The global expansion of ayahuasca through the Internet

The Internet has been instrumental in the global expansion of ayahuasca by facilitating the sharing of information, the dissemination of commodities, and the development of social networks across distant locations and cultural groups. Online discussion formats have significantly influenced how Peruvian vegetalismo has been reinvented, especially within Western individualistic and consumer contexts. The sharing of information about ayahuasca analogues, along with the promotion and sale of related commodities such as healing retreats, artworks, books, and plants, has expanded worldwide interest and accessibility. Issues of cultural appropriation, representation, and ownership emerge, with novel concepts feeding back into local practices through tourism. Democratized (mis)information sharing poses health concerns and policy challenges.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of ayahuasca's presence on the Internet. It assesses a variety of online spaces through which information and cultural products are promoted and disseminated, in order to assess the Internet's role in the current global expansion of ayahuasca. It is argued that the Internet has been instrumental to ayahuasca's globalization due its capacity to facilitate the sharing of information and the dissemination of commodities, as well as the development of social networks across vastly disparate geographical locations and cultural groups. Website formats which enable collective discussion and encourage the relatively liberated negotiation of ideas and opinions have significantly influenced the way in which Peruvian vegetalismo has been re-invented, especially within Western individualistic and consumer contexts. Furthermore, the sharing of information pertaining to ayahuasca analogues used within psychonautic contexts, as well as the promotion and sale of ayahuasca-related commodities on the Internet, such as healing retreats, artworks, books, and the plants themselves, have also greatly expanded the worldwide interest in and accessibility of the entheogen and its related practices. Issues of cultural appropriation, representation, and ownership emerge as important features of ayahuasca's globalization on the Internet, with novel concepts and practices eventually feeding back into local contexts through offline practice in the tourism setting. The democratized nature of (mis)information sharing on the Internet also poses potential health concerns and constitutes a significant policy issue for governments and other organizations that seek to influence public perception of the entheogen.