Recovered alcoholics tripping on ayahuasca say theyre being ostracized at AA meetings – New York Post

Users of hip Amazonian psychedelic ayahuasca favored by celebrities are having a bad trip at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

At least five recovering alcoholics who also indulge in ayahuasca and other psychedelics told The Post they are getting shunned by the group.

Jennifer Bruce described being berated when she continued to participate in mainstream 12-step meetings after taking ayahuasca to address past trauma.

When she picked up a chip denoting her length of sobriety at a meeting, attendees shouted she needed to turn my chip back in and start over because I had relapsed, Bruce said.

So it was very difficult to be there, she said.

At another meeting she shared her story, including her experience with ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound.

I got attacked so bad that I was sobbing in tears at the end, Bruce said.

AA members who use psychedelics or even cannabis are often seen as breaching the organizations premise of total abstinence, though AA as an organization has no opinions on controversial issues and its co-founder, Bill Wilson, experimented with LSD.

Those who take psychedelics say they maintain their sobriety because the plant-based psychedelic is non-addictive and is being used medicinally or for spiritual enlightenment not to numb out.

Ayahuasca, the psychedelic brew, is popular with celebrities including pop star Miley Cyrus, actress Megan Fox and her boyfriend, pop-punk musician Machine Gun Kelly.

This is not about using a mind-altering substance for anything, said Michele Medal, who is in recovery for 20 years and has several psychedelic businesses. This is about healing at a cellular level. And once you heal at a cellular level, really heal, then that addiction is gone not that it cant come back.

Psychedelics, which advocates refer to as plant-based drugs, remain under heavy regulation federally and in most states. Oregon and Colorado have legalized some uses and legislation is pending in nine other states, including New Jersey, but legalization proposals in New York have gone nowhere so far.

Limited research suggests that use of psychedelic drugs does not typically lead to addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Ongoing studies supported by the federal agency are exploring whether they can be used to treat substance use disorders.

Erin V., who said a weeklong shaman-led ayahuasca ceremonial retreat in Peru can run anywhere between $600 and $3,000, was too afraid in 12-step meetings to reveal she indulged medicinally, and said she ditched AA because she feared being banished.

Members are being punished and expelled from their recovery groups and fellowships due to ignorance, judgment and misinformation in direct violation of our traditions, Vanessa Crites, a person in long-term recovery who uses psychedelic medicines and remains in a mainstream 12-step program,postedon LinkedIn.

Alcoholics Anonymous insisted it doesnt kick anyone out, a spokesperson said in an email, and it does not have a position or opinion on this matter.

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Recovered alcoholics tripping on ayahuasca say theyre being ostracized at AA meetings - New York Post