We are committed to staying a neutral educational platform. We do not make referrals or recommendations to specific international or national earth medicine centers or facilitators.

A few good places to start your research process are to learn about the emergent issues as Western capitalism and ingenious cultures collide.

Please do your homework and look at reviews of facilities on sites like:

Then review our “Recommendations to would-be participants” guide to support your process of narrowing down if you are ready to sit in ceremony and who you feel safe sitting with.

Legal considerations

At this time (October 2018), this is a brief overview of the legal status of these materials:

• Ayahusaca

  • Only legal in the United States under specifically sanctioned Santo Daime and UDV churches.

• San Pedro/Peyote

  • Legal under the Native America Church

• Psilocybin mushrooms

  • Illegal in the United States

• Kambo

  • Not psychoactive, currently not regulated

• Bufo/Toad (5-MeO-DMT)

  • Illegal in the United States

• Iboga

  • Illegal in the United States

Be aware of the legal risks you take on if engaging with any facilitator working outside of these above restrictions within the United States.

Many people claim to have exemptions under the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC) but at this time it is unclear if this would hold up in court.

This article is part of a series on Sitting Safe: Navigating the Evolution of NeoShamanism. Check out the other chapters here:

• Introduction

• Part 1: Recommendations to would-be participants

  • Questions to ask yourself

  • Questions to consider asking a practitioner

  • Questions a practitioner should ask you

• Part 2: Medicine Pacing

• Part 3: Best Practices for Facilitators

• Part 4: Ethics and Agreements

• Part 5: Legality

We define ‘earth medicines’ as ayausaca, San Pedro, peyote, kambo, iboga, bufo/toad, psilocybin mushrooms, or any other psychedelic material from a natural source (plant, fungus, or animal).