Legal framework
Ayahuasca and the law
What the law says in Spain and in other countries, and how we act at AYNI.
Spain
Neither prohibited nor regulated
In Spain, ayahuasca is not prohibited, but nor is it regulated. As a plant preparation it does not appear on any list of controlled substances, either national or international, but nor is there any rule that expressly authorises its religious, therapeutic or traditional use.
One of its components, DMT, is controlled: it is listed in Schedule I of the 1971 United Nations Convention, which Spain applies. The Criminal Code (article 368) penalises the cultivation, production and trafficking of controlled substances, and the promotion or facilitation of their illegal use; this is why the situation remains one of legal uncertainty.
In practice, most court proceedings relating to ayahuasca in Spain have ended in acquittal or dismissal. The most sensitive cases tend to involve importing or shipping the brew or its plants, which can lead to seizures at customs.
International framework
The plants are not controlled
The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances includes DMT, but not the plants that contain it or traditional preparations such as ayahuasca. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has stated that these plants and their preparations are not under international control.
From there, each country decides how to interpret this. That is why very different models coexist, ranging from cultural and religious recognition to criminal prosecution.
Other countries
Some examples
Brazil
The religious use of ayahuasca is recognised and regulated by the National Council on Drug Policy (CONAD, Resolution 1/2010).
Peru
The traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca among Amazonian peoples were declared part of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2008.
United States
In 2006 the Supreme Court recognised, in the União do Vegetal case, the protection of the religious use of ayahuasca.
Each legal system changes over time and depends on the specific context: for any activity outside Spain, it is advisable to check the current situation in each country.
AYNI
How we act
We work within a framework that brings clarity and responsibility. As the Federación Red Micelio (FERM) recommends, a registered association with explicit aims is the form that offers the greatest legal certainty for the shared use of entheogens.
- We are a non-profit association, registered in the Registre d'Associacions of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
- Ceremonies are a private activity, only for adult members who freely request to take part.
- We do not sell or ship ayahuasca, and we do not advertise ceremonies.
- We apply risk reduction protocols, a prior interview and informed consent.
- We follow the FERM Code of Ethics and have specialist legal advice.
Further reading
Reference sources
- Psicoactivos y enteógenos naturales al alcance de todos, al límite de la Ley. El consumo de ayahuasca en nuestro país (Marcos Quinteiro López, sub-inspector of the Spanish National Police · Ciencia Policial no. 161, 2020, in Spanish). It concludes that ayahuasca is not a controlled substance in Spain. Plantaforma summary
- El régimen legal de la ayahuasca en España (ICEERS, in Spanish)
- Legal information: Spain (ICEERS)
- International Regulation of Ayahuasca Practices (ICEERS)
- The Legal Status of Ancestral Medicines in the World (ICEERS · Ayahuasca Defense Fund)
For guidance only: this is not a substitute for specialist legal advice.