Ayahuasca is usually tied to a complex ritual involving fasting and guidance by a shaman. Taking the drug is only part of it. It is not like with recreative dr

Ayahuasca is usually tied to a complex ritual involving fasting and guidance by a shaman. Taking the drug is only part of it. It is not like with recreative drugs where is is more like "take a dose and see what happens". I think it is the real difference, there is a lot of conditioning happening, both when sober and under influence. In the same way, dropping mescaline and participating in a Native American ritual involving Peyote can be a totally difference experience even though the chemical is the same, and in psychedelic therapies the therapy is the important part, the drug is just an assistance.