Ayahuasca is not dangerous for healthy people attending a well-screened, well-facilitated ceremony. It carries serious risks for specific populations: those taking serotonergic medications, those with a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder with mania, those with severe cardiovascular conditions, and those who are pregnant. The most preventable harms involve drug interactions, and those are avoidable with complete disclosure and proper screening. The evidence from a global survey of nearly 7,000 ayahuasca drinkers found that only 2.3 percent required subsequent medical attention after adverse acute effects (Bouso et al., 2022; White et al., 2024).
