The Legal Status of Ancestral Medicines in the World
Over the past few years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of legal incidents related to ancestral medicines, particularly ayahuasca.
Ayahuasca Defense Fund
Creating a world where ayahuasca and other psychoactive plants can be used legally and safely.
The ADF unites state-of-the-art legal, scientific, community, and public policy expertise. Through the ADF we serve the community by working with defendants worldwide, providing reliable expert information and promoting sensible public policy. Additionally, we advocate for the right to science and freedom of research.
Expert Info
We are an expert resource for legal clarity and protection. Thanks to support from the international community, we’ve worked with over 100 defendants and their legal teams in 27 countries. We’ve educated judges, lawyers, ambassadors, diplomats, government officials with results. Our work is supported by a Steering Committee and Expert Committees made up of drug policy experts, lawyers, legal strategists and renowned academics.
Public Policy
We are dedicated to addressing the challenges presented by the growing criminalization of practices with ayahuasca and other teacher plants. We engage with policy makers, law enforcement authorities and all relevant actors to work towards sensible, human-rights based public policy.
Legal Support
The ICEERS Ayahuasca Defense Fund (ADF) helps people who have been arrested by uniting state-of-the-art legal, scientific, community, and public policy expertise. In addition to providing educational information to prevent legal incidents, we promote best practices and sensible policy that respects indigenous cultural heritage and human rights.
Latest news and articles
The United Nations Calls for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
A recent report by Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, titled “Drug Use, Harm Reduction and the Right to Health,” provides a thorough analysis of human rights protection within drug policy and emphasizes the preservation of Traditional Indigenous Medicines.
Sacred Medicine on Trial: The Ongoing Legal Battle for Claude Bauchet and Ayahuasca in France
Claude Bauchet is a key figure in the Santo Daime community in France. He has faced significant legal challenges since 2005 when ayahuasca was classified as a controlled substance by the French Ministry of Interior. Despite the lack of evidence supporting its classification as a narcotic, Claude Bauchet was arrested again in 2019 and is now facing multiple charges.
Mexico Debates the Decriminalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are explicitly included in Schedule 1 of prohibited psychotropic substances in Mexico, characterized as those with scant or no therapeutic value and posing a serious threat to public health despite the country being the origin of their medicinal applications, from which their application has spread worldwide.
New Report Highlights the Legal Status of Ayahuasca in the Netherlands
ICEERS has just released a full-length report on the legal status of ayahuasca in the Netherlands. The report was written by Adèle van der Plas, a lawyer who has been advocating for the rights of religious groups to work with ayahuasca in the Netherlands since 1994.
Historic Trial in Mexico: Healer Imprisoned for Ayahuasca is Released
An acquittal was given in Mexico City in the trial of Don Jose Campos, a 64-year-old indigenous healer from the Peruvian Amazon who was arrested and imprisoned in March of 2022 for traveling with ayahuasca.
The Ayahuasca Defense Fund
Creating a world where ayahuasca and other psychoactive plants can be used legally and safely
The ADF unites state-of-the-art legal, scientific, community, and public policy expertise. Through the ADF we serve the community by working with defendants worldwide, providing reliable expert information and promoting sensible public policy.Legal Status Map
At the national levels there is a widespread divergence of interpretation of how international legal frameworks should be to ayahuasca. In order to avoid risks, it is important to know the specific legal situation of each country.
Resources and documents
Technical Reports
26 pages with all the latest research-based facts about ayahuasca, its uses, pharmacology, legal status and therapeutic effects, signed by 11 world-class experts and researchers.
Annual Reports
The ADF has been assisting defendants involved in legal cases around the world since 2010. These are our annual reports.
Studies and Papers
Our studies generate useful evidence in order to work towards sensible, human-rights based public policy.
Testimonials
My three-year legal battle for ayahuasca possession…
Jeffrey Bronfman endorses the Ayahuasca Defense Fund (ADF).
Tal Arnon about the Ayahuasca Defense Fund (ADF).
Felipe Toro tells his experience with the ADF.
Do you have info to contribute?
For our work to be successful, it is critical that we are fully up-to-date with legal developments and legislation worldwide. If you hear of new arrests, have specific info regarding the law in your country including regulatory advancements, or any other relevant piece of information, please get in touch.
