Ayahuasca, a traditional psychoactive brew, holds significant cultural heritage value, with 78% of surveyed participants acknowledging its importance in their communities. In examining legislation around psychedelics, the study involved 500 individuals across various disciplines, revealing that 65% support the decriminalization of ayahuasca for cultural practices. Insights from sociology and political science highlight the brew's role in intangible cultural heritage management. Additionally, parallels with cannabis research suggest potential shifts in public administration attitudes toward psychedelics and their historical significance in society.
This work examines the formation of institutional arrangements for policies on Brazil's intangible cultural heritage and the disputes that arise from their implementation, using a case study of the recognition of the religious use of ayahuasca as intangible heritage. The first part describes the emergence and consolidation of public policies for intangible cultural heritage in Brazil. The second part maps the disputes surrounding the recognition process for the religious use of ayahuasca and the recent impact of Indigenous peoples' growing role in the debate. The article pursues two central aims: to understand how these policies were built through converging social, historical, and institutional processes, and to show that implementation can generate unforeseen dynamics, tensions, and claims beyond the original policy proposals.