Ayahuasca remains a federally controlled substance in the United States, but a small number of religious organizations have obtained legal permission to serve it, and several cities have deprioritized enforcement against plant-based psychedelics. Your options are limited and come with real legal and safety considerations worth understanding before you book anything.
Why Ayahuasca Is Federally Illegal
Ayahuasca contains DMT, a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Brewing it, possessing it, and serving it are all federal crimes. There is no general exemption for personal or spiritual use, and no state has legalized ayahuasca the way some have legalized cannabis.
The only legal pathway is a religious exemption granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). To qualify, an organization must petition the DEA and demonstrate that enforcing the ban would substantially burden a sincere religious practice. The DEA then evaluates the group’s history, belief system, leadership structure, and its protocols for handling the substance. If the DEA denies the petition, the organization can challenge that denial in court.
Churches With Federal Exemptions
Only a handful of religious groups have successfully cleared this bar. Two Brazilian-rooted churches, the União do Vegetal (UDV) and the Santo Daime (through its US branch, the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen), won landmark court cases that secured their right to use ayahuasca as a sacrament. The UDV case went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2006, where the justices ruled unanimously that the government had failed to show a compelling enough reason to override the church’s religious practice.
More recently, the Church of the Eagle and the Condor reached a settlement with the DEA in May 2024, granting it permission to use ayahuasca in ceremonies. These churches operate in specific locations and typically require membership or an orientation process before you can participate. They are not open-enrollment retreat centers.
What Happened to Soul Quest
The cautionary example here is Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church of Mother Earth, an Orlando-based organization that operated publicly for years, advertising retreats online starting in 2015. The DEA took notice, invited Soul Quest to apply for a religious exemption, and ultimately denied it in 2021, citing a lack of “religious sincerity” and inadequate safety protocols for handling DMT. Soul Quest sued the DEA but lost. In August 2024, it closed permanently after a $15 million civil judgment and resulting bankruptcy.
This matters because many centers operating today have not obtained DEA exemptions. They may frame their services as religious ceremonies, operate in cities with relaxed local enforcement, or simply accept the legal risk. Participating in one of these ceremonies carries real legal exposure for both the organizers and attendees, even if prosecution is unlikely in practice.
Cities That Have Deprioritized Enforcement
Several US cities and two states have moved to deprioritize or decriminalize plant-based psychedelics, including the compounds in ayahuasca. These measures don’t make ayahuasca legal. They direct local police to treat possession and use as their lowest enforcement priority.
- Denver, Colorado decriminalized psilocybin in May 2019 and Colorado passed a broader measure in 2022 covering additional plant-based psychedelics.
- Oakland and Santa Cruz, California passed resolutions in 2019 and 2020 deprioritizing enforcement against entheogenic plants, and San Francisco followed in 2022.
- Washington, D.C. passed Initiative 81 in November 2020, making enforcement against entheogenic plants and fungi the city’s lowest priority.
- Ann Arbor, Michigan unanimously passed a similar resolution in September 2020.
- Minneapolis, Minnesota decriminalized entheogenic plants via mayoral executive order in July 2023.
- Portland, Maine voted to deprioritize enforcement in October 2023.
Oregon decriminalized possession of all drugs in 2020, though it has since rolled back parts of that measure. Its supervised psilocybin program does not cover ayahuasca.
In these cities, you’re less likely to face local prosecution for participating in a ceremony, but federal law still applies. The DEA operates independently of city police, and organizers distributing ayahuasca remain vulnerable to federal action regardless of local policy.
What Ceremonies Cost and How Long They Take
US-based ayahuasca retreats typically charge between $200 and $400 per day. A short retreat of three to five days generally starts around $1,000 total, while longer programs spanning two to three weeks can run $2,200 to $8,000. The most common format is six to eight days. Each ceremony session lasts four to six hours, usually held at night, and a retreat will include multiple ceremonies.
For comparison, retreats in Peru and Colombia often cost $110 to $200 per day, roughly half the US price. Many experienced practitioners travel to South America specifically because the legal framework is clearer and the cost is lower. Costa Rica is another popular destination, though prices there tend to match or exceed US rates.
Medication Interactions and Safety Risks
Ayahuasca contains compounds that block the body’s ability to break down certain brain chemicals, particularly serotonin. This creates the psychoactive experience, but it also creates a serious interaction risk with common medications.
The most dangerous combination is ayahuasca with SSRIs or other antidepressants. When the body can’t clear serotonin normally and an antidepressant is simultaneously boosting serotonin levels, the result can be serotonin syndrome, a potentially fatal condition involving dangerously high body temperature, seizures, and organ failure. Tricyclic antidepressants and MAOIs carry similar risks. Recreational drugs including MDMA, and even foods high in tyramine like aged cheese and red wine, can trigger harmful reactions.
Reputable centers will ask about your psychiatric history and current medications during screening. If you take any antidepressant, you’ll typically need to stop it at least two weeks before a ceremony, sometimes longer depending on the specific drug. This should never be done without guidance, because abruptly stopping psychiatric medication carries its own serious risks.
People with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychotic disorders face elevated risks from ayahuasca, and most responsible facilitators will decline to serve them.
Preparing for a Ceremony
Traditional preparation follows a dietary regimen called the “dieta.” Most centers ask you to begin restrictions at least 10 days to two weeks before the ceremony. The typical guidelines include no alcohol, no recreational drugs, no pork or red meat (chicken and fish are usually fine), no dairy, and limited processed foods. The purpose is partly physical, reducing substances that could interact badly, and partly intentional, entering the experience with clarity and focus.
You’ll also be asked to stop all pharmaceutical drugs at least two weeks ahead, though some medications require a longer washout period. Centers vary in how strictly they enforce these guidelines, and stricter protocols are generally a sign of a more careful operation.
Why Integration Matters Afterward
The ceremony itself is only part of the process. Ayahuasca experiences can be emotionally intense, bringing up difficult memories, grief, or confusion that doesn’t resolve neatly in a single night. A global survey of over 1,600 ayahuasca participants found that many described integration as long-term and ongoing, not something that wrapped up when the retreat ended. A subset reported mental and emotional challenges persisting for weeks or months afterward, and those who struggled with integration saw worse mental health outcomes over time.
The tools that helped most included connecting with a like-minded community, maintaining personal practices like journaling, meditation, or yoga, and working with a therapist or experienced guide who understood psychedelic experiences. Some retreat centers include integration sessions in their programming. Others leave you on your own. When evaluating where to go, ask specifically what post-ceremony support is offered and whether it extends beyond the retreat dates.
A growing number of therapists in the US now specialize in psychedelic integration, even in states where the substances themselves remain illegal. They won’t help you find ayahuasca, but they can help you process what happened afterward.