Ayahuasca Retreats May Be Coming to New York
As a wave of support for the legalization of natural psychedelics like Ayahuasca and Magic Mushrooms washes over the county, New York State lawmakers are pondering Bill A00114 which:
Legalizes adult possession and use of certain natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens; grants certain protections for individuals lawfully using such hallucinogens; removes such hallucinogens from the list of Schedule I controlled substances; makes related provisions.
Notably, that includes DMT – which of course is the primary active ingredient in Ayahuasca – as well as Mescaline (San Pedro), Ibogaine, and Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms).
While this doesn’t legalize the sale of these medicines, it does allow the cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between people who are 21 and older.
So how might that translate into Ayahuasca retreats?
Retreat centers could simply provide retreats which don’t include the cost of the medicine in the cost of the retreat, and instead, include the medicines as a bonus gift.
This assumes the bill passes into law though, which of course is not guaranteed. But if you live in New York and care about this bill’s passage, it’s worth the time to make a short call to your local Congressman or State Representative to voice support for the bill.
That may sound intimidating to you, but generally, a polite staffer will answer the phone, and you simply say what you’re voicing support for. And then they’ll take your contact information and make note of the call. Simple as that!
It’s rather transactional, and it’s not like they’re going to argue with you or anything. But these calls do make a difference because it shows that there are constituents who care enough about the issue to actually make the call.
Here’s a helpful link that shows the two New York State Senators (Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand), as well as provides a tool that helps you find your local representative based on your address.
In the meantime, we will certainly be keeping an eye out for progress on this bill, and it’s an exciting thought that Ayahuasca retreats seem to be slowly becoming a reality in the U.S., which I think we can all agree is for the greater good.
Until next time,
Tim G.
AyaAdvisors.org
