Legal status of ayahuasca by country

This is an overview of the legality of ayahuasca by country. DMT, one of the active ingredients in ayahuasca, is classified as a Schedule I drug under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, meaning that international trade in DMT is supposed to be closely monitored; use of DMT is supposed to be restricted to scientific research and medical use. Natural materials containing DMT, including ayahuasca, are not regulated under the 1971 Psychotropic Convention.[1] The majority of the world's nations classify DMT as a scheduled drug; however, few countries seem to have laws specifically addressing the possession or use of ayahuasca.

CountryPossessionSaleTransportCultivationNotes

 Australia

 Un­knownUn­knownUn­knownUn­knownAustralia typically has harsh drug policies, but there appears to be no specific law dealing with ayahuasca. There have been no known prosecutions for use or supply of the substance. Some individuals even openly advertise small-scale private ayahuasca ceremonies.

 Brazil

 LegalLegalLegalLegalAyahuasca has been fully legal in Brazil since 1992.[2] Many private companies and non-profits offer ayahuasca retreats.

 Canada

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalIn June 2017 the Santo Daime Church Céu do Montréal received religious exemption to use Ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals.[3]

 Chile

 ControlledControlledControlledControlledThere is contradictory evidence regarding the legality of ayahuasca in Chile. Though no specific laws exist to prohibit ayahuasca, DMT is a controlled substance.

 Costa Rica

 LegalLegalLegalLegalSuperficial research suggests that ayahuasca is fully legal in Costa Rica and there are many private companies and non-profits offering ayahuasca retreats.

 Denmark

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalAyahuasca contains the drug DMT, which is on the list of illegal drugs in Denmark, making it illegal to import, produce, and consume. The Santo Daime brought a case forward, claiming their right to consume ayahuasca for religious ceremonies, but the Supreme Court of Denmark rejected the case.[4]

 France

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalIn France, Santo Daime won a court case allowing them to use the decoction in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for religious purposes, but rather for the simple reason that they did not perform chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used were not scheduled. Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared stupéfiants, or narcotic scheduled substances, making the Daime and its ingredients illegal to use or possess.

 Ireland

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalAn attempt in 2014 by a member of the Santo Daime church to gain a religious exemption to import the drug failed.[5]

 Italy

 LegalLegalLegalLegalAyahuasca was declared non-narcotic in two separate judgments in 2005 and 2007.[6] There appears to be no specific law prohibiting the substance in Italy at this time.

 Latvia

 IllegalIllegalIllegalLegalAlthough plants are not prohibited by law, the dry plant material or any other preparation that contains significant amount of controlled drug (DMT) is considered illegal.[7]

 Netherlands

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalAyahuasca is officially illegal in the Netherlands, as of an October 2019 decision by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.[8] Before this, ayahuasca could be purchased in certain stores in the country, many online sellers of the substance were based in the Netherlands, and it was even possible to book an ayahuasca experience there, but things changed rapidly since the ruling by the Supreme Court. Santo Daime initially won a court case in 2001[9] which allowed them to continue their ceremonial usage of ayahuasca,[10] but that ruling was also overturned.[8] One factor in this initial decision was a fax from the Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board[11] to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health, stating that [P]reparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention.

 Norway

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalIt is illegal to prepare plants that contain narcotic drugs.[12]

 Peru

 LegalLegalLegalLegalSuperficial research suggests that ayahuasca is fully legal in Peru and there are many private companies and non-profits offering ayahuasca retreats. Powdered forms of ayahuasca are openly sold in markets, especially in parts of the country within the Amazon basin, such as the city of Iquitos.

 Portugal

 DecriminalizedIllegalIllegalIllegalIn 2001, Portugal decriminalized all previously illegal drugs. This means that though not legal, the possession and use of ayahuasca, just like its active component DMT, is no longer a criminal offense and doesn't carry a jail sentence. The sale, transport, and cultivation of the substance remain criminal offenses, however.[13]

 Romania

 LegalLegalLegalLegalLegal for scientific and medical research studies by authorized doctors in clinics and hospitals only.

 Spain

 ControlledIllegalControlledControlledSale to the public is prohibited due to its toxicity. Use and marketing is restricted to the manufacture of pharmaceutical specialities, master formulas, officinal preparations, homeopathic strains and research.[14]

 Sweden

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalIt is illegal to prepare plants that contain narcotic drugs.[15]

 United Kingdom

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalDMT is a Class A Drug and is therefore illegal to distribute or possess.[16] As a DMT containing plant, ayahuasca is therefore illegal in the UK.[17]

 United States

 IllegalIllegalIllegalIllegalAyahuasca typically contains DMT, a Schedule I substance, making ayahuasca illegal under federal law. People have been federally prosecuted for ayahuasca possession as recently as 2018.[18] State law also typically outlaws DMT. However, federal courts have granted specific religious groups the right to use ayahuasca for ritual purposes.

In Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, the Supreme Court heard arguments on November 1, 2005, and unanimously ruled in February 2006 that the U.S. federal government must allow the Brazil-based União do Vegetal (UDV) church to import and consume ayahuasca for religious ceremonies under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In September 2008, the three Santo Daime churches filed suit in federal court to gain legal status to import DMT-containing ayahuasca tea. The case, Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey,[19] presided over by Judge Owen M. Panner, was ruled in favor of the Santo Daime church. As of March 21, 2009, a federal judge says members of the church in Ashland can import, distribute and brew ayahuasca. U.S. District Judge Owen Panner issued a permanent injunction barring the government from prohibiting or penalizing the sacramental use of "Daime tea". Panner's order said activities of The Church of the Holy Light of the Queen are legal and protected under freedom of religion. His order prohibits the federal government from interfering with and prosecuting church members who follow a list of regulations set out in his order.[20]

Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling, or possessing Banisteriopsis spp. is prohibited by the Louisiana State Act 159.

In June 2019, the city of Oakland, California, in January 2020, the city of Santa Cruz, California, and in September 2020, the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, decriminalized all "entheogenic" plants, including all natural materials used to produce ayahuasca.[21][22][23][24] In November 2020, more than 76 percent of voters in Washington D.C. voted in favor of the initiative to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi.[25]

For the legal status of the psychoactive substances found in ayahuasca, see N,N-Dimethyltryptamine § Legal status; 5-MeO-DMT § Legal status; and harmala alkaloid § Legal status.
For the hallucinogenic snuffs Vilca and Yopo, see Anadenanthera.

References
  1. Schaepe, Herbert (2001). "International control of the preparation "ayahuasca"" (JPG). Erowid. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. "Legal Status of Ayahuasca in Brazil". Erowid.org. March 2001. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. Rochester, Jessica (2017-07-17). "How Our Santo Daime Church Received Religious Exemption to Use Ayahuasca in Canada". Chacruna. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  4. Smith, Patrick. "Ayahuasca Legal Status by Country". Ethneonation.com. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. "Sect leader spared jail for importing hallucinogenic drug for religious 'sacrament'". Independent.ie.
  6. "The law is clear - Ayahuasca is legal in Italy" (in Italian). italocillo.it. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  7. "Par Krimināllikuma spēkā stāšanās un piemērošanas kārtību" (in Latvian). likumi.lv. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  8. van de Lustgraaf, Rick (1 October 2019). "Verbod ayahuasca definitief na oordeel Hoge Raad". Trouw (in Dutch).
  9. Court Case in Holland against the use of ayahuasca by the Dutch Santo Daime Church. By Arno Adelaars
  10. Dutch Santo Daime Case 2001 – Abridged Judgment
  11. Letter of Herbert Schaepe Secretary of the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board
  12. "Drug laws in Norway".
  13. "Portugal legalizes drug use". BBC News. 7 July 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  14. "Order SCO/190/2004 establishing the list of plants whose sale to the public is prohibited or restricted because of their toxicity". BOE (in Spanish). 2004-02-06. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  15. "Drug laws in Sweden" (in Swedish). lagen.nu. 8 March 1968.
  16. "DMT | FRANK". www.talktofrank.com. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  17. Thelwell, Emma (2014-04-29). "Why do people take ayahuasca?". Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  18. Breaking News: The first two ayahuasca convictions in the United States
  19. "Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
  20. Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey (D. Ore. 2009) ("permanently enjoins Defendants from prohibiting or penalizing the sacramental use of Daime tea by Plaintiffs during Plaintiffs' religious ceremonies").Text
  21. Haridy, Rich (June 5, 2019). "Oakland City Council decriminalizes all "natural psychedelics" in landmark resolution". newatlas.com. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  22. McCarthy, Kelly (2020-01-29). "Santa Cruz decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  23. Kaur, Harmeet (2020-01-30). "Santa Cruz decriminalizes magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making it the third US city to take such a step". CNN. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  24. Stanton, Ryan (2020-09-22). "Ann Arbor OKs move to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, plants". mlive. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  25. Kreps, Daniel (2020-11-04). "Oregon Decriminalizes All Drugs, While D.C. Decriminalizes Psychedelics". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
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