AYAHUASCA, GLOBAL CONSUMPTION & RELATED DEATHS
The spread of ayahuasca use beyond the Amazon has been rapid over the last two decades. Today, ceremonies are frequently held in any city of reasonable size in Europe. Unfortunately, news of deaths attributed to ayahuasca sometimes makes the headlines. This phenomenon was the starting point for a study that sought to answer two main questions: How many people take ayahuasca worldwide? How many deaths has the international press attributed to ayahuasca, and which of these were actually caused by this Amazonian medicine? The result of the research, carried out in collaboration with Ricard Faura and Jerónimo Mazarrasa of ICEERS, took the form of a 200-page technical report in which all available information was carefully analyzed. It also gave rise to seven articles that break down the main conclusions in an informative tone. All of this material is available on this page.
TECHNICAL REPORTAyahuasca, Global Consumption & Reported Deaths
One of the most frequently asked questions in specialized ayahuasca research circles in recent years has been: how many people take ayahuasca worldwide? Based on a comprehensive review of available statistics on psychoactive substance use, and with the collaboration of various researchers, we estimate that more than four million people in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have done so at least once in their lives. In 2019 alone, approximately 820,000 individuals would have done so.
On the other hand, we also analyzed all published information related to deaths attributed to ayahuasca consumption, to reach a conclusion: to date, not a single autopsy, anywhere in the world, has attributed any of these deaths to acute ayahuasca poisoning.