Ayahuasca ceremonies in Colombia, where use is culturally entrenched, and Italy, where it has recently spread, show more similarities than differences. Participants in both countries reported similar ceremonial settings, preparation, quality of life, interpersonal dependence, and spiritual orientation. Slight differences emerged in motivations for use and religious beliefs. Italian participants reported greater use of other psychoactive substances and more drug-related problems. The findings suggest that cultural context influences some aspects of ayahuasca use and experience, particularly substance use patterns, but the ceremonial setting and many participant characteristics remain comparable across cultures.
Laws that prohibit access to illicit drugs can increase harm because manufacturers and distributors have variable control over drug supply and quality. New Zealand passed legislation in 2021 to address this by allowing licensed providers to directly analyze samples from consumers. This paper describes how researchers obtained the first such license to collect and analyze illicitly sourced psychedelic substances used by people who microdose. Obtaining the license was a lengthy process. The legislation enabled research that fills a gap in knowledge about whether drug content matches consumer expectations, and it allowed provision of harm reduction information to this population.