Presentation
This symposium brings together researchers, especially anthropologists, from different parts of Brazil to discuss the use of psychoactive plants in a variety of sociocultural contexts. A total of 31 papers will be presented in nine round table discussions. Several books relating to the conference theme will also be launched. The ethnographic works presented take into account a wide range of psychoactive plants including ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, peyote, jurema, coca, tobacco and tobacco snuff, toé, marijuana, sananga, kambô, yopo, timbó, the fermented beverage caxiri, and other substances. The presentations demonstrate a rich variety of concepts and practices around the use of these plants, including both indigenous and non-indigenous contexts as well as mediation and flow of influences between these contexts. Authors delve into such topics as shamanism, agency, indigenous philosophy, gender, and performance. The relationship between traditional and non-traditional uses, between local and transnational contexts, allow us to reflect on classic anthropological categories such as ritual, the sacred and the profane, healing, identity and space. By highlighting the complexity of these different contexts and conceptions of psychoactive plant use, the event also sheds light on debates in the realm of drug policy and the urgent need for reform.
