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Quite a few ayahuasca users believe they are taking a sacred medicine which lets them communicate with god(s), cure their illnesses, speak to their dead ancesto

Quite a few ayahuasca users believe they are taking a sacred medicine which lets them communicate with god(s), cure their illnesses, speak to their dead ancestors or the spirit of nature, solve a host of personal problems, see the world in a whole new way, or give them magical powers. Not really comparable to smoking cigarettes, drinking caffeine or alcohol, which virtually no one believes any similar effect and are usually used for much more mundane reasons.

CameronNemo 6y ago
Alcohol does have some religious connotations. E.g. drinking wine during service by Catholics.
- Apocryphon 6y ago
  Sure, but it's consumed in such limited quantities it doesn't actually provide any of the actual effects of the drug.
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    You’re thinking of the bit served up by the priest, OP may have been referring to the swig the priest took before proceedings.
  - zmb_ 6y ago
    At least in some Orthodox Christian practices you drink an entire glass of red wine at once. Easily enough to get an effect.
Erlich_Bachman 6y ago
Many ayahuasca shamans are using exactly tobacco as a support function in ceremonies. So people using that are also believing that they are doing something more profound than simply taking a drug. Not to start a discussion of what that means, but the difference between tobacco and aya which you pointed out to is not as big as you think.