ayahuasca in January this year.

And last year 18-year-old Kyle Nolan died while on a 10-day retreat at Shimbre in Peru’s Amazon Basin.

The shaman eventually admitted that the American teenager had died after an ayahuasca session and that his body had been buried at the edge of the property.

There have also been reports of molestation, rape, and negligence by dodgy shamans.

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All evidence shows B.C. man lynched in Peru had shot and killed Indigenous healer: prosecutor

Sebastian woodroffe was allegedly lynched in retaliation for healer's death.

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A Peruvian prosecutor says all the evidence gathered indicates that a Vancouver Island man killed an 81-year-old traditional healer in the Amazon.

Sebastian Woodroffe was killed in a brutal lynching days after he was believed to have shot and killed the esteemed Indigenous leader.

Bullet cartridges found near the body of Olivia Arevalo Lomas were traced back to a gun the 41-year-old B.C. man had purchased earlier in April, and gunpowder was found on his clothes, according to Ricardo Jimenez, chief prosecutor in the remote Ucayali province.

• Canadian allegedly lynched in Peru 'gentle' seeker of 'deeper meaning,' friend says

Woodroffe had gone to Peru to learn about medicinal plants in order to help people suffering from addiction. He was one of Arevalo's students at the time of her death.

Investigators are searching for two people believed responsible for Woodroffe's death.

• Peruvian judge orders 2 arrested in lynching of B.C. man

Villagers had accused Woodroffe of killing Arevalo in the region of Ucayali. A mob allegedly killed him for revenge , according to Peru's interior ministry.

A minute-and-a-half-long cellphone video of the lynching, which was posted on Facebook, showed two men dragging Woodroffe by a noose around his neck as others looked on. His body was later found buried nearby.

• In Depth Peruvian lynching death underscores risk of journeys into the jungle — and the mind

Woodroffe had been Arevalo's patient, and her family believes he killed her because she refused to conduct a ritual in which the hallucinogenic Amazonian plant brew ayahuasca is used for healing and spiritual growth.

With files from Thomson Reuters and CBC News

Related Stories

• Canadian lynched in Peru owned gun that killed Indigenous healer, authorities say

Watch CBS News

Canadian man lynched over shaman's death in Peru

April 23, 2018 / 6:04 AM EDT / AP

LIMA, Peru -- A 41-year-old Canadian who traveled to Peru to study hallucinogenic medicine was killed by a mob in a remote corner of the Amazon rain forest after people blamed him for the slaying of an elderly shaman, authorities said Sunday. Peru's attorney general's office said Sebastian Woodroffe was dragged by the neck shortly after the killing of Olivia Arevalo, an octogenarian plant healer from the Shipibo-Konibo tribe of northeastern Peru.

Officials backed away from initial reports that Woodroffe was the principal suspect in Arevalo's killing.

Arevalo and Woodroffe were both killed Thursday in the indigenous community of Victoria Gracia, officials said. But police did not begin to investigate until a cellphone video appeared in local media showing a man purported to be Woodroffe begging for mercy while being dragged between thatch-roofed homes. He was then left motionless on the muddy ground.

On Saturday, officials dug up Woodroffe's body from an unmarked grave where he had been hastily buried.

Every year thousands of foreign tourists travel to the Peruvian Amazon to experiment with ayahuasca, a bitter, dark-colored brew made of a mixture of native plants. The hallucinogenic cocktail, also known as yage, has been venerated for centuries by indigenous tribes in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia as a cure for all sorts of ailments. But it's also increasingly consumed by Western tourists looking for mind-altering experiences, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Arevalo was a staunch defender of indigenous people's rights in the region. She also practiced a traditional form of singing medicine that the Shipibo believe removes negative energies from individuals and a group alike.

She can be heard singing a traditional plant song on the website of the Temple of the Way of Lights, which describes itself as a plant-shamanic healing center in the Peruvian Amazon.

In 2015, a Canadian fatally stabbed a fellow tourist from England after the two drank ayahuasca together in a spiritual ceremony a few hours' drive from where Woodroffe was killed.

Woodroffe, from the town of Courtenay on Victoria island in British Columbia, said before going to Peru that he hoped an apprenticeship with a plant healer from the Shipibo tribe would help his goal of changing careers to become an addiction counselor using hallucinogenic medicine.

"The plant medicine I have the opportunity of learning is far deeper than ingesting a plant and being healed. It is not about getting 'high' either. It is true some of the plants I will be learning about do have a perception-altering effect, but these are a few plants out of thousands I will be working with," he wrote on the Indiegogo crowd-funding website seeking financial help to advance his studies.

"I am in this for the long haul.  This is more than a 'job' to me.  I want not only for people to recover ... I want to turn them on to the wonders of existence, and have them leave as a renewed friend and lover of this thing we call life," he added.

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A story of drugs, darkness and death in the Amazon

Late last year, 26-year-old british man unais gomes was killed in a peruvian ayahuasca retreat – still nobody really knows why.

“Unais was a good man. We spoke for four or five hours a day about philosophy, health and world politics. I thought we would be lifelong friends. But that night, all I could sense from him was evil. His eyes had an empty rage. He was possessed.”

On Wednesday, December 16, Joshua Stevens, 29, a Canadian from Winnipeg who has been experimenting with psychedelic plants for the last eight years, stabbed to death Unais Gomes, 26, a Cambridge-educated British engineer, in the Peruvian jungle city of Iquitos. He pierced him once in the stomach and once in the heart. Toxicology results now show that only one of them had consumed ayahuasca – Gomes.

Ayahuasca  is a plant brew with psychedelic qualities, traditionally consumed by tribesmen for medicine and religious aid, and increasingly, luring Westerners into the Amazon.

As Stevens and other witnesses attest, he and Gomes had met two weeks earlier and fostered a close friendship while at the Phoenix Ayahuasca Retreat, near the Peruvian jungle city of Iquitos.

Sitting in a muggy hotel room, we spoke to Stevens – granted parole by local police – a day after the killing, after two witnesses corroborated his version of self-defence.

The following report is based on the graphic account offered by Joshua Stevens; two key eyewitnesses, Leo Jimenez and Paulino Shapiama, workers at the Phoenix lodge who say they fought with Gomes when he was out of control that night; the co-owner of the Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat, Mark Thornberry, who met both men; master shaman Javier Arevalo; and Unais Gomes’ girlfriend.

We were able to get a hold of a 114-page police report with toxicology results, additional interviews and an order for Stevens’ release.

Stevens is now back home in Canada and still struggles to cope with the ordeal, yet he remains convinced that one day the truth will prevail. He still calls Gomes his brother. But while the prosecutors dropped homicide charges against him, Gomes’ family in London are preparing to reopen the case in the hope of convicting Stevens back in Peru  – or if that fails  –  in Canada.

According to Iquitos chief prosecutor Disney Zamora, Gomes was the sixth foreigner to die in Peru in 2015 associated with alternative medicines. Last September, 24-year-old New Zealander Matthew Dawson-Clarke died due to an adverse reaction to a tobacco purge and witnesses at the Kapitari Lodge near Iquitos say  he “screamed louder than they’d heard a human scream.”

The “discovery” of ayahuasca and other psychedelic plants has spurred thousands of westerners on a pilgrimage to the Amazon seeking transformational or mystical experiences, sparking a boom in the jungle with over 30 retreats operating in and around Iquitos; a sort of psychedelic mecca where ancient indigenous principles have been repackaged into spiritual rehab tours. So rare is the lineage of true medicine men that retreats often employ untrained or jaded shamen more interested in cash than healing.

The benefits of the teacher plant ayahuasca are undeniable and unprecedented , said to have brought cures to Iraq war veterans with PTSD, drug addicts, depressives and providing a respite from all sorts of other psycho-emotional issues. For the indigenous people of the Amazon, ayahuasca is a sacred brew that calls on spirits to clean and heal the human body that, once invited in, purge toxic dark energies or “demons”, usually through vomiting. It opens us up to unimaginable realms, an all consuming Russian roulette that not all are prepared for , as may have been the case for Unais Gomes.

“I ran away from the retreat. Bad experience. Crazy here. I don’t like it. It’s just the place I went to doesn’t feel right. I’m going to the mountains”

Gomes was supposedly screened by the Phoenix Ayahuasca Retreat for mental and physical stability prior to his arrival through a standardised questionnaire, which attempts to weed out clients on antidepressants; a deadly combination when mixed with ayahuasca.

Gomes, according to co-owner Mark Thornberry, had been to Peru before on a similar ayahuasca retreat and this time paid $1200 for a ten day intensive plant medicine package, which would include: five ayahuasca sessions; one San Pedro session, (cactus containing mescaline); and one toxic frog poison skin purge known as Sapo or Kambo. Gomes, so Thornberry recounts, had also asked to work with the plant Oje, to treat for parasites and candida, a type of fungus that lives in the intestines.

Gomes’ recent girlfriend told me via email that he had gone to Peru to reconnect with nature   and also with himself. He was nervous about the prospect of launching a clean technology venture in California, having left a comfortable life working in finance in London.

“It was stressful for him to start everything from zero,” she says. “Meditation was his way of relaxing. Unais was never into alcohol, smoking or drugs. He was super healthy. There was absolutely no dark side in all this. He was the sweetest man on Earth.”

Four days before his death, Gomes texted her:

“I ran away from the retreat. Bad experience. Crazy here. I don’t like it. It’s just the place I went to doesn’t feel right. I’m going to the mountains.”

Gomes had also spoken to the owner, Thornberry, a 53-year-old reformed heroin addict, telling him he would cut his visit short. Gomes told him he had been given a warning while on San Pedro.

Thornberry recalls Gomes telling him, “I shouldn’t be here. My guardian spirit is not comfortable me being here.”

Joshua Stevens says that he, Gomes and others, including three other foreigners who have asked not to be named, sensed an inexplicably nasty vibe lurking over the lodge.

A day later, Gomes, now in Lima, was contacted by Joshua Stevens, who told Gomes that a powerful shaman, Javier Arevalo, had come to “clean the place up” and that he should return to continue his treatment. Gomes contacted his girlfriend immediately, telling her he had changed his mind, according to a text she shared.

“ Going back to that place. Now they have called an amazing shaman to clean up that place. So tomorrow flying back to the jungle  :)”

It was the last communication Christelle ever received from Gomes.

Javier Arevalo, the master shaman, says he had sensed a bad omen at the retreat and gave Thornberry a list of ritualistic cleansing plants to buy. It was a task left unfulfilled, as the owner was rushed to hospital with pneumonia on the day of the killing.

That day, Leo Jimenez, 38, prepared the hut in preparation for the evening’s session. Shaman Arevalo says he began making his way back from the city center only to be impeded by a blocked highway, unable to reach the lodge, so leaving Celia  –  an indigenous Shipibo woman serving as in-house shaman  –  in charge of the ceremony.

The Ayahuasca ceremony began at 7:30pm with six people present: four English-speaking foreigners including Gomes, and Celia as shaman and her helper Leo Jimenez. Stevens came and collected his full dose and went to his room where he would wait until 9pm to begin his own private session, he recalled.

There are conflicting statements as to how much Unais Gomes drank. Leo says Gomes took half a cup’s worth,  while Stevens, based on what one of the other foreigners told him, says Gomes had asked for a double dose, a full cup.

Half an hour later, with the ceremony in full swing, the psychedelic properties began taking hold. Celia sang her healing mantras, or icaros . As various interviews testify, Gomes stood up from his corner, abandoned his mattress and purging bucket and walked out of the ceremony hut, towards the dark, past the toilets.

The whole grounds were consumed by darkness and the sounds of the jungle. Cut off from the ceremony hut, on the opposite side of a natural pool, Stevens was alone in his dorm, when he heard, he said, someone shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Yahweh, Yahweh, it’s time to get your demons out Brother. We’re going to get them out together.”

Stevens recounts being shaken and collecting his torch to see what was up. It was Gomes.

“What’s wrong brother?” Stevens says he asked.

But Stevens says Gomes wasn’t acting himself, and now directing his voice towards Stevens, “You are Yahweh, you are God, you are Yahweh.”

Unable to calm the situation, things began spiralling out of control. According to Stevens, Gomes forced himself onto the Canadian, grabbing him by the neck, slowly strangling him, while again repeating, “Brother you are Yahweh, it’s time for your demons to come out.”

“All that was going through my head was my daughter, fiancé and family. If this guy gets this knife, he’s going to kill one of us. That is when I made the decision. It was either kill or be killed”

Gomes then allegedly reached for Stevens’s hair, dragged and pinned him to the ground, reaching at first for his genitals and then placing a finger up his anus. “I tried fighting back,” Stevens recounts. “But it was like he had superhuman strength.”

Unable to subdue Gomes, Joshua began screaming for help, “Unais stop! Think! Think about your parents. Stop!” Leo, the shaman’s assistant, recalled hearing the screams from the other side of the pool. He rushed over to find the two men wrestling in the darkness. Gomes, Stevens says, was forcing his tongue into his mouth.

“Stop, I can’t breathe!” Stevens shouted. “Leo help, water, agua .”

Jiminez says he went to the kitchen to make a concoction of salt, lemon and sugar, in a bid to calm the effects of the ayahuasca gripping Gomes. But he claims that the Brit nonchalantly picked himself up, walked over, threw the drink to the floor, and proceeded to beat him up, too.

“He was too strong, he was like the devil,” says Jiminez. Stevens says he attempted to place Gomes in a chokehold but was brushed aside easily. It was then that he ran to the kitchen looking for a pan, thinking knocking Gomes unconscious the only solution. Gomes chased him in. It was dark; the only light a candle in the adjacent sitting room.

“I needed to find a weapon, he was overpowering both of us,” Stevens recalls. “He was on a rampage.”

Searching for a large pan, Stevens found a small pot. That’s when Gomes picked up a small knife, according to Stevens. “I hit him so hard on the head with the pot. But it didn’t even faze him, Stevens said. “He came at me swiping back with the knife.”

Somehow, according to Stevens, both the pot and the knife broke over the big table at the centre of the kitchen. Stevens says it was then that Gomes picked up a large kitchen knife.

“At this point I thought ‘this man is going to kill me,’” he told us. Gomes, Stevens claims, began pinning him down with the table. Stevens added that he was by now freaking and yelped, “Help! He’s trying to kill me, he’s trying to kill me!”

Jiminez finally intervened, this time assisted by Paulino Shapiama, a startled guard serving only his fourth day at the retreat. Both men testify to this moment of madness, with six hands held onto the knife, while Shapiama attempted to bend Gomes’ arm backwards.

The knife was released, Gomes wrestled himself free, and Joshua picked up the blade.

“All that was going through my head was my daughter, fiancé and family,” Stevens claims. “If this guy gets this knife, he’s going to kill one of us. That is when I made the decision. It was either kill or be killed.”

As to what happened next is still under some dispute. Shapiama recalls that the tussle led to the accidental fatal stabbing, but that he only saw the knife go in once. Jiminez says in his police statement that both he and Shapiama were trying to separate both men and the knife from their hands. Jiminez says Stevens took the knife from Gomes, raised the weapon in the air and stabbed the Brit twice, once in the stomach and then possibly somewhere else (that he only later confirmed was directly in the chest). Jiminez says Gomes moved slightly but then froze.

Stevens’ account is more descriptive.

“I stabbed him once in the stomach. I felt the knife go in. He still was coming after us, still throwing punches, still trying to rob the knife off me. I would have thought that would have stopped him. And then I stabbed him in the heart. He still threw two punches after I directly stabbed into the heart. Then he collapsed. And then I collapsed.”

Jiminez began screaming. Both he and Shapiama, owing to a language barrier, say they were unable to communicate with Stevens. They had to leave the premises to alert the police, up a long winding mud path, as the lodge has no mobile phone reception. Jiminez ran up the hill to the nearby village and called the police at 9:30pm.

The rest of the English-speaking ayahuasca drinkers, who have asked not to be named, believed, as their police statements claim, that there was a murderer on the loose. They abandoned the hut, tip-toeing themselves to a hiding place. Stevens was left alone with Gomes.

“I would intermittently get up and slap Unais’ face, asking him, ‘Unais, Unais why did you do this?’ I lay there for 45 minutes screaming for help. Nobody came.”

The toxicology tests confirm Stevens had not been under the influence of any drugs, nor ayahuasca.

Joshua Stevens was arrested and spent a night being questioned by the Iquitos police. He was given conditional freedom a day later and allowed to leave, owing to his cooperation and the two testimonies in his favour. It was at this moment that I met Joshua Stevens at the police station. He had no money, likely to have been stolen by the police. Looking bedraggled, he sought to clear his story, having heard that the local press was running with a sexed up version of events: that he had killed Gomes because he had visions of him having sex with his wife. (The Daily Mail later picked up this version of events.)

Sitting at his new hotel room, Stevens showed me his battle wounds; mostly wrestle marks, a bruise on his head and a few small gashes. He looked terrible.

“I didn’t murder him. It was self-defence. I’m a peaceful person. I have no violent history from my city. I am a vegetarian because I don’t like killing heartbeats. There was something really fucked that happened that night. His eyes were not his, it didn’t even look like him. I can’t fully explain what happened. But what I know is that ayahuasca has a lot of light power; it also opens the door to darkness. And if someone like Unais, who drank a full cup, who is very inexperienced and opens those doorways to darkness. Well he wasn’t ready for it. ”

Stevens claims Gomes took a double dose of ayahuasca  –  a claim that remains unverified.

“I don’t believe ayahuasca was the catalyst for this,” says Mark Thornberry, the retreat owner. “Something was going with those guys’ egos, quite frankly. I’m not in full liberty to tell you what exactly out of respect for Unais’ family.”

The police report failed to find any conflict between the two men. Stevens told me that he and Gomes spoke often about demons and parasites, and that he had come to the retreat to cure himself of parasites infecting his lungs, and of a rash causing him hair loss. Stevens had a theory that malevolent spirits, or demons, needed to materialize in the natural world in order to take a hold of one’s soul. The more parasites, fungus or disease in the body, the more of a choke the demon would have on one’s mind and soul. Neither Western nor Chinese medicine, he asserted, were able to cure his condition  –  only ayahuasca would find the root causes. For eight years, with over 400 experiences on ayahuasca and magic mushrooms, Stevens said he began expulsing all sorts of parasites while confronting his own dark recesses. It was a purge, he asserted, that even started subsiding homosexual thoughts that had hounded him for years.

Stevens said he entered a deeper understanding of the self while learning of his own healing capabilities. He had, he claimed, what is called a Kundalini awakening, where a lighting bolt shot up from lower spine to his skull. In line with his higher self; he claimed to be unlocking skills to heal. Ones he said he put to practice in Canada, allegedly curing two women of HIV; both of whom he insisted would vouch for him. Stevens claims he showed photographic and audio evidence to Gomes, who in turn, he added, was captivated by his assertions.

What could have caused Gomes to enter a state of psychosis?

Lima based psychoanalyst Dr. Eduardo Gastelumendi says that ayahuasca can bring insight but also powerfully unlock trauma.

“Something unleashed a psychotic state in Gomes; triggered either by the frequency or quantity of the ayahuasca; the relation between these two men; or possibly unknown elements. Not having a psychotic antecedent doesn’t guarantee that it doesn’t exist. Ayahuasqueros , or medicine men, would refer here to diabolical entities, but I don’t feel it necessary. In my judgment these are old fears that powerfully project themselves without the person being aware of them previously.”

We are left with speculation. Was this the emergence of deep-seated trauma? Did ayahuasca unleash a rift that had been brewing between the two men? Was there a form of what psychoanalysts call countertransference, where Stevens’ self-belief and theories disturbed Gomes’ subconscious? Or was it the dark looming energy that hung over the lodge?

Shaman Arevalo said that in his 26 years of practice he had never come across a case like this. He said Stevens had delusions of grandeur and saw, during the only ceremony they would take part in, a dark ominous energy that would not leave him in peace. 

Weeks later, with Stevens now back in Canada, he would confess to me via Facebook his theory regarding Gomes.

“Through what I showed Unais,” he wrote. “Through the pictures of parasites, audio recordings and me speaking with him. Unais was becoming conscious of the demon inside him. But the entity was smarter and more aware. And all its energy and focus was directed at me.”

What if we are to take the notion of possession seriously?

Dr. Jacques Mabit is a French doctor who, in his quest of encompassing Western medicine with ancient teachings founded an Ayahuasca center 23 years ago. From his own clinical experience he is a firm believer of what he calls “spiritual infestations”, and counters Western psychiatry’s denial of the existence of independently acting spirits – which all original cultures make reference to.

“Conventional psychology or psychiatry fails to respond to and is very limited in dealing with various mental health issues such as disassociation, addiction and personality disorders - using straightjackets and drugs instead of healing. Spiritual infestations prey on vulnerable people with psycho-emotional problems – often acting in reciprocating ways – generating mental illness symptoms. The consumption of psychoactive substances has been scientifically proven, using existing methods, to open the body of the subject energetically, making it "porous" to malevolent entities. In the case of Gomes we have a confluence of problems: previous emotional issues, incorrect ritual, lack of protection, guidance and inadequate accompaniment. All would indicate that Gomes was possessed.”

Dr. Mabit says the central problem with ayahuasca tourism today is its incapability of dealing with possessions.

My conversations with ethnobotanists and fellow ayahuasca enthusiasts have led me to believe that this death is a wake up call for the psychedelic spiritual centres (although temporarily closed the Phoenix Ayahuasca Retreat reopens next month), and for better health risk strategies to be enforced such as closing kitchens during ceremonies. How much has Ayahuascaland changed the original indigenous precepts and become just another trail in ‘exotic’ South America?

Perhaps we should we revise our Western view of ayahuasca as a tool for self-exploration and grant it the respect it deserves as a plant medicine. The challenge is for ayahuasca to remain sacred and not add to the general insanity of society that it so powerfully attempts to steer us away from.

Back in London, Unais Gomes’ family is struggling to come to terms with the Iquitos police verdict of self-defence, and Stevens’ subsequent release. They have appointed a solicitor and hope Stevens will appear in the reconstruction of the killing; a duty he has said he will fulfill. It remains to be seen if a bilateral extradition treaty between the two nations will be enforced and the curious case of the killing at the ayahuasca retreat reopened.

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Kill or be killed: Canadian describes deadly ceremony gone wrong in Peru

The Canadian man who killed a British tourist in Peru says he was forced to do it to protect his own life and the lives of two others.

Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens says he killed Unais Gomes in December, after Gomes tried to stab him at a ceremony involving hallucinogens.

"I really thought I was going to die," Stevens, 29, told CTV Winnipeg on Tuesday. He added that Gomes, a 25-year-old British tourist, had been a friend of his, and he deeply regrets what happened.

Stevens was allowed to return to his home in Winnipeg after the incident last month, at a rainforest retreat called Phoenix Ayahuasca, near the town of Iquitos in Peru.

Stevens said Gomes had taken a double dose of a hallucinogenic drink called ayahuasca, after which he became unstable.

"I could hear him screaming the name Yahweh, and I was very concerned because he was screaming it, just screaming it at the top of his lungs," Stevens said, recalling the incident.

He says he approached Gomes to see if he was alright, at which point Gomes started shouting: "You are Yahweh, you are Yahweh, and it's time to get your demons out, brother. It's time to get your demons out."

Then, Stevens says Gomes attacked. So, Stevens said, he ran to the kitchen of the retreat to find help, but Gomes followed him and tried to attack him with a kitchen knife. Stevens said he used a steel pot to defend himself.

"He swiped at me and he hit the table, and his knife broke, and I went to hit him with the pot, and I hit him in the side of the body and my pot broke," he said.

Gomes dropped the first knife and went for a butcher's knife, so Stevens tried to wrestle it away from him. Two staffers from the retreat then joined the fight, and Stevens was able to get the knife away from Gomes in the struggle. However, Gomes soon began attacking the workers, and Stevens feared he would kill them, he said.

"What I said to myself was if he gets this knife back, he's either going to kill me or the other two men here," Stevens said. "And that's when I made the decision to stab him."

Stevens said he stabbed Gomes twice, killing him.

Peruvian police arrested Stevens after the incident, and held him for 24 hours before releasing him. Police reportedly ruled the killing an act of self-defence.

Stevens was later allowed to return home to Winnipeg, although he may be summoned back to Peru if the case goes to trial, he said.

The Canadian man says he and Gomes were good friends.

"He said we were going to be lifelong friends, him and I," Stevens said, while choking back tears.

The owners of Phoenix Ayahuasca describe it as a "shamanic healing retreat" on their website.

In a statement posted online , owner Tracie Thornberry said she could not say much about the killing until the police investigation is complete.

"We are deeply shocked and saddened by what happened at our center," Thornberry wrote. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the two boys, Unais and Joshua, and with their families.

"I have full faith in our staff to act appropriately even in difficult situations. Unfortunately their physical intervention could not prevent this tragedy."

The hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca, or yage, has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes in South America for its alleged healing properties. It has also become popular among Western tourists for the mind-altering experiences it can provide.

Stevens said he went to the retreat in search of a cure for a skin condition.

Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens shares his story of what led to him killing a man at an ayahuasca retreat in Peru during an exclusive interview with CTV News in Winnipeg on Jan. 12, 2016.

Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens is seen in a police truck in Peru after allegedly stabbing a British tourist to death after drinking a hallucinogenic brew.

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Tourist killed in psychedelic ritual in Peru

(NEWSER) – Phoenix Ayahuasca  describes itself  as "offering a safe and supportive place to experience plant medicines" near Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon. On Wednesday, things went wrong.

Witnesses say a British man was killed during a bad trip after consuming a  hallucinogenic brew  at Phoenix Ayahuasca, which the   Independent   calls "an alternative health center."

Authorities say Canadian Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens, 29, killed Brit Unais Gomes, 26, in self-defense after Gomes allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and attacked him as the two took part in an ayahuasca ceremony, per  Reuters .

Ayahuasca—made from the ayahuasca vine and the shrub chacruna, per the  BBC —contains the active ingredient dimethyltryptamine and is illegal in many countries, including the US and UK. But it isn't typically associated with violence, reports Reuters .

In fact, it's known to help manage depression, per  Time , and is considered a key spiritual and medicinal item for Amazonian tribes in both Peru and Brazil. In Peru, in fact, it's recognized by the government as "one of the basic pillars of the identity of the Amazon peoples."

An officer says Stevens resisted the attack, then stabbed Gomes in the stomach and chest. He's now being held by authorities, though it isn't clear if he'll face any charges. (This tourist also died this year in Peru, and  her family thinks tea is to blame .)

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For inquiries regarding the utilization of ethnobotanicals, or in case you are experiencing an adverse situation or difficulty integrating and experience, please read this page . For inquiries regarding legal support , please read this page .

• We don’t offer sessions of ayahuasca or iboga.
• We don’t recommend centers or people who perform/do sessions.

Examining the Deaths Misattributed to Ayahuasca

Carlos suárez álvarez | 21 august 2023.

Kyle Nolan was 18 when he traveled to Peru in search of spiritual awakening and died. Jane Maiangowi passed away at age 70 while participating in a cleansing ritual officiated by an Amazonian shaman in Canada. British tourist Unai Gomes was killed by a fellow retreat participant in Iquitos. And a man named Emanuel died by suicide in the Netherlands by throwing himself under the wheels of a train. People have died in the Amazon and in large cities in South America, Australia, Europe, and North America. Fifty-eight tragedies attributed to ayahuasca between 2010 and 2022 left families distraught and friends bereaved. What exactly happened?

The mainstream media seemed to have it pinpointed: ayahuasca was the cause of these 58 fatalities. And ayahuasca’s mention in the headline offered undeniable clickbait from a journalistic point of view. After all, a headline linking death to an “exotic and hallucinogenic drug” will likely gain many more readers.

An Indirect Relationship

Can any of these deaths be attributed to ayahuasca directly? And if so, to what degree? We intended to answer these questions by examining everything published globally (from anti-drug blogs, scientific articles, to general news websites). We compiled the most comprehensive list of ayahuasca-associated deaths to date. And this research, presented in detail in this report , allows us to draw a primary conclusion.

At the time of this writing, no toxicological analysis or forensic examination has determined that ayahuasca caused a single death by acute intoxication by consuming the traditional brew of Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana . The majority of deaths could have been avoided if the experiences had followed the minimum safety standards, the sessions had been supervised, and the experiences had been integrated afterward.

The information available suggests that only 34 out of the 58 cases were able to confirm that the individuals had consumed ayahuasca in the hours prior to their death. And of these 34 cases, none of the nine autopsies made public attributed the cause of death to ayahuasca. The following graph breaks down the cases in detail:

We know that ayahuasca is physiologically safe for those in good health. According to Robert S. Gable, a psychologist and expert in recreational drug toxicity, the amount of ayahuasca needed to produce death by poisoning is 20 times the dose needed to induce psychoactivity. Alcohol is 10 times greater than its psychoactive dose and cocaine is 15 times more. Anyone who has experienced ayahuasca knows that it is practically impossible to take 20 times the psychoactive dose because of its unpleasant taste and emetic properties. Even if someone managed to drink that amount, they would vomit before experiencing any poisoning effects.

However, ayahuasca does come with certain risks. Like any medicine, there can be contraindications for some individuals who should avoid its use. Serious illnesses, cardiovascular problems, a history of psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, and mixing certain drugs and medications (such as antidepressants) are contraindicated with ayahuasca.

After clarifying this, what caused the 58 deaths that the media attributed to ayahuasca?

A Reaction or Adverse Event?

In the 16 cases where there was a short time frame between taking ayahuasca and death, the available information did not allow us to determine the cause. It is possible that there was an adverse reaction to ayahuasca which led to the person’s death. But the information on these cases is limited. We do not know, for example, if the deceased had a cardiovascular problem or if they were simultaneously taking a contraindicated medication.

It is also possible that in some of these 16 cases, there was not a reaction but rather an adverse event. This could be a fatality occurring under the influence of a substance when performing an activity, for example, a car accident while under the influence of a sleeping pill. For example, Alfonso Geovani D’Rose retired to his cabin after participating in a ceremony at a resort. He was found dead on the bathroom floor the next day. One of the newspaper articles suggested that he had collapsed and hit his head.

Heart Issues

In two cases, autopsies established that a heart attack was the cause of death. Luis Acevedo, a 33-year-old from Chile, suffered a heart attack hours after taking ayahuasca. Is it possible that Acevedo suffered from some kind of cardiovascular problem that ayahuasca aggravated? If so, the autopsy did not determine this. In another example, Fernando Henrique Queiroz Tavares, a 19-year-old from Brazil, suffered from Marfan Syndrome (a degenerative heart disease). Perhaps this was the determining factor in his death. The autopsy reported he died from a tear in the aorta artery at the end of an ayahuasca ritual. However, Tavares had taken ayahuasca for three years previously without any issues.

Tobacco Poisoning and Water Intoxication

Ayahuasca has never been directly implicated in the autopsies that determined death due to intoxication. In 4 of the 58 cases, tobacco seems to have been the direct cause of death. This was certain when an autopsy was performed. Jane Maiangowi took ayahuasca in addition to a tobacco infusion as did Matthew Dawson-Clarke in a retreat center in Iquitos. In addition, the available information indicates that tobacco was implicated in the deaths of Argentinean María Virginia Saiz and Canadian Jennifer Logan.

The young Henry Miller died from scopolamine intoxication. It is possible that this was also what happened to Emiliano Eva and Denis Tronchoni, who visited an Achuar community in the Ecuadorian jungle where they took ayahuasca blended with Brugmansia species. Another death in the United States seems to have been the result of an overdose of synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, which was taken hours after ayahuasca. Finally, Brandon Begley died during an ayahuasca ceremony from hyponatremia, an excessive dilution of blood sodium values as a result of overhydration. In other words, Begley died from having too much water.

Suicides and Homicides

The media linked fourteen suicide cases to the consumption of ayahuasca. However, in only one of the cases was it reported that the deceased took ayahuasca in the hours prior. The media’s reaction to a young Dutchman’s death is representative. Ayahuasca trip leads to suicide: “My son thought he was being controlled by aliens” was the headline of the digital news program RTL Nieuws . However, it was never proven that Emanuel ever tried ayahuasca. Additionally, the young man suffered from serious mental health problems and consumed various psychoactive substances. Establishing a causal relationship between ayahuasca and any of the other thirteen suicides is speculative.

The situation is similar concerning homicides. Out of the eight murders linked to ayahuasca, the killer was under its effects in two of them. In two of the cases that took place in Australia (Jake Cawte and Phil Walsh), the murderers suffered from severe psychiatric disorders and they took ayahuasca months before they committed the murder. To what extent the consumption aggravated their illness is unknown. What is clear, according to the Ayahuasca Technical Report published by ICEERS, is that ayahuasca is contraindicated for people with severe psychiatric disorders, and especially for those with a tendency towards psychosis.

Other Circumstances

In the remaining nine cases, any connection between ayahuasca and death can be ruled out or there were circumstances that could have independently caused the fatal outcome. Fabrice Champion died in a retreat center in Iquitos. He was already seriously ill while traveling and did not have ayahuasca the night of his death. Rian Brito had not had any ayahuasca when he drowned in the sea. Garth Dickson and Alexandre Viana Silva drowned after taking ayahuasca. But their deaths could have been avoided with judicious supervision by the organizers of the session.

Proper supervision could have potentially prevented the death of Leslie Allison, caused by a cervical fracture resulting from the convulsions she experienced while in a trance state. The passing of Kyle Nolan, Micael Amorim Macedo, J. van den Hoek, and Lindsay Pole involved additional circumstances beyond ayahuasca that could have potentially caused death independently.

A Dangerous Drug of Globalization?

Each death explored in this report is a tragedy. It is not the intention to minimize the importance of these losses. The goal is to elucidate whether taking ayahuasca implies a statistically significant risk. According to a parallel investigation (detailed results can be found in the full report ), we have estimated that more than four million people have taken ayahuasca at some time in their lives. And 820,000 people did so in 2019, a year that around five and a half million servings were consumed. The media linked five deaths to ayahuasca that year. However, no autopsy in any of these cases determined that their deaths were caused by ayahuasca intoxication. It is very likely that all of them could have been avoided if the medicine had been consumed in a context with minimum safety standards.

The social alarm that these deaths trigger when they are published in the media can be put into perspective. An  investigation by the University of Oxford attributed 3,000 deaths a year to the daily consumption of aspirin in the United Kingdom alone. The World Health Organization reports three million deaths from alcohol globally each year. On the other hand, scientific research has uncovered the therapeutic and spiritual potential of ayahuasca. An ICEERS study coordinated by Maja Kohek revealed that participants in ayahuasca ceremonies in the Netherlands generally have better health than the national average, confirming the positive impact suggested by its long history in shamanic healing contexts and ayahuasca churches.

While the media has linked ayahuasca to 58 fatalities, a detailed analysis of the data indicates that no autopsy or toxicological examination has directly attributed any death to acute intoxication from the traditional ayahuasca brew. The cases with a potential connection to ayahuasca were limited, often involving other substances, pre-existing health conditions, or other circumstances.

The media portraying ayahuasca as dangerous should be put into perspective when compared to other substances with higher death rates. Ayahuasca’s therapeutic potential and positive impact on well-being have been demonstrated in scientific research. Balanced reporting, harm reduction measures, and responsible practices are essential to fostering a comprehensive understanding of this sacred plant medicine.

Read more about the findings in the Executive Summary of Ayahuasca, Global Consumption & Reported Deaths in the Media. You can request the full 196-page report (available only in Spanish) here . 

Further Reading

• Research Highlight: Four Million People Have Taken Ayahuasca Worldwide
• Ayahuasca, Global Consumption & Reported Deaths in the Media  
• Health Status of Ayahuasca-Ceremony Participants in the Netherlands
• Ayahuasca In Spain

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash .

Categories: Ayadeath Report , NEWS Tags: ayahuasca , adverse effects , death , media , journalism

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The Rise of Psychedelic Retreats

Even with cause for concern, retreats in countries like Costa Rica and Jamaica, as well as in the United States, have been popping up for more than a decade.

By Debra Kamin

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One night in 2019, while strangers vomited around her, Lynn Cohen had a vision.

After being tipped off by a friend, Ms. Cohen, 62, traveled from her home in Milwaukee to Chicago to drink ayahuasca — a sludgy, psychoactive brew from the Amazon that ignites hallucinations while also inducing nausea. She arrived, carrying her own pillow and blanket, at a private house, where she was greeted by a shaman. In the living room, she curled up on a sleeping mat, and over the course of that one very intense night, went on a journey that mostly involved lying still.

“I was shown why I’m not happy, and it became clear I was carrying around the pain of my ancestors,” said Ms. Cohen, a deep-tissue manual therapist who has struggled with depression for 20 years. After that night, she said she found clarity, and has since sought out two other psychedelic retreats, traveling to Costa Rica and California for guided, extended experiences with hallucinogens.

Psychedelic retreats — in countries like Costa Rica and Jamaica, where many psychedelic substances are allowed, as well as among a shadow network of shamans in the United States who share drugs and details over social networks — are experiencing widespread growth. Their rise overlaps with an increasing popularity of cannabis tourism during the pandemic.

Psychedelic drugs are quietly gaining steam, thanks to growing interest among some mental health professionals who see them as a novel therapeutic for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder . That interest is now being wrapped into the global wellness industry, which — spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and the increased mental fragility that has come with it — is set to reach $1.2 trillion by 2027, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts.

There is extraordinary cause for caution: Psychedelics can cause psychosis or long-term mental health issues, particularly in patients with a predisposition to mental illness. This can create a tricky scenario for health care providers to navigate because many people turn to psychedelics after struggling with at least some form of depression or anxiety. And in retreat centers, when guests are not properly monitored, the potential for long-term transformation could have deadly consequences.

“There’s a paradigm shift with psychedelics, which makes them exciting. But we need to go slowly,” said Dr. Collin Reiff, an assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University who has co-authored numerous publications on psychedelic compounds. “The danger is becoming a true believer, and not being mindful of the dangers with them.”

Last year, a 29-year-old British woman went to Peru for an ayahuasca retreat and developed mental health issues upon returning home. She died by suicide shortly after. In 2015, a Canadian tourist said he stabbed to death a fellow practitioner at a psychedelic retreat in the Amazon who had attacked him under the influence of ayahuasca. Three years later, a shaman and another tourist were killed in a double murder at a different retreat nearby. Robberies have also been reported in psychedelic retreat settings, as have sexual assaults. Psychedelic experiences produce immense physical and emotional vulnerability, and some women have said they were molested by shamans while under the influence .

Even with such cause for concern, retreats have been popping up for more than a decade. Today they exist along palm-tree-fringed beaches in Jamaica, where psilocybin mushrooms are openly sold, as well as in the Netherlands, where psychedelic mushrooms are illegal but a legal loophole has kept psychedelic truffles above board. In Mexico, where exceptions are made for sacramental use of psychedelics, travelers can find retreats offering psilocybin as well as ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive that may help combat drug addiction; and in U.S. cities including Santa Cruz, Calif., and Denver, where psilocybin has been decriminalized, plant-medicine ceremonies are regular fixtures. Prices vary, but most run between $5,000 and $10,000 for seven days.

“The entire cultural conversation around psychedelics has changed,” said Roland Griffiths, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research . “And that’s a concern to me, because I think we’re underestimating the risks involved,” he said. “The retreat center question is, buyer beware.”

Proponents of psychedelic retreats describe them as places of life-changing transformations, where the drugs are incorporated into day- or weeklong programs that involve preparation, the psychedelic experience itself, and then an integration process that can be applied for weeks and months after. Some retreat attendees recall moments of terror, pain and searing clarity. But for many, there is a common refrain: the drugs, for whatever reason, can kick-start real change in behavior or mental outlook after months or years of stagnation.

Channa Bromley, a relationship expert from Nova Scotia, traveled to OM Jungle Medicine in Costa Rica to participate in an ayahuasca ceremony in December 2020 in hopes of reconciling childhood traumas. At first, she was underwhelmed.

“I didn’t experience much. But what I did get out of it was a feeling of community. I’d always felt like a black sheep in Canada. It’s not a normal conversation to want to explore the depth of your consciousness,” she said.

That sense of community was so stirring that Ms. Bromley is now living in Costa Rica as a digital nomad and attending multiple psychedelic ceremonies a month, where she takes a variety of substances, including psilocybin and kambo, a toxin secreted by tropical frogs.

“There is a lot of blurriness right now between the recreational party scene and the ceremonial plant-medicine scene,” she said. “The mind-set has to be about going into it for healing.”

In the United States, retreat organizers connect with participants via Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp, said Craig Gross, an entrepreneur and former Christian evangelist who has run a number of psychedelic retreats in Northern California. Organizers then rent an Airbnb in a city where drug use is decriminalized. “Someone tells a friend and someone else brings their loved one, and it’s a domino effect,” he said. “You don’t need to advertise.”

Throughout the worst months of the pandemic, Mr. Gross and his family lived at Rainbow Ridge, a psychedelic retreat center near Santa Cruz, offering 30 psilocybin retreats for a handful of people at time. He never charged participants. He has since sold his home, worth $1.3 million, and cashed out his retirement fund.

“The money will come back in different ways,” Mr. Gross said. “We gave this away to over 300 people and the life change that came out of it, it was an evangelistic thing that didn’t need a church or a Bible or a religion.”

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“All this stuff that was underground is starting to become above ground,” Mr. Gross said.

Many attendees of psychedelic retreats say that reading Michael Pollan’s 2018 book, “How to Change Your Mind,” which explores the science of psychedelics in treating mental illness, was a turning point. Scott Ropp, 49, a health care executive, is one of them. He attended a psychedelic retreat with his wife, Lena, after reading that book, an event the couple say changed their life, so much so they are now building a resort in Costa Rica.

They hope to open their sustainable rainforest resort, Wilder, in 2023, on the Pacific Coast. Ms. Ropp, a raw foods chef, will run courses on plant-based eating; the retreat will also include a permaculture farm, surfing, mindfulness training and shaman-led psychedelic experiences.

“It’s not just providing fun experiences for people, it’s providing healing experiences,” Ms. Ropp said. “It’s very hard to help your head with just fresh-squeezed juice.”

During the pandemic, some retreat owners said the demand for their services was so high that they continued to offer programs because they felt the benefit outweighed the risk.

Amanda Schendel, 39, opened The Buena Vida Psilocybin Retreats, a collective of roving five- and seven-day psychedelic retreats run from within luxury resorts in Mexico, in January 2019. The retreats include breath work, hypnosis and gourmet food; attendees are screened for cardiovascular and mental health fitness before attending. They shut down in March 2020, but by June were back up.

“The amount of lives that I feel this has saved, and changed in a drastic, meaningful way, made me feel able to take that risk,” Ms. Schendel said. “The people who came in 2020 all felt like, ‘Yes, I know there’s a pandemic and I’m risking my life, but what I have been suffering from is so severe that I’m willing to take that chance.’”

Ms. Schendel works with local tribal medicine healers, who help source the psychedelics as well as dose them for her participants. She requires participants to fill out a medical intake form that screens for mental and physical fitness, then flags any applications that might present a risk and passes them to an on-staff medical doctor. About 10 percent of applicants for her retreats are ultimately not admitted. The entire psychedelics industry needs to be vigilant, she said.

There haven’t been any health emergencies or psychological crises at her resort, she said. “The minute one thing goes wrong or a mistake is made, it could crumble the whole house of cards a lot of us have spent many years building,” she said.

At OM Jungle Medicine in Costa Rica, the managing partner Angel Twedt — a former nurse who believes psychedelics cured her multiple sclerosis — handles logistics and runs the physical space. For dosing the psychedelics at her resort, she, too relies on local shamans, and says she trusts their tribal knowledge.

“There’s something very special about sitting with the tribe that has done this work for many generations,” she said. “Their knowledge comes from a place that is magical, pure and authentic. It makes you feel really safe.”

Dr. Griffiths, of Johns Hopkins, said that while he welcomes the erasure of decades-old stigma around psychedelics, he also urges travelers to ensure that any psychedelic experience is done under the care of a vetted medical team, with proper screening and oversight.

The American Psychiatric Association, said Dr. Reiff, is at work on a policy statement that notes the research on psychedelics is promising but does not yet recommend anyone take them outside of a clinical trial. “By all means, I support psychedelics,” he said. “I think they’re fascinating. But these are medicines, not recreational drugs.”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places list for 2021 .

An earlier version of this article misstated the given name of a professor from Johns Hopkins University. He is Roland Griffiths, not Ronald.

How we handle corrections

Advances in Psychedelic Therapy

Psychedelics — though mostly still illegal — have surged in popularity in recent years as alternative treatments for mental health..

After decades of demonization and criminalization, psychedelic drugs are on the cusp of entering mainstream psychiatry , with U.S. combat veterans leading the lobbying effort .

Psychoactive mushrooms, legal in Oregon  but still illegal under federal law, are gaining popularity as therapy tools .

As psychedelics move from the underground to mainstream medicine, clinicians aspiring to work in the field are inducing altered states with deep breathing .

MDMA-assisted therapy , which seems to be effective in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, is inching closer to approval in the United States .

Ketamine has become increasingly popular as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression . But the misuse of the anesthetic drug has spurred F.D.A. warnings .

Many drugs known for mind-altering trips are being studied to treat depression, substance use and other disorders. This is what researchers have learned so far .

While psychedelics are showing real promise for therapeutic use, they can be dangerous for some. Here’s what to know about who should be cautious .

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Ayahuasca: Psychedelic drug brewed by indigenous Amazonian tribes 'could be used to treat depression and alcoholism'

Hallucinogenic drink traditionally taken during shamanic ceremonies has attracted backpackers to south america in search of spiritual awakening, article bookmarked.

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A psychedelic drug brewed by indigenous South American tribes could be used to treat alcoholism and depression, new research suggests.

Ayahuasca , a plant-based potion often used in spiritual medicine by indigenous Amazonians, is linked to improved well-being and holds potential as a psychiatric therapy, a study found.

The hallucinogenic concoction, traditionally administered during shamanic ceremonies, has led to a tourism boom in the region as thousands of western backpackers are drawn to the upper reaches of the Amazon river each year in search of spiritual awakening and out-of-body experiences.

• Ayahuasca: The shamanic brew that produces out-of-body experiences

Others drink ayahuasca in the hope of treating post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and addictions.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and University College London used data from more than 96,000 people worldwide in the largest study on the effects of the drug to date.

Respondents who had taken ayahuasca in the past year reported better general well-being than those who had not.

Users also reported lower problematic alcohol use than people who took LSD or magic mushrooms, psychedelic drugs that previous research has suggested can help alcoholics tackle their addiction.

"These findings lend some support to the notion that ayahuasca could be an important and powerful tool in treating depression and alcohol use disorders," said lead author Dr Will Lawn, of University College London.

"Recent research has demonstrated ayahuasca's potential as a psychiatric medicine, and our current study provides further evidence that it may be a safe and promising treatment."

The drug, which causes users to vomit or 'purge' before inducing hallucinations, is brewed by boiling stems of the ayahuasca vine with leaves from the chacruna plant. Chacruna contains the potent potent psychedelic compound dimethyltryptamine, better known as DMT, an illegal class A drug in the UK.

Researchers used the Global Drug Survey, which gathers data from thousands of people around the world, to compare the well-being of ayahuasca users and non-users.

Of the respondents, 527 were ayahuasca users, 18,138 took LSD or magic mushrooms, and 78,236 did not take psychedelic drugs.

The survey data showed a higher incidence of lifetime mental illness diagnoses among ayahuasca users, although further analysis found this was confined to users from countries without a tradition of taking the drug.

Senior author Professor Celia Morgan, of the University of Exeter, said: "If ayahuasca is to represent an important treatment, it is critical that its short and long-term effects are investigated, and safety established.

• Hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca could help treat eating disorders
• The lawyer fighting for people to take drugs for their religion
• British man stabbed to death in Amazonian psychedelic ceremony

"Several observational studies have examined the long-term effects of regular ayahuasca use in the religious context. In this work, long-term ayahuasca use has not been found to impact on cognitive ability, produce addiction or worsen mental health problems.

"In fact, some of these observational studies suggest that ayahuasca use is associated with less problematic alcohol and drug use, and better mental health and cognitive functioning."

The researchers noted their findings, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports , were "purely observational and do not demonstrate causality". They said controlled trials were needed to "fully examine ayahuasca's ability to help treat mood and addiction disorders".

A separate study earlier this year concluded drinking ayahuasca could help treat eating disorders.

Ayahuasca has made headlines around the world in recent years after being linked to the deaths of several young tourists.

In December 2015, British tourist Unais Gomes, 25, was stabbed to death by a Canadian backpacker during an ayahuasca ceremony at a spiritual retreat in Peru. Joshua Stevens, 29, said he killed Mr Gomes in self-defence after screamed "it's time to get your demons out" and attacked him with a knife.

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Peru's brutal murders renew focus on tourist boom for hallucinogenic brew

A faith healer was killed, and a Canadian tourist was lynched in revenge – deaths that expose the dangers of the unregulated world of ayahuasca tourism

A ll traces of blood have been scratched from the dirt under the palm tree outside Olivia Arévalo’s clapboard home in a remote hamlet in the Peruvian Amazon. A week later, it is as if the villagers want to rub out all signs of the shocking outbreak of violence that erupted here.

Arévalo, a traditional healer, was shot twice under a midday sun on 19 April. Witnesses say she collapsed to the ground, gasping: “They’ve killed me! They’ve killed me!” as her daughter Virginia ran to cradle her dying mother’s head.

Within minutes, anguish spilled into uncontrollable rage: Arévalo’s neighbours seized and lynched the alleged perpetrator, a Canadian man named Sebastian Woodroffe, 41, who had travelled to the region to learn about indigenous medicine.

The horrific double murder has cast a harsh spotlight on the unregulated world of ayahuasca tourism . Ayahuasca, a plant brew that contains the hallucinogenic drug dimelthytryptamine (DMT), has attracted to Peru thousands of western tourists seeking to cure everything from spiritual anomie to drug addiction through traditional shamanic ceremonies.

The boom has brought a welcome income for some of Peru’s most marginalized communities, but it has also been implicated in a number of deaths – and provoked accusations of cultural appropriation and profiteering.

Arévalo, 81, was considered the spiritual mother of the Shipibo-Konibo , Peru’s second largest indigenous Amazon tribe, known for its rich artistic tradition based on a cosmovision inspired by the shamanistic use of ayahuasca.

In the village of Victoria Gracia, Arévalo was known as Iyoshan , or grandmother – a term of affection and respect for the woman considered a walking encyclopaedia by the 40,000-strong indigenous group.

An hour’s ride in a motorised rickshaw from the regional capital Pucallpa, along dirt tracks and rickety wooden bridges, the village in Ucayali province now hovers between a tense calm and simmering indignation.

“Do you think a police officer has ever come to this remote place before? Never!” spits out Becky Linares in the village’s tree-shaded plaza. “But when this Canadian died this place was full of them.”

“There had to be a death for this to happen, but it was not because of the grandmother who was murdered, but because of the gringo, ” she said to a burst of applause and cheers of agreement.

A week after Woodroffe’s killing, Canada issued an advisory urging travellers to exercise “a high degree of caution” throughout Peru – and in the case of several specific areas to avoid non-essential travel completely , owing to “terrorist and criminal activity”. These areas included a swath of Ucayali province. Graphic cameraphone footage of what were probably Sebastian Woodroffe’s final moments was posted online soon after his death, and appeared to show him appealing for mercy as a crowd, including several children, surrounded him.

A judge has ordered the capture of two men identified in the video. José Ramírez, the community’s leader, and another villager, Nicolás Mori, could face between 15 years to 35 years for aggravated murder. Both have gone into hiding under the protection of Shipibo-Konibo communities deeper in the jungle.

Villagers claim that before the murders they had taken Woodroffe to the police station on three occasions after he showed up at the village acting strangely, apparently under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“He never spoke, he never explained what he was doing here,” said Miluska González, a village leader, told the Guardian. “All he would do was open a can of beer and start drinking.”

Woodroffe, from Courtenay in British Columbia, had lived in Peru on and off for about five years. In a posting on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo , he said he was seeking to treat addiction by learning about traditional medicine. Woodroffe’s family declined to comment when approached by the Canadian Press.

It remains unclear what role – if any – ayahuasca may have played in the double murder but the impact has prompted the Shipibo-Konibo’s principal leader, Ronald Suárez, to call for its use to be controlled.

“We believe [ayahuasca] is an opportunity for our indigenous brothers because it generates an income, but after what happened it should be regulated,” Suárez told the Guardian.

Ayahuasca is legal in Peru but Suárez, the president of the Shipibo-Konibo and Xetebo Council , argues that foreign visitors training to be shamans are committing a kind of cultural theft. He is pushing for a parliamentary bill to see it regulated by the country’s Institute of Traditional Medicine.

Many come away from ayahuasca jungle retreats having had enlightening or life-changing experiences.

Ayahuasca has been used successfully to treat PTSD and drug addictions, but there is a darker side. Charlatans pretending to be traditional healers have used ceremonies to sexually assault women.

It has been implicated in several deaths: in 2015, another Canadian, Joshua Stevens said he was forced to kill a Briton, Unais Gomes, in self-defence after he attacked him with a knife while taking ayahuasca.

Woodroffe initially made contact with Arévalo as she was one of the Shipibo-Konibo’s most respected and powerful onanyas, or plant medicine healers.

But prosecutors in Ucayali province say the probable motive for the murder was that Arévalo’s son Julían allegedly owed him about 14,000 Peruvian soles ($4,324).

Two days after the murders, police found Woodroffe’s body in a shallow grave. On Thursday, they discovered the suspected murder weapon: a silver-coloured Taurus .380 semi-automatic pistol. Wrapped in a plastic bag, it had been dumped close to the cemetery in San Pablo de Tushmo, where Arévalo was buried on Sunday. Woodroffe’s dismantled motorcycle was found nearby, prosecutors told the Guardian.

Woodroffe had bought the weapon from a police officer on 3 April, a fortnight before Arévalo was murdered. The gun sale was legal but Woodroffe was not licensed to own the weapon.

Police sources say the test for gunshot residue on Woodroffe’s body proved negative. However, Ricardo Jiménez, a senior prosecutor in Ucayali, said the Canadian was still the principal murder suspect.

“Woodroffe’s body had been buried for nearly 48 hours, which could have contaminated the test,” Jiménez told the Guardian.Back in Victoria Gracia, women dressed in pastel blouses with skirts decorated in the distinctive geometric style known as Kené sat around a huge cooking pot as smoke drifted up through the tree branches.

After the shock of the murders, people are starting to open up.

Hilario Díaz was teaching in the village school when he heard three shots ring out. He told the children to stay put and ran to see what had happened.

“I saw the grandmother lying in a puddle of blood and – I reacted like any human being – I slapped [Woodroffe], but seeing that the mob were taking it further I took a motorcycle and went to look for the police,” he said.

“I’m not in favour of how he died,” he said. “But he who kills has to die, that’s the Indian law.”

Adding insults to the villagers’s raw grief, local MP Carlos Tubino called them “savages” in a tweet blaming the deaths on local shamans who turned ayahuasca “into a business with foreigners”.

He later apologised. But for the villagers, Tubino’s words betrayed the underlying racism of Peruvian society and a question over their their future: can they make money from ayahuasca tourism without putting their culture at risk?

“You journalists are not here because of crime against a poor, defenceless old woman,” Becky Linares told reporters in Victoria Gracia. “That’s the saddest part. That’s why we’re still full of rage.”

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Inside the Peruvian jungle retreat where a British tourist was killed by his Canadian friend after hallucinogenic 'Ayahuasca' ceremony - as the centre's owner takes to Facebook to defend her staff's handling of the attack

• Pictures show what life is like inside Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat in Peru 
• Young man was killed at the centre last week after taking a hallucinogen
• Briton Unais Gomes, 26, is said to have been killed by his friend at retreat
• Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens, 29, reportedly stabbed British friend
• Incident occurred after pair took hallucinogenic plant brew at spirit retreat

By Liam Quinn For Daily Mail Australia and Daniel Bates and Claire Duffin For The Daily Mail

Published: 06:59 EDT, 21 December 2015 | Updated: 08:43 EDT, 21 December 2015

View comments

A series of photographs show what it was like inside the mind-bending retreat in the Peruvian Amazon where a British man was killed by his friend after they both took a powerful hallucinogen.

British tourist Unais Gomes, 26, was stabbed by his friend, Canadian man Joshua Stevens, 29, after they drank the traditional plant brew ayahuasca at Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat in the South American jungle, according to local police. 

Tracie Thornberry, who owns the centre with her husband Mark but was visiting her home country of Australia at the time of the attack, has taken to social media to praise her staff for the way they handled the tragic event.

Scroll down for video  

A person at the Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat in the South American jungle is seen standing by themselves near a bright painting

This is believed to be Briton Unais Gomes, 26, who was killed in a knife attack in Peru at the centre

Ms Thornberry released a statement after the death on Monday morning Australian time, saying she was stunned and saddened by the tragedy. 

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by what happened at our centre,' Ms Thornberry wrote on Facebook.

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'Our thoughts and prayers are with the two boys, Unais and Joshua, and with their families. I have full faith in our staff to act appropriately even in difficult situations. 

'Unfortunately their physical intervention could not prevent this tragedy. I have accounts of the events by the people present and cannot see how it could have been prevented had either Mark or I been there.

People at the retreat paint themselves from head-to-toe in mud as part of a traditional ceremony

A large rainbow can be seen in the sky above one of the modest wooden huts at the Phoenix Ayahuasca retreat

The centre offers people ayahuasca - a mind-altering drink local people believe has healing powers

STATEMENT FROM PHOENIX AYAHUASCA

'We are deeply shocked and saddened by what happened at our center. Our thoughts and prayers are with the two boys, Unais and Joshua, and with their families. 

'I'm unable to make a detailed statement until I'm advised that the police have fully completed their investigation. I have been in Australia for the past two weeks and my brother is recovering from pneumonia and was released early from hospital to return to the centre. 

'As you can imagine I am reliant on information coming to me from thousands of miles away in a jungle setting. I have full faith in our staff to act appropriately even in difficult situations. Unfortunately their physical intervention could not prevent this tragedy. 

'I have accounts of the events by the people present and cannot see how it could have been prevented had either Mark or I been there. The fatal moments, when a knife was used, happened so quickly. 

'This is such a rare and unusual event that we are all stunned. Our deepest condolences go to the families of all concerned.'

WHAT IS AYAHUASCA? 

Ayahuasca, or yage, contains Dimethyltryptamine, known as DMT.

Used in South America, especially in the Amazon basin, Ayahuasca is a drink produced from the stem bark of the vines Banisteriopsis caapi and B. inebrians.

It is said to have healing properties and bring inner peace by purging toxins and can produce reactions including vomiting.

Psychedelic experiences last six to 10 hours and are guided by experienced shamans in the South American countries where ayahuasca is legal and native to consume.

'The fatal moments, when a knife was used, happened so quickly.'  

Photographs posted on social media show guests at the resort standing alone in the jungle near bright paintings, attempting to cross a duck pond while balancing on a rope, having their bodies painted in mud and banging a large drum inside a modest wooden hut.

Other pictures show the ayahuasca - a drink made of ayahuasca vine and the chacruna shrub, which contains the natural hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine that locals believe has healing powers - being brewed in a large pot placed over a fire.

It comes after it was reported Mr Gomes suffered fatal wounds from a kitchen knife after Canadian Mr Stevens experienced a ‘bad trip’. However there were conflicting reports that Mr Stevens used the knife in self-defence.

Canadian Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens, 29, (pictured) allegedly killed his British friend Unais Gomes, 26, during an ayahuasca ceremony in Peru

Stevens reportedly attacked Mr Gomes with a kitchen knife after seeing visions of his wife cheating on him with Mr Gomes

The traditional drink made of ayahuasca vine and the chacruna shrub, which contains the natural hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine, is brewed in a large pot

The pair had taken part in a traditional ceremony last week when the incident took place. Pictures of the aftermath show a bare-chested Mr Stevens spattered in blood, along with a large knife.

The retreat advertises the potion as a ‘purgative’ that ‘removes spiritual and emotional blockages’.

Australian owner Tracie Thornberry released a statement after the death on Monday morning Australian time, saying she was stunned and saddened by the tragedy

EXPERIENCING THE HIGH: TRYING AYAHUASCA 

'My first time was a magical experiences. It was like being in the most exquisite, cosmic, carnival ride in the universe. I laughed with wonder, I cried with an open heart, I wanted to do more…,' author Carina Cooper writes for High50, adding that the experience turned sinister the second time

'I had a vision of a drawer opening out from under my heart. In this drawer was a heart with all its tubes etc pulsating. An angelic voice said to me in a gentle whisper, “You are now going to feel all the pain you have shut away.”

'I sobbed for about five hours (ceremonies generally start around 8pm and can go on until dawn) deep guttural, physical sobs.'

Ted Mann wrote in a Vanity Fair article about his experience in 2011, detailing his vivid visions and experience.

'Every detail of a vast cliff face, an open-pit mine, composed of copulating salamanders, is presented and recognized and responsive to sound continuously evolving, by what seems like a logical progression, into the detailed hues of the internal organs—this makes me vomit.

;The visions resume with newcomers, self-dissecting aliens presenting themselves, and their internal anatomy, in the turning pages of an abnormal-physiology textbook, published on sheets of fundamental matter, quarks and gluons, massless constituents of the infinitesimal, actually becoming the things they appear to represent.

'My visions continue for several hours, and I await with trepidation further instruction, a formal conclusion, or some apocalyptic visionary summation. I am not disappointed when, instead, I realize it’s over.'

A group of men at the retreat are seen swimming in a secluded pond in the jungle centre

A man is seen banging a large drum as a number of other attendees at the retreat sit in a circle around him

Some initial reports of the killing stated Mr Stevens attacked his friend after having a vision where his wife was having an affair with Mr Gomes.

However, local police said the young Briton tried to stab his friend with the knife, and as they wrestled in a subsequent brawl, the Canadian was able to grab the blade and stab Mr Gomes in the chest and stomach.

A woman is seen attempting to cross a duck pond while balancing on a rope

The retreat is located in a remote part of the Peruvian jungle and uses wooden huts for shelter

A group of people who visited the retreat sit together next to a pond where people 'reflect' on the centre

A young woman is seen getting a massage from a local woman at the retreat

Share or comment on this article: Inside the Peruvian jungle retreat where a British tourist was killed by his friend

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SNP leader quits as Scottish first minister

Blue singer lee ryan admits to taking hallucinogen that killed british tourist.

Blue singer Lee Ryan has admitted to using an hallucinogenic “medicine” called ayahuasca, which reportedly killed a 19-year-old British tourist.

Ryan said he takes the hallucinogen during his spiritual retreats to help him deal with his alcohol addiction.

Ayahuasca has been used by tribes in the Amazon rain forest for centuries and is meant to help users have a spiritual experience.

Read more: Love Island’s Jack Fincham and Blue’s Lee Ryan among stars for Celebs Go Dating

Speaking to The Sun , Ryan said: “I do a lot of spiritual retreats now. It really helped me with my alcohol addiction.

“I started doing a lot of weekends where you work with medicine. Have you heard of ayahuasca? You work with a shaman.

“A lot of these ceremonies are ancient, date back to indigenous tribes 2/3,000 years ago. They’d work with these things to kind of connect to your higher level of self."

The singer revealed that he was driven to alcohol and would drink a bottle of whisky a night after he was made bankrupt in 2013.

On the retreats, he added: “It’s like going through 20 years of counselling in the space of one weekend. It’s been life-changing for me, and I continue to do it.

“It’s helped me so much with depression, having a lot of self-realisation, dealing with past trauma, which has helped me be a better person.

“It’s tough, it’s really hard but totally transformational. I’d recommend it to anyone who needs it.”

Read more: Lee Ryan uses FaceApp to post aged selfie on Instagram

In 2018, British student Henry Miller died apparently after consuming the hallucinogen, also known as yagé, while travelling around Colombia.

The hallucinogen is traditionally prepared by boiling Psychotria viridis leaves and stalks of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine in water. While some users claim to feel enlightened by the substance, others say it has caused them distress.

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WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

A former Miss Ecuador contestant was shot and killed by two gunmen in broad daylight after she had been linked to a notorious gang boss who tried to keep their connection hidden.

Shocking security footage shows beauty queen Landy Párraga Goyburo, 23, chatting to a man inside a restaurant in Quevedo on Sunday when she spots her masked assailants sneaking by the door.

One of the gunmen dashes towards her and fires his gun, striking both Párraga and the man she was talking to.

The second gunman stays by the door to stand guard, and after the deed is done, both attackers flee the scene.

The beauty pageant queen is left motionless on the floor, lying in a pool of blood.

Párraga, who represented the Los Rios province in the 2022 Miss Ecuador contest, had been in Quevedo to attend a wedding on Saturday, local Ecuavisa reports .

Párraga, who has more than a million followers on her social media accounts as well as her own sportswear line, made headlines last December when her name was mentioned in a chat between slain drug trafficker Leandro Norero and his accountant, Helive Angulo.

During Angulo’s trial, prosecutors revealed that Norero had begged Angulo in a 2022 message to help keep his connection with the beauty queen hidden after the accountant said police asked him about the relationship, according to Ecuavisa.

“If my wife comes across anything about her, I’m screwed,” Norero wrote. “My friend, her name cannot come out anywhere. Otherwise, my world will come crashing down.”

The gangster would go on to be killed in prison just six months into his incarceration.

While Párraga’s finances were under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, she was never prosecuted for a crime and had never made any public comments on the case or her connection with Norero and his organization.

In her final Instagram post made at the beach on Wednesday, Párraga wrote: “The world is an echo, what you send into it, you get out of it.”

Authorities have recovered Párraga’s body and are currently investigating the murder.

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