On reasonable accommodation: the regulation of the religious use of ayahuasca in Canada

• Grant number: 22/11775-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Ronaldo Romulo Machado de Almeida
• Grantee: Henrique Fernandes Antunes
• Supervisor: Lori G. Beaman
• Host Institution: Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (CEBRAP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Ottawa (uOttawa), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/11202-0 - On Pluralism and Multiculturalism: a Comparative Case Study of Brazil and Canada, BP.PD

Abstract

Considering the importance of analyzing different regulation processes in order to better understand the ways in which the use of ayahuasca becomes a public problem, this postdoctoral research proposes an analysis of the regulation processes concerning the use of ayahuasca in Canada. Presently, the possession, sale, and consumption of ayahuasca in the country are criminalized. Nonetheless, a number of established ayahuasca churches in Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg were able to acquire legal recognition from the Office of Controlled Substances (OCS), which granted exemptions provided for "public interest," to legally import and use ayahuasca in religious rituals. This research will focus, thus, on the public controversies surrounding the consumption of ayahuasca in Canada and the negotiation processes of ayahuasca groups and state agencies in order to obtain the "reasonable accommodation" of the right to use ayahuasca in a religious context in the country. (AU)