The first category of environmental injustice this website will focus on is how the spiritual and cultural environment of the Ayahuasca ceremony has been capitalized and colonized. Environments do not have to include the physical spaces around us, but can include spaces and ceremonies that have become sacred through traditional and cultural activities. The increased tourism due to Ayahuasca has shifted the intended audience and appropriated Indigenous and local communities’ beliefs about the ceremony. The spiritual environment created from drinking Ayahuasca has been co-opted by tourists for western uses which leaves the traditional intention of the ceremony out.
Due to the increased awareness of Ayahuasca, tourists expect and intend to heal from mental health issues from taking Ayahuasca. There have been numerous studies that show the hallucinogenic nature of the drink can help individuals overcome anxiety based disorders as well as addictions. These studies, as well as exposure from online content sharing, have motivated westerners and people from the global north to travel to Peru as a solution to mental illness. (Blainey M. G. 2015.)
Indigenous and local communities have specific cultural beliefs regarding the use of Ayahuasca, this shapes the hallucinogenic experience in a specific way. When a tourist drinks Ayahuasca they do not fully understand the cultural and spiritual symbolisms and meanings that occur during an experience. The western view of psychology and hallucinations are often based in science and fact. (Hay, M. 2020.)This difference means that when a tourist drinks Ayahuasca their intentions are for mental wellness, which contrasts greatly with the spiritual awakening that Indigenous communities attach with the ceremony.