#523: Dennis McKenna The Depths of Ayahuasca: 500+ Sessions, Fundamentals, Advanced Topics, Science, Churches, Learnings, Warnings, and Beyond

Another constituent in ayahuasca is a related alkaloid called tetrahydroharmine, which is a MAO inhibitor but also a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, so it has SSRI-like activity ... It has long-term effects on the levels of the serotonin transporters in the brain ... It also causes a long-term elevation in the levels of the serotonin transporters.

Not every time you take ayahuasca is going to be a peak experience. There are lots of times when it's disappointing and you just get sick and the brew is bad ... It has a lot to teach us. There's a lot to learn from ayahuasca, and even though you've taken it multiple times, you still keep getting new insights.

What I would put on the billboard is what I get from ayahuasca and other psychedelics, which is 'remember how little you know.'

Ethnopharmacology is the interdisciplinary... scientific investigation of biologically active substances used or observed by humans in traditional societies.

Science, properly pursued, only deepens the mystery.