Canadian Ayahuasca Conference Asks Scientists to Question Convictions
We do not understand the biochemical mechanisms of creativity, imagination, or dreams.
“To attain knowledge, add things every day”, declared ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tse. Add new things and dismiss, question old dogmas, myths or limitations of current knowledge.
In November 2019, Montreal hosted Canada’s first conference on the religious and scientific aspects of the controversial psychedelic ayahuasca. “Céu do Montréal” planned this conference. This religious group obtained permission from Health Canada to import the hallucinogenic brew otherwise illegal in Canada. “Céu do Montréal” is the ayahuasca-church Santo Daime. Founded by Rev. Dr. Jessica Rochester, “Céu do Montréal” spent 16 years to obtain permission to import and consume ayahuasca during Santo Daime rituals. In 2017, the exemption was granted.
“Our hope is that scientists, health professionals, policy-makers and others may dare to recognize possible limitations of current ways of knowing, to challenge orthodox scientific assumptions, and to continue the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.” — admits Professor Kenneth W. Tupper from the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada. He is talking about ayahuasca research.
The name ayahuasca comes from the Amerind language.
Quechua aya means “spirit,” and ayahuasca means “vine”. The plant is viewed as a plant “teacher” and believed by Amazonians to be able to converse or interact with humans. However, this plant does not fit into the current medical scheme.
Ayahuasca is an ancient brew used by Amazonian jungles I have no firsthand experience. I do not know the potential benefits or dangers of psychedelics in general or physical or psychological healing associated with the use of the ayahuasca brew.
I am not surprised by the resistance of the mainstream medical community. Political and scientific opinionatedness requires time to overcome. Nitrous oxide, widely known as “laughing gas” was discovered in the 18th century by British scientists conducting self experimentations. It is now widely used as an anesthetic in dentistry and surgery every day.
We often perceive Drs as God-like figures holding absolute and exclusive knowledge, data, insight about the human body and human diseases.
Yet, in 1970, a completely new system (endocannabinoid system) was discovered within the human body. Endogenous (meaning made in the body) cannabinoids are made inside us even before we are born.
We now know that endogenous hallucinogen N-Dimethyltryptamine is also a substance that our body creates. The level of endogenous N-Dimethyltryptamine can be measured in blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) was first synthesized by a Canadian chemist, Richard Manske, in 1931; however it was not until 2018 that the endogenous version of DMT was discovered. Some believe that the erroneous metabolism of endogenous DMT cases schizophrenia.
According to the researcher of DMT Steven A. Barker, “we do not understand the basic biochemical mechanisms of some of our most common experiences, such as the many human aspects of creativity, imagination or dream states”.
https://medium.com/cannabis-repository/are-certain-people-endocannabinoid-deficient-3e6b0399c5
