An American tourist who drank herbal tea containing the powerful hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca at a spiritual retreat in Peru has died. Aaron Wayne Castranova, 41, from Alabama, passed away on Monday from multiple organ failure after suffering a “breakdown that led to his death” triggered by the spiritual brew. Castranova had been staying at La Casa de Guillermo, a hostel in the indigenous community of Santa Maria de Ojeda long associated with “spiritual tourism,” in which attendees can take part in psychedelic rituals under the supervision of a shaman or guide. Hostel managers claimed the victim had failed to disclose he was taking antibiotics prior to the ritual, which had triggered a fatal reaction. The U.S. embassy in Peru recommends tourists should not “ingest or use traditional hallucinogenics” such as ayahuasca, and to avoid substances marketed to travelers as “ceremonial and spiritual cleansers.” Castranova’s death follows a similar incident last year after a British mother died at a spiritual retreat in Bolivia after suffering a “medical emergency” ten minutes after ingesting ayahuasca during a psychedelic ceremony.
