Psychedelic Plant Medicines of the Americas

“An innovative book that focuses on a variety of plants and practices, some of which have received rather limited scholarly attention. It approaches the complex circuits and new agents within the global landscape of psychoactive plant medicines from a nuanced and balanced ethical stance, and takes into account the reality of commodification, implying the growing circulation of substances throughout the entire world, the problem related to the territories and ecology where these plants grow, and the challenges and opportunities this opens up for Indigenous communities.”
—Brigitte Adriaensen, professor of Latin American Studies at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Netherlands)

“Coming to this book after years of work at the intersection of drug policy, human rights, and community based responses to substance use, I most value its deep respect for shared knowledge and for the Indigenous wisdom that has safeguarded psychedelic plant medicines for generations. Grounded in the voices of communities themselves, it explores ancestral practices as they live and adapt in the present, from peyote in Mexico to coca circles and the Wirikuta community’s relationship with peyote, reminding us to honor where this knowledge comes from and how we continue learning together.”
—Zara Snapp, director of Instituto RIA

Dr. Bia Labate is a cofounder and the executive director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is an anthropologist, educator, author, speaker, and activist dedicated to protecting sacred plants and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities within psychedelic science. Dr. Labate holds a PhD in anthropology with main areas of interest in psychoactive substances, drug policies, shamanism, ritual, and religion. She has authored, coauthored, and coedited twenty-nine books, one journal special edition, and several peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Henrique Fernandes Antunes holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of São Paulo and has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, with postdoctoral positions at EHESS, the University of Ottawa, and CEBRAP. He is currently the research director at the Chacruna Institute, a member of CEBRAP’s Religion in the Contemporary World Group, and affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). His research focuses on the regulation and global circulation of ayahuasca.

Nidia A. Olvera Hernandez is a Mexican historian and anthropologist with a PhD in modern and contemporary history from the Mora Institute in Mexico City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in ethnohistory from the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) and a master’s in social anthropology from the Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS) in Mexico City. Her research interests include the historical and contemporary dimensions of psychoactive substance use and drug policy. She collaborates as a research associate at Chacruna Latinoamerica in Mexico, contributes to the Journal of Social History of Alcohol and Drugs as an associate review editor, and is a research fellow at the Consortium for the History of Science. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University in the Netherlands, working on the project “Poison, Medicine or Magic Potion? Shifting Perspectives on Drugs in Latin America.”

Clancy Cavnar, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist in San Francisco, a cofounder of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and a research associate with NEIP. She holds an MFA in painting, a master’s in counseling, and completed the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy at CIIS. Dr. Cavnar has authored and coedited several books and articles on psychedelic science and therapy.

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