A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy: Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the United States

One country's sacrament is another's illicit drug, as officials in South America and the United States are well aware. For centuries, a hallucinogenic tea made from a giant vine native to the Amazonian rainforest has been taken as a religious sacrament across several cultures in South America. Many spiritual leaders, shamans, and their followers consider the tea and its main component--ayahuasca--to be both enlightening and healing. In fact, ayahuasca (pronounced a-ja-was-ka) loosely transl...