Legal Ayahuasca? Pierce County church offers Peruvian psychedelic ceremony

The psychedelic effects of ayahuasca tea actually result from the combination of the ayahuasca vine with other plants that contain DMT. (Photo from Flickr by Jairo Galvis Henao)
The psychedelic effects of ayahuasca tea actually result from the combination of the ayahuasca vine with other plants that contain DMT. (Photo from Flickr by Jairo Galvis Henao)

Every year thousands of climbers risk their lives trying to summit Mount Rainier. But if altitude isn’t your thing, now you can confront your fear of death from the apparent safety of a cabin near the mountain — by taking Peruvian hallucinogen ayahuasca.

A 160-acre plot near Elbe, Washington is home to Ayahuasca Healings, a first-of-its-kind organization whose mission is to make ayahuasca, a medicinal and hallucinogenic tea, publicly accessible in the United States. The tea, a plant-based brew that includes Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is nicknamed “the vine of the dead.”

We have launched the first public and legal ayahuasca church in America,” said Trinity de Guzman, co-founder of Ayahuasca Healings. “There are other churches that have been doing this for decades, but they have been very underground and the information about them has been very sparse.”

The organization began offering ayahuasca retreats as of January 1st. Less than a month into providing the service, de Guzman said Ayahuasca Healings’ inboxes have been flooded with hundreds of applications for the retreats.

According to a federally issued National Survey on Drug Use and Health report, the number of Americans who reported using DMT in the last year rose from about 140,000 in 2006 to 325,000 in 2012. Since few churches like de Guzman’s exist across the country, ayahuasca and other forms of DMT are often consumed in clandestine circles.

The ayahuasca tea is traditionally brewed by curanderos or shamans in Latin America and has long required people interested in using the medicine to take expensive flights to countries like Peru for access to traditional ceremonies.

De Guzman, whose first ayahuasca retreat in Peru cost him about $5,000, including travel, said he firmly believes that cost shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing the medicine in a safe environment.

For a suggested $1,500 donation to Ayahuasca Healings, visitors can participate in a four-day retreat at the organization’s property near the foot of Mount Rainier. The retreat, led by de Guzman’s business partner Marc Shackman, includes four ayahuasca ceremonies, lodging in a tipi, and food.

Can’t afford to spend a month’s rent on an ayahuasca trip? Ayahuasca Healings offers a scholarship program to cover some of the costs of the retreat for participants with financial limitations.


The Ayahuasca Healings video blog shows progress developing the property near Elbe, Washington for upcoming retreats

Legal hurdles

So how do they get away with essentially selling a Schedule I drug to the public?

To host the retreats without fear of the DEA showing up, de Guzman and Shackman had their retreat center become a non-denominational branch of the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC). According to the ONAC’s website, the organization, founded in 2007, merges the spiritual traditions of the Lakota Sioux Nation and Okelvueha Seminole, members of which use peyote, a cactus plant with psychedelic properties, as a sacrament in their traditional ceremonies.

The ONAC is federally protected under legal precedents like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which was passed to preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of Native Americans.

According to de Guzman, the laws protecting the Native American Church and its traditional ceremonies would also extend to Ayahuasca Healings and prevent intervention by law enforcement.

Others are skeptical about de Guzman’s claims that the retreats are legally protected, and say Ayahuasca Healings’ clients are putting themselves at risk of prosecution.

Although de Guzman isn’t of Peruvian or Native American descent, he believes ayahuasca is integral to the person he is now. After his first retreat, de Guzman studied traditional ayahuasca ceremonies in Peru for two years and says he has since dedicated his life to making ayahuasca and its benefits accessible to the masses.

But taking ayahuasca is still not necessarily for the casual Seattle stoner, said de Guzman.

When I went to Peru for my first ceremony, it was one of the most powerful and transformational stages in my entire life,” said de Guzman. The ayahuasca experience isn’t something that’s easy. I say again and again that this is only for people who are really serious about their inner work, about their healing, the transformation of their lives.”

So what’s taking ayahuasca really like?

Sixty-eight-year-old Seattle resident Susan was invited to attended her first ayahuasca retreat this past December. 

She went with one of the more clandestine groups offering ayahuasca ceremonies in the Seattle area (not Ayahuasca Healings). She asked that her last name not be included in this article out of concerns it would impact her professionally.

Susan said a mix of people of different ages and backgrounds attended the retreat — though she said was the oldest person there.

“I had the experience of confronting my own mind, and that was terrifying.”

She said the hallucinogenic visions from the tea were both terrifying and cleansing.

According to popular drug lore, drinking the hallucinogenic tea allowed some ayahuasca drinkers to confront their fear of death. And ayahuasca has some support from clinicians, too:

“Dr. Josep Fábregas, a psychiatrist and addiction expert based in Spain, believes ayahuasca can heal a number of mental disturbances, from addiction to sexual trauma,” the The Daily Beast reported.

Vancouver family practitioner Dr. Gabor Maté used it to treat hundreds of his patients, mostly for addictions to other drugs, until the Canadian government intervened. 

“At my age, I’m not afraid of death,” Susan said. “I had the experience of confronting my own mind, and that was terrifying.”

Reaping the spiritual benefits of ayahuasca is a process, said de Guzman.

At the beginning of the Ayahuasca Healings retreat, visitors go through a purge, which often includes vomiting. To regular Ayahuasca drinkers, the purge means letting go of negativity, resentment, and other emotional baggage, said de Guzman.

A local shaman performs an ayahuasca ceremony for foreigners near Iquitos, Peru. Destination trips to take the drug have been popular for years, but it's hasn't been widely available in the U.S. (Photo from Flickr by Paul Hessell)
A local shaman performs an ayahuasca ceremony for foreigners near Iquitos, Peru. Destination trips to take the drug have been popular for years, but it’s hasn’t been widely available in the U.S. (Photo from Flickr by Paul Hessell)

“Other than childbirth, I never felt like I was not in control or in charge of my own system. I was on this ride and there was no turning back,” said Susan. “There were amazing, beautiful insights and learnings. A lot of it, for me, was to get out of my head and try not to [overthink] everything.”

Ultimately, de Guzman believes that his church is something American city-dwellers like Susan can benefit from on a spiritual level.

“We grow up in a society that teaches us a lot of negative ways of thinking,” he said. “The society we live in is very fear-based. We’re bombarded with media that’s often about the fear and what could go wrong.”

The Ayahuasca Healings website takes questions of cultural appropriation in using the drug head on, saying the issue of race shouldn’t be used “as an excuse to block and limit the sacred, sincere use of Plant Medicines in a religious context.”

“The people in South America and in Peru, they work with the medicine in a very traditional way. They don’t understand that we as North Americans have different stresses, different challenges that you know, people who live in the jungle don’t have,” de Guzman said.

To ensure Americans have access to ayahuasca, de Guzman and Stackman plan to expand outside of Washington. Their goal, said de Guzman, is to open two churches a year with a total of 30 churches across the nation by 2032.

So would an ayahuasca newbie like Susan even want to try taking it again?

“It’s not a trivial experience, at least it wasn’t for me. … I’m very glad I did it,” she said. “Six weeks ago, I never wanted to take it again. And now… I’m not saying that.” 

This post has been updated to reflect questions about the legality of the retreats offered by Ayahuasca Healings. More in the comments below.

26 Comments

  1. They are not legal
    Only the UDV and Santo Daime have obtained a DEA exemption under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Their bogus legal claims and grandiose stance threatens those who are using this medicine in more discreet ways (and asking for far less money). As a journalist I’m surprised you would accept their claims without doing even a small bit of research. Please read this:
    http://www.bialabate.net/news/the-legality-of-ayahuasca-churches-under-the-oklevueha-native-american-church

  2. Nice article, but there is a huge amount of controversy related to this church, foremost, that they are not really legal and attendees put themselves at legal risk by attending the retreats , and second, that the movement faces numerous criticisms from all levels and parts of global ayahuasca communities because of ethics of the group.

    Please visit these resources for further information about this:

    -REGARDING LEGALITY: http://www.bialabate.net/news/dont-believe-the-hype-about-the-legal-ayahuasca-usa-church-going-around-facebook-its-not-legal-its-dangerous-and-heres-why

    -PERSPECTIVE FROM INSIDE THE GROUP: https://youtu.be/Ti_YUXmrF5M

  3. I see there were some alterations to this article which I appreciate. Yet, the real story here is not that they are putting on the retreat. It is that they are making illegitimate claims about being legal and engaging in a lot of self aggrandizing PR. There is a lot of interesting work being done with Ayahuasca in the US. Some explicitly legal, some “under the radar”. Good journalism can investigate that instead of falling into the PR of this very questionable enterprise. Thank you.

  4. People who have an Xbox Live account could see presents of Silver
    tests that are free can be found in the Xbox Live window in their unit’s house monitor.
    reveals that she was the only experience to seem on behalf of the safety while in the Dierks shaken baby demo|There was of
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    Ophoven is history shows that she a review the experience
    to look with respect to the security inside the
    Dierks infant test|There was of the record of As announcement of the
    clinical trial disaster broke, the web chemical community exploded regarding the dynamics
    of the putative substance with speculation.

  5. Ayahausca often contains the plant angels trumpet, but is not usually a traditional ingredient, but is often added today by new age shaman to add to the Ayahausca experience. Angels trumpet contain high concentrations of the drug scopolamine and atropine. In sufficient dosages, a person can be renedered mentally incapacitated, can be taken advantage of and in the most insideous way possible at the hands of a skilled criminal. Do yourself a favor and read more here
    http://jtrothschild.blogspot.com/

  6. These guys are big scammers. Not only do they lie about their legal status (they are illegal), they also charge 10 times more then anyone else in the area (yes there are tons of ceremonies in WA already – usually about $100-200 each instead of $1500+). Now they decided to cancel all their retreats but not refund any money – so they just robbed a bunch of poor people.

    Dont support scammers and crooks like Trinity. There are way better options.

    1. Only at first, is Trinity’s 4 day retreats expensive in order to pay for the retreats and over time make better retreats. Once they are paid for, there is little doubt that the cost would decrease significantly.
      But there is a lot of costs involved in building 30 retreats and legal expenses to handle all the people that are lost in darkness, seeking to control humanity and trying to oppose his mission… they merely are trying to prevent him from fulfilling his destiny. Using old, outdated customs, laws, etc as weapons against him. Like saying “He’s not Native-American”… well, he’s Native Earthling, he’s Native to the Universe, He IS the Universe, so am I, so are you. The relevance of his specific ancestry is irrelevant. They only use it as a weapon to try to halt his mission.

  7. I would love to see a follow up on this Ayahuasca Healings controversy. From the get go it has always a sham and scam. I think the SG should do more research and developments of why Trinity de Guzman is no where to be found.

  8. When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added-
    checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is
    added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service?
    Kudos!

  9. Lots of fearful (and asleep) people posting here. This is understandable. I’m sure they believe they are trying to do others a service. People in the Matrix unconsciously try to keep others tethered in the Matrix, because they know not what they do. But they are not bad – just confused. Those that are looking to leave the Matrix, will leave. Follow your heart of hearts, and don’t worry about those that wish to stay behind for now and their constant messages of fear, judgment and hate. They will eventually heal their minds and find their path back Home as well. Don’t be discouraged, keep seeking and you will find your treasure chest. I love you all.

    1. Hey Siddartha this is my email revolvercargado@yahoo.es please let me know about places to have the experience … I´m in the Seattle area and I´m looking for Ayahuasca retreats… I DON`T WANT/ NOT INTERESTED EITHER TO GO TO PERU and I don`t care how spiritual be the trip… I FEEL I should try Ayahuasca, I have never been interested on these issues before… Thanks for any information!!!

      1. peaceful mountain way Kentucky.

        I had my first aya experience it was awesome.
        all the facilitators were awesome. It changed my life.

  10. I do not even understand how I finished up right here, however I believed this submit used to be good.
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    you are not already. Cheers!

  11. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate
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  12. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this fantastic
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  13. I believe what you said made a great deal of sense. But, think on this, suppose you were to create a awesome title?
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Comments are closed.

26 Comments

  1. They are not legal
    Only the UDV and Santo Daime have obtained a DEA exemption under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Their bogus legal claims and grandiose stance threatens those who are using this medicine in more discreet ways (and asking for far less money). As a journalist I’m surprised you would accept their claims without doing even a small bit of research. Please read this:
    http://www.bialabate.net/news/the-legality-of-ayahuasca-churches-under-the-oklevueha-native-american-church

  2. Nice article, but there is a huge amount of controversy related to this church, foremost, that they are not really legal and attendees put themselves at legal risk by attending the retreats , and second, that the movement faces numerous criticisms from all levels and parts of global ayahuasca communities because of ethics of the group.

    Please visit these resources for further information about this:

    -REGARDING LEGALITY: http://www.bialabate.net/news/dont-believe-the-hype-about-the-legal-ayahuasca-usa-church-going-around-facebook-its-not-legal-its-dangerous-and-heres-why

    -PERSPECTIVE FROM INSIDE THE GROUP: https://youtu.be/Ti_YUXmrF5M

  3. I see there were some alterations to this article which I appreciate. Yet, the real story here is not that they are putting on the retreat. It is that they are making illegitimate claims about being legal and engaging in a lot of self aggrandizing PR. There is a lot of interesting work being done with Ayahuasca in the US. Some explicitly legal, some “under the radar”. Good journalism can investigate that instead of falling into the PR of this very questionable enterprise. Thank you.

  4. People who have an Xbox Live account could see presents of Silver
    tests that are free can be found in the Xbox Live window in their unit’s house monitor.
    reveals that she was the only experience to seem on behalf of the safety while in the Dierks shaken baby demo|There was of
    Trial instructors are majorly on how to get into the heads of jurors concerned.
    ‘s record reveals that she was the witness to seem for the protection while in the Dierks infant trial|Overview of the background of
    Ophoven is history shows that she a review the experience
    to look with respect to the security inside the
    Dierks infant test|There was of the record of As announcement of the
    clinical trial disaster broke, the web chemical community exploded regarding the dynamics
    of the putative substance with speculation.

  5. Ayahausca often contains the plant angels trumpet, but is not usually a traditional ingredient, but is often added today by new age shaman to add to the Ayahausca experience. Angels trumpet contain high concentrations of the drug scopolamine and atropine. In sufficient dosages, a person can be renedered mentally incapacitated, can be taken advantage of and in the most insideous way possible at the hands of a skilled criminal. Do yourself a favor and read more here
    http://jtrothschild.blogspot.com/

  6. These guys are big scammers. Not only do they lie about their legal status (they are illegal), they also charge 10 times more then anyone else in the area (yes there are tons of ceremonies in WA already – usually about $100-200 each instead of $1500+). Now they decided to cancel all their retreats but not refund any money – so they just robbed a bunch of poor people.

    Dont support scammers and crooks like Trinity. There are way better options.

    1. Only at first, is Trinity’s 4 day retreats expensive in order to pay for the retreats and over time make better retreats. Once they are paid for, there is little doubt that the cost would decrease significantly.
      But there is a lot of costs involved in building 30 retreats and legal expenses to handle all the people that are lost in darkness, seeking to control humanity and trying to oppose his mission… they merely are trying to prevent him from fulfilling his destiny. Using old, outdated customs, laws, etc as weapons against him. Like saying “He’s not Native-American”… well, he’s Native Earthling, he’s Native to the Universe, He IS the Universe, so am I, so are you. The relevance of his specific ancestry is irrelevant. They only use it as a weapon to try to halt his mission.

  7. I would love to see a follow up on this Ayahuasca Healings controversy. From the get go it has always a sham and scam. I think the SG should do more research and developments of why Trinity de Guzman is no where to be found.

  8. When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added-
    checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is
    added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service?
    Kudos!

  9. Lots of fearful (and asleep) people posting here. This is understandable. I’m sure they believe they are trying to do others a service. People in the Matrix unconsciously try to keep others tethered in the Matrix, because they know not what they do. But they are not bad – just confused. Those that are looking to leave the Matrix, will leave. Follow your heart of hearts, and don’t worry about those that wish to stay behind for now and their constant messages of fear, judgment and hate. They will eventually heal their minds and find their path back Home as well. Don’t be discouraged, keep seeking and you will find your treasure chest. I love you all.

    1. Hey Siddartha this is my email revolvercargado@yahoo.es please let me know about places to have the experience … I´m in the Seattle area and I´m looking for Ayahuasca retreats… I DON`T WANT/ NOT INTERESTED EITHER TO GO TO PERU and I don`t care how spiritual be the trip… I FEEL I should try Ayahuasca, I have never been interested on these issues before… Thanks for any information!!!

      1. peaceful mountain way Kentucky.

        I had my first aya experience it was awesome.
        all the facilitators were awesome. It changed my life.

  10. I do not even understand how I finished up right here, however I believed this submit used to be good.
    I do not realize who you’re but definitely you are going to a well-known blogger in the event
    you are not already. Cheers!

  11. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate
    to this superb blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your
    RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about
    this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  12. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this fantastic
    blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to brand new updates and will talk
    about this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  13. I believe what you said made a great deal of sense. But, think on this, suppose you were to create a awesome title?
    I ain’t suggesting your information is not solid., however what if
    you added a title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean Legal
    Ayahuasca? Pierce County church offers Peruvian psychedelic ceremony
    is kinda plain. You ought to glance at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they create post
    headlines to get people interested. You might add a related video or
    a pic or two to grab readers excited about everything’ve got to say.
    In my opinion, it might bring your website a little livelier.

Comments are closed.