|
 In
the course of the Santo Daime Court Case in Amsterdam, the
Dutch authorities have consulted the United Nations International
Narcotics Control Board in Vienna about Ayahuasca status under
the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Here is presented
the letter from the Secretary of the Board, Mr. Herbert Schaepe,
in response to the chief of the Inspectorate for Health Care
of the Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Mr. Lousberg. It says:
Date:
17 January 2001
Dear
Mr. Lousberg,
I
would like to refer to your fascimile of 20 december 2000
concerning the traditional use of controlled substances,
in particular the use of a preparation called "ayahuasca"
by religious groups in the Netherlands.
The
above mentioned issue was consulted by the INCB Secretariat
with the Scientific Section and the Legal Advisory Section
of the United Nations International Drug Control Programma
(UNDCP). It is our understanding that "ayahuasca" is the
common name for a liquid preparation (decoction) for oral
use prepared fromk plants indigenous to the Amazon basin
of South America, essentially the stem bark of different
species of a jungle vine (Banisteriopsis sp.) and the tryptamine-rich
plant Psychotria Virides. According to the scientific literature,
ayahuasca commonly contains a number of psychoactive alkoloids,
including DMT which is a substance included in Schedule
I of the the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances
No
plants (natural materials) containing DMT are at present
controlled inder the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
Consequently, preparations n(e.g.decoctions) made of these
plants, including ayahuasca are not under international
control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles
of the 1971 Convention.
Yours
sincerely,
Herbert
Schaepe
Secretary of the Board
Dr.
Lousberg, the Chief of the Inspectorate for Health Care of
the Dutch Ministry of Public Health, in his turn, wrote a
letter dated 25 January 2001 to the Board of Public Prosecutors
(College van Procureurs-Generaal) in The Hague. Apart from
mentioning the content of the letter of te INCB from Vienna
he writes: A first information analysis made clear that currently
the use of ayahuasca is no threat to public health.(...) because
it concerns a very small group of users, they use it in a
religious setting under guidance, they are informed about
the pharmacological effects before they start drinking, they
use it not very often, the amount of DMT in the liquid is
so low that only a low pharmacological effect is noticeable."
(In my own words translated out of a extremely burocratic
type of Dutch).
The
letter also states that there is no threat to public safety
and there is no proof of criminal involvement.
Arno Adelaars
© Amsterdam -The Netherlands
E-mail: nota@xs4all.nl
|
