What does research say about ayahuasca and addiction?

Can ayahuasca help with addiction?

Ayahuasca may help some people reduce substance use, but the evidence is preliminary and no randomized controlled trial has tested it for any addiction. No psychedelic is FDA approved for addiction treatment. Observational studies report less alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use among ayahuasca users, while reviewers call ayahuasca a promising candidate for alcohol use disorder, not a proven treatment.

The clearest signals come from small observations. A Canadian study of 12 participants reported reduced alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use at six-month follow-up, with the cocaine reduction statistically significant, but no change in marijuana or opioid use. A survey of 8,629 participants found more ayahuasca use associated with decreased odds of drinking alcohol and using a range of drugs in the past month. A study of 1,947 União do Vegetal members found ceremony attendance and years of membership significantly tied to reduced alcohol and tobacco use disorder. A review states there is currently no randomized controlled trial investigating ayahuasca and substance misuse.

A review chapter on ayahuasca for alcohol use disorder notes that most clinical studies are retrospective, though all showed a significant decrease in alcohol use among ayahuasca users. For comparison, the same literature states that several studies with classic psychedelics including LSD and psilocybin show promising results in alcohol use disorder, decreasing drinking and promoting abstinence. Retrospective designs cannot separate cause from self-selection, so these findings remain suggestive.

Sources, checked November 15, 2026: Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic..., A landscape analysis of psychedelic retreat organizations advertising..., Ayahuasca: An ancient sacrament for treatment of contemporary..., Ayahuasca for the treatment of alcohol use disorder., Ayahuasca: Psychological and Physiologic Effects, Pharmacology and...

How might ayahuasca affect addiction, according to researchers?

Researchers propose, but have not established, several mechanisms by which ayahuasca might affect addiction. A review chapter states that pre-clinical studies have demonstrated ayahuasca can block several abuse-related effects of alcohol, and that accumulating clinical and pre-clinical evidence suggests ayahuasca may be a promising pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorders.

• Blocking abuse-related effects of alcohol, shown in pre-clinical (animal) studies, not yet in randomized human trials.
• Reduced alcohol and drug use reported in retrospective studies and large surveys of ayahuasca users.
• Possible enhanced neuroplasticity and structural change in parts of the default mode network, reported in a long-term effects study.
• Interviews with mental health professionals and Indigenous healers suggest ayahuasca can help treat addiction; this is expert opinion, not trial data.

Each item above is proposed or observed, not proven as a treatment mechanism. The survey and interview findings record what users and practitioners report, and the neuroplasticity findings are cross-sectional comparisons, not demonstrations of an anti-addiction effect in a controlled trial.

Sources, checked November 15, 2026: Ayahuasca for the treatment of alcohol use disorder., The Effects of Ayahuasca on Psychological Disorders: A Systematic..., Ayahuasca Therapy Information- UC Berkeley BCSP

Does ayahuasca get rid of addiction?

No study shows that ayahuasca eliminates addiction. A literature search covering PubMed from inception to September 6, 2016 found no randomized trials of ayahuasca for psychiatric illness, and the studies that existed were mostly retrospective or cohort designs. A review chapter states that most clinical studies of ayahuasca for alcohol use disorder are retrospective, though all showed a significant decrease in alcohol use among ayahuasca users. That is suggestive, not proof of a cure.

The strongest signal comes from large observational samples rather than trials. A study of 1,947 União do Vegetal members found that ceremony attendance and years of membership were significantly tied to reduced alcohol and tobacco use disorder. A survey of 8,629 participants found that more ayahuasca use was associated with decreased odds of drinking alcohol, risky drinking and using a range of drugs in the past month. These designs cannot separate cause from self-selection: people who keep attending ceremonies may differ from those who do not.

In the Global Drug Survey, ayahuasca users reported greater reduction in tobacco and alcohol consumption than LSD or magic mushroom users, but the comparison was self-reported and uncontrolled. For a plain-language overview of what ayahuasca is, see our guide to the brew and its components.

Sources: Ayahuasca: An ancient sacrament for treatment of contemporary..., Ayahuasca for the treatment of alcohol use disorder., The Effects of Ayahuasca on Psychological Disorders: A Systematic...

What did the Takiwasi Center study find?

A study at the Takiwasi ayahuasca center in Peru, a residential program treating substance use disorders, reported reductions in depression, anxiety and alcohol use at 12 months. The finding was confounded by a multifactorial treatment program averaging 27.9 weeks, so ayahuasca's separate contribution cannot be isolated. Readers comparing centers should not read this as an endorsement of any program; it is one observational result from one long-stay model.

Sources: Long-term mental health and wellbeing outcomes associated with...

What did qualitative interviews with dependent users report?

Loizaga-Velder and Verres interviewed 14 ritual participants with severe substance dependence, and all reported ayahuasca rituals were key to attaining abstinence or less harmful drug use. This is a small interview study. It records what participants believed helped them; it does not measure relapse against a comparison group.

Two other observational threads point the same direction. A longitudinal study of first-time users found alcohol and cannabis risk scores dropped at one month but not at later time points, and frequency of alcohol consumption fell at one and six months but not twelve. A separate study found no therapeutic effects four to seven years after ayahuasca administration. Benefits, where seen, may fade without follow-up support.

Sources: Ayahuasca: Psychological and Physiologic Effects, Pharmacology and..., Long-term mental health and wellbeing outcomes associated with...

What psychedelic is used to treat addiction?

No psychedelic is FDA approved for addiction treatment. The compounds most studied alongside therapy are MDMA and psilocybin, both Schedule I, and MDMA-assisted therapy has been tested in phase 3 trials for PTSD. Among retreat operators, organizations offering ibogaine as an addiction treatment featured prominently in the medical category of one market study. Ayahuasca is a research candidate for alcohol use disorder, and reviewers call the accumulating clinical and pre-clinical evidence promising.

• Ayahuasca: retrospective studies and surveys show reduced alcohol and other drug use; no randomized addiction trial.
• Ibogaine: marketed by some retreat organizations as addiction treatment; like other psychedelics, not FDA approved.
• MDMA and psilocybin: the most studied psychedelics per the VA National Center for PTSD, still Schedule I, with MDMA-AT investigated for alcohol and substance abuse.

Sources: A landscape analysis of psychedelic retreat organizations advertising..., Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for PTSD - PTSD: National Center for PTSD, Ayahuasca for the treatment of alcohol use disorder., Ayahuasca: An ancient sacrament for treatment of contemporary...

Does ayahuasca change your brain?

Imaging studies report structural differences in long-term users, not a demonstrated rewiring that treats addiction. Long-term cross-sectional imaging of people who had used ayahuasca at least 50 times in two years showed increased thickness in the anterior cingulate cortex and thinning of the posterior cingulate cortex. Another review summarizes that long-term use may enhance neuroplasticity and structurally change parts of the default mode network. These are comparisons, not proof of what caused the differences or what they do.

The same literature carries reassuring and cautionary notes. A systematic review of 28 human studies reported that neither acute nor long-term use was associated with increased psychopathology or cognitive deficits. Animal work adds limits: rats given 4X and 8X doses died at rates of 44% and 52%, though a separate rat study found no permanent structural brain change and could not determine a lethal dose below 50 times a standard ritual dose. Animal findings do not translate directly to humans.

Sources: Ayahuasca: An ancient sacrament for treatment of contemporary..., Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic..., Ayahuasca Therapy Information- UC Berkeley BCSP, Ayahuasca and Dimethyltryptamine Adverse Events and Toxicity...

Can ayahuasca change your personality?

Longitudinal personality studies report one consistent shift: a long-term reduction in neuroticism or harm avoidance, found in five of six prospective studies. Long-term users have also scored higher than first-time users on measures of self-transcendence and quality of life, but those are comparisons across groups, not measured change in the same people. Personality change is a research observation, not a marketed benefit anyone should expect.

Sources: Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic..., Effects of ayahuasca on mental health and quality of life in naïve..., Ayahuasca Therapy Information- UC Berkeley BCSP

What are the dangers of ayahuasca?

The most common harms are physical and short-lived. In the Global Ayahuasca Survey of more than 10,000 people, about 70% reported physical side effects, most often nausea and vomiting, and only 2.3% of those with physical effects needed medical attention. A review lists headache in 17.8%, abdominal pain in 12.8% and seizures in 1.3% of participants in one survey sample. A high freeze-dried dose raised diastolic blood pressure by 9 mm Hg after 75 minutes in a controlled trial.

• Psychiatric risk: in a prospective study of 40 ceremony participants, 7 reported extremely challenging psychological reactions, 4 of whom had prior psychiatric diagnoses.
• Drug interactions: combining ayahuasca with MDMA, mescaline, 2C compounds, bath salts, LSD, 5-MeO-DMT or psilocybin is high risk because fatalities have been reported.
• Serotonin medications: combining ayahuasca with drugs that raise serotonin risks serotonin syndrome, which can range from mild to life-threatening, though no confirmed ayahuasca cases appear in the literature.
• Deaths: ICEERS identified 58 deaths worldwide that media linked to ayahuasca and states no autopsy attributed any to acute intoxication from the traditional brew.

Risk depends on setting. A Cleveland Clinic source states complication risk is quite low in clinical or research settings and increases as the setting becomes less controlled, and that users in cultural or spiritual practice contexts had fewer negative experiences than recreational users. Screening questions for a specific retreat are covered in our page on risks and screening.

Sources: Ayahuasca: What It Is and Risks, Ayahuasca and Dimethyltryptamine Adverse Events and Toxicity..., Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic..., Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca...

Who should avoid ayahuasca?

Published reviews advise avoidance for people with certain pre-existing mental conditions and pregnant women. A systematic review of case reports found psychotic symptoms only in individuals with current or prior psychiatric symptoms, family history of psychosis, or concurrent use of DMT with other drugs such as cannabis. MAPS guidance states that people with psychiatric preconditions, especially prior psychotic breaks, should avoid entheogens except under professional mediation. Medication decisions belong with a licensed clinician; do not stop a prescription to attend a ceremony without medical supervision.

Sources: Ayahuasca and Dimethyltryptamine Adverse Events and Toxicity..., MAPS - MAOI Contraindications [related to Ayahuasca]

Is ayahuasca considered a drug?

Yes in pharmacology and mostly no in U.S. law as a brew. DMT was classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 and listed in Schedule I of the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, while the DMT-containing plants and ayahuasca decoctions themselves are not scheduled in international treaties. Federal illegality also makes research hard: a Cleveland Clinic addiction specialist notes it is very difficult to study a Schedule I substance in the U.S. Religious exemptions exist for some groups, described in our page on U.S. legality. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources: Ayahuasca: Psychological and Physiologic Effects, Pharmacology and..., Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca..., Ayahuasca: What It Is and Risks, Ayahuasca Therapy Information- UC Berkeley BCSP

What should someone with addiction concerns do next?

Bring the concern to a licensed clinician before changing anything. This page has no dosing, detox or medication guidance, and the evidence above does not justify interrupting established treatment for a retreat. Useful next steps within this guide: how to choose a retreat, questions to ask a provider, and what integration after a retreat involves. For treatment referrals in the U.S., contact SAMHSA through samhsa.gov.

Which question is the evidence answering?

First separate a claim about ayahuasca's dependence potential from a claim about treating alcohol or drug-use problems. Evidence for one would not automatically establish the other. Also separate a pharmacological statement about dependence from whether a person's pattern of use is affecting their health or responsibilities.

ICEERS' factsheet describes ayahuasca as nonaddictive. That organizational wording is not evidence that any pattern of repeated use must be harmless. If the reader's concern is their own behavior or functioning, the useful question is what needs assessment, rather than which broad label sounds reassuring.

What did the Canadian observation find?

The 2013 Canadian study followed 12 participants after a four-day intervention combining group counseling and ayahuasca. At six months, self-reported alcohol, tobacco and cocaine use had declined; the cocaine reduction was statistically significant. Cannabis and opiate use did not change.

This was a small uncontrolled observation. It cannot separate the brew's contribution from counseling or establish the same outcome for other substances and populations. Keep the intervention's components visible. A headline that credits the entire result to one component would claim more than the design can demonstrate.

What did the newer alcohol feasibility study show?

The 2024 single-blind study included 11 college students with harmful alcohol consumption and psychological support. A reduction in drinking days between weeks two and three was significant in an uncorrected analysis, but it did not remain statistically significant after Bonferroni correction.

The authors presented feasibility findings, not a confirmed treatment effect. Statistical correction matters when multiple comparisons could produce apparently positive findings by chance. Read the corrected result alongside the original analysis. Removing that qualification would turn a preliminary research observation into an unsupported success claim.

What does this mean for treatment decisions?

The evidence described here does not establish an addiction cure or a withdrawal procedure. Substance-use problems differ, and a result for one measured behavior cannot automatically apply to dependence, abstinence or another drug. Specify the outcome before comparing studies.

For a professional discussion, bring the actual concern and the person's existing care. Avoid using a retreat advertisement to decide whether treatment should change. This guide provides no detoxification instructions, medication changes or recommendation to interrupt established support. The appropriate assessment concerns the individual situation; a small study cannot supply personal clearance or a general replacement for care.

What can a dependence question and a treatment question each support?

The ICEERS factsheet describes ayahuasca as nonaddictive. That is an organizational statement about dependence potential, and it warrants two cautions. First, it does not establish that any pattern of repeated use is free of health or practical consequences; a substance can lack classic dependence features while a person's use pattern still affects their functioning. Second, it has no bearing on whether ayahuasca treats another substance-use problem, which requires different evidence entirely.

For a reader concerned about their own pattern of use, the useful step is describing the behavior itself: frequency, context, and effects on health, work and responsibilities, brought to an appropriately qualified professional. A reassuring label from any organization is not an assessment.

For a reader considering a retreat as treatment, the evidence limits apply in both directions. A result for cocaine use in twelve people cannot support an opioid claim; a corrected nonsignificant drinking measure cannot support an alcohol-treatment advertisement. Neither study provides a withdrawal or detoxification procedure, and neither can substitute for established care.

Keeping the two questions separate also clarifies what to ask a professional: whether the concern is about use of ayahuasca itself, or about another substance problem and its current treatment. Both are legitimate conversations, but they require different information and different evidence.