Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2013
Source: Monday Magazine (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Monday Publications
Contact: http://mondaymag.com/contact/
Website: http://www.mondaymag.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1150
Author: Danielle Pope

AMAZONIAN TREATMENT GIVES ANSWER

Ayahuasca Research Shows Unparalleled Addictions Support

Ayahuasca might just sound like an exotic plant with a tricky name, 
but one group of researchers and one performer is discovering that 
the South American substance could have more miraculous properties 
than science may have realized - namely, as a medicine that can 
actually coax people out of their addictions.

A new report published this past month by the Journal of Current Drug 
Abuse Reviews exposes the details of a study on ayahuasca-assisted 
treatment in a rural First Nations community in B.C. The preliminary 
observational study, which was completed by researchers affiliated 
with UVic's Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, 
looked at the work of world-renowned addictions specialist Dr. Gabor 
Mate and his use of ayahuasca to treat "problematic substance use and 
stress" in the rural community.

The big shocker: all participants showed extreme, positive and 
lasting responses to the treatment, including even those who had 
experienced long-term resistance to conventional recovery programs.

"This is a really interesting substance when we go back to its 
original intention of use in a therapeutic setting, and in that 
setting there is no history of abuse," says Philippe Lucas of the 
Centre for Addictions Research. "We're still trying to catch up to 
the indigenous understanding of something that modern science is 
struggling with ... but there is a growing interest."

Historically, ayahuasca has been used in aboriginal and South 
American shaman-led ceremonies to encourage spiritual awakening. The 
psychotropic brew is a hallucinogen prepared from the vine and leaves 
of the Amazonian plant. While the psychedelic has different effects 
in every body, it has been noted to induce hours of a dream-like 
altered state of consciousness characterized by intense visual, 
auditory, ideational and emotional effects - along with the "purging" 
of what shamans commonly refer to as negative energies; i.e. vomiting.

Researchers observed two of Mate's "Working with Addiction and 
Stress" retreats, which combined four days of group counselling with 
two expert-led ayahuasca ceremonies. In addition to observing the 
retreats, which occurred in June and September of 2011, pre-treatment 
and follow-up data was collected from the 12 participants (and four 
repeat participants) on several psychological and behavioral factors 
related to problematic substance use. Nearly all participants showed 
links from substance abuse to some form of childhood trauma.

Researchers also assessed the personal experiences of the 
participants six months after the retreat, and discovered 
statistically significant improvements in every life. Participants 
reported greater levels of hopefulness, empowerment, and quality of 
life, and self-reported alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use declined.

"What is so key is how we've looked at addiction - in the last 
hundred years, first as a moral failing, then the 'disease' model 
came out, but neither of those tell the whole story," says Lucas. 
"What is really behind the addiction, and how are we treating this 
response to human trauma?"

To illuminate the findings in a way that's clear to Victorians, Lucas 
is bringing in performer TJ Dawe to showcase his one-man play, 
Medicine - an autobiographical act that spawned from the impact a 
Victoria ayahuasca retreat had on Dawe's own life in 2011. The play, 
which is a fundraiser for the Multidisciplinary Association of 
Psychedelic Studies, has been performed 65 times across Canada and 
the U.S. This will be the Victoria premier.

"The [ayahuasca] experience is for someone who is ready to find out 
the truth about themselves, even when those truths don't seem to be 
in our best interest," says Dawe. "And it can shine a light on those 
parts of our personalities that explain why we keep resorting to our 
compulsions ... These personalities are not who we are, they are 
survival strategies that, like a stupid friend, only want to help but 
aren't effective anymore."

In Dawe's experience, Mate led the group in what he calls 
"psychological detective work" to examine the root causes behind 
compulsions, like Dawe's social alienation, instead of just focusing 
on the symptoms. This level of healing was unparalleled to anything 
Dawe and other group members had experienced, and has impacted his 
sense of self to this day.

"Ayahuasca is not commonly understood; a lot of people have trouble 
just pronouncing it. Psychedelics on a whole are widely misunderstood 
- - they are associated in our culture with indulgence and addiction," 
says Dawe. "I hope my performance can give people some insight and 
open a discussion to realize the therapeutic potential of this plant."

While the findings may warrant more research, with results appearing 
after only one or two treatments, Health Canada sent a 
cease-and-desist order to Mate in the fall of 2011, instructing him 
to immediately stop retreats and instead go through the clinical 
process for exploratory research. The B.C. doctor agreed to the 
conditions, but he still believes the research will find its way.

"A lot of illness doesn't come accidentally, but is the consequence 
of our relationship to ourself," Mate told Monday. "I'd like to see 
anybody look at the evidence and, if they did, they'd be curious 
about it. Why are we shutting our eyes to this? No one has to take my 
word for it. It's better to come to your own conclusions, to become curious."

To read the full report, visit www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23627784. 
See Medicine Fri., June 14 and Sat., June 15, 7pm at Metro Theatre 
(1411 Quadra). A panel discussion with guests follows. Tickets 
$20/$25. MedicineMaps.eventbrite.com.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom