The Psychedelic Journey of Marlene Dobkin de Rios: 45 Years with Shamans, Ayahuasqueros, and Ethnobotanists

by Marlene Dobkin de Rios

A look inside almost half a century of pioneering research in the Amazon and Peru by a noted anthropologist studying hallucinogens, including ayahuasca Reveals how ayahuasca successfully treats psychological and emotional disorders Examines adolescent drug use from a cross-cultural perspective Discusses the deleterious effects of drug tourism in the Amazon Ayahuasca is an alkaloid-rich psychoactive concoction indigenous to South America that has been employed by shamans for millennia as a spirit drug for divinatory and healing purposes. Although the late Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes was credited in the early 1950s as being the first to document the use of ayahuasca, other researchers, such as the distinguished anthropologist Marlene Dobkin de Rios, were responsible for furthering his findings and uncovering the curative capabilities of this amazing compound. The Psychedelic Journey of Marlene Dobkin de Rios presents the accumulated experience of de Rios’s 45 years of pioneering field studies in the area of hallucinogens in Peru and the Amazon. Her investigation into ayahuasca--which she undertook in collaboration with more than a dozen traditional Mestizo folk curanderos, shamans, and fellow ethnobotanists--focuses on the use of this revolutionary plant in the treatment of recalcitrant psychological and emotional disorders. She also shares some of her theories that prove that the ancient Maya used psychedelic plants as part of their religious rituals, thereby demonstrating the impact of plant psychedelics on human prehistory. In addition, Dobkin de Rios examines altered states of consciousness derived from the use of biofeedback and hypnosis and discusses her current work on the deleterious effects of drug tourism in the Amazon.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Noy · Rating 3 out of 5]

show this to someone who says psychedelics are bad

[Zoé · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded down.

Read this for a final project in a medical anthropology class. Probably would not read again in a non-academic setting, but it was interesting for being homework.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent presentation of one anthropologist’s life work with psychedelics. Informative and transformative.