I don't care about spirit elves or light shows... I just want to be happy

September 1, 2006 10:47 AM

Ayahuasca in Seattle: Putting aside any questions of morality, legality, or personal tastes... I have a deep need to find a source of ayahuasca and/or DMT in the Seattle area.

I'm looking for someone who can find me a source of ayahuasca tea, and/or someone who can lead ayahuasca sessions, in the Seattle area.

A little (long) history:
I've suffered under the wooly wet weight of depression for as long as I can remember. I've been too close to the edge too many times, and I desperately want to live, and be happy. While ultimately the answer lies within myself, I can say that the "medicine" of ayahuasca can help me greatly to learn to be that way as a normal state of mind. Lord knows people who know my posting history at Metafilter can attest that I'm all over the emotional map and in need of some inner tranquility.

The last time I did ayahuasca was a couple of years ago, at a friend's house; he'd invited a shaman from Portland to come lead a session, and it was the clearest I've ever been. For a time I fully understood the patterns of my mind and how I held myself down, and how easily I could get the goose out of the bottle (so to speak). I felt for weeks afterward so positive and in love with myself and utterly right with the world, and an uplifting sense of forgiveness of myself for how I've been my own worst enemy in my own life. I've since forgotten those lessons of self-love except on the most abstract and verbal/intellectual of levels, and my life is showing the cracks and strain of that. I truly believe ayahuasca is the only thing that can help bring that feeling back, and eventually teach me to be like that all the time- without assistance.

However, that friend has long since lost touch with that shaman, and no one I know can seem to help- they have either never heard of it or have no idea who to ask. If I wanted anything from pot to shrooms to cocaine to heroin, I could get those fairly easily. But I don't want them, because those aren't what I need. It's distressing that drugs to numb us or boost our ego or burn our candle out in pursuit of a short-term sense of pleasure are all around us, but something that might lead to real change inside and a freedom from our addictions in all their forms... are so difficult to track down.


I'm not looking for a lifelong medication, be it Gleemonex or DMT; I'm certainly not looking for a chemical crutch. But I do know first hand the power of ayahuasca, and how can help me ultimately learn to be a happy and long-lived person. I need help, I want to be happy, and this is the best way I know how.


Please, if you disagree with this or want to tell me that I should "just be happy" or that a good therapist or GlaxoSmithKline happy pills or the love of Jesus are what I really need, don't leave comments.

And given the nature of the question, please feel free to contact me via the email in my profile.

posted by hincandenza to health & fitness (12 answers total)

I think you can still legally import it, there are several websites ,last I looked, that can facilitate this. It might take a while though.
posted by stormygrey at 11:12 AM on September 1, 2006

H

No help, no disagreements: but a word of warning. While ayahuasca has recently been OK'd by the supreme court as a religious sacrament for the UDV, in other contexts (*forgetting* DMT itself, which is a schedule I drug), this question, in the eyes of the law, is akin to "where can I find some pot - I need it for my glaucoma".

Be careful out there: good luck with your path.
posted by lalochezia at 11:13 AM on September 1, 2006

You can order B. caapi and P. Viridis on dozens of sites. There're plenty of places to learn how to prepare it too, if you google around.

Be careful. It's strong stuff.
posted by borkingchikapa at 11:36 AM on September 1, 2006

Considering that the US-based Erowid openly lists US-based vendors that sell online the various ingredients to make ayahuasca, it doesn't sound like a big problem.
posted by daksya at 11:38 AM on September 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

this question, in the eyes of the law, is akin to "where can I find some pot - I need it for my glaucoma".

No, it's not. Marijuana in all forms is federally scheduled. The plants for ayahuasca may be treated as containers of Schedule I substance(s) if they are traded or presented with that intention, but not per se. Similar to how one can buy Morning Glory seeds despite them containing a Schedule III substance (LSA).
posted by daksya at 11:46 AM on September 1, 2006

Wow... guess my search engine skills are pretty rusty! I'm assuming the plants themselves are not a problem to order?

And yeah, I know it's strong stuff... that's what I'm looking for!
posted by hincandenza at 11:59 AM on September 1, 2006

I've had good experiences with Maya-Ethnobotanicals. They also kinda have a forum community surrounding the site which may actually help find some sort of trip-sitter to the tune of what you're looking for.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 12:01 PM on September 1, 2006

A little birdie told me that some poeple have found similar benefit from salvia divinorum, but cautioned that, while it's an entirely different kind of thing, it's also strong stuff & shouldn't be approached without lots of preparation, homework, etc., and should never be experienced without a sober sitter present. Same little birdie also said he personally found it so terrifying he'd probably never consider going there again.
posted by treepour at 1:08 PM on September 1, 2006

Hmm, they sold salvia at a music festival I was at last year and my friends, most of whom are occasional pot smokers said it was rather mundane.
posted by knapah at 2:04 PM on September 1, 2006

knapah, check out the faq linked above. Rather bizarrely, s.d. has a reverse tolerance. First time or two won't do much at all, but the more times you try, the more sensitive to it you become. Shame on those snake oil salesmen pitching it as just a way to get high -- it's anything but.
posted by treepour at 3:08 PM on September 1, 2006

i dont really think salvia is what you're looking for. It's a powerful dissociative and has not been used in curing rituals for thousands of years as extensively as ayahuasca. If you want the real deal, try doing what this guy did.
posted by Kifer85 at 8:23 PM on September 1, 2006

daksya is correct: I overststed my case. Not many prosecutions for hoasca ingredients, but a possibility with some of the zealous fuckwits hat are in the legal system at the moment.

Note that laws similar to this about 'carriers' for illicit drugs not neccesairly being illegal have been modified to make the carriers illegal themselves (see UK law wrt mushrooms), but he's right: as we stand at the moment in the US, it's probably safe to have small quantities of unprepared hoasca ingredients laying about.
posted by lalochezia at 10:55 PM on September 1, 2006