Hungarian-born physician Gabor Maté worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with patients suffering from drug addiction, mental illness, and HIV. In 2010, Maté became interested in ayahuasca and its potential for treating addiction.

He partnered with a Peruvian Shipibo ayahuasquero and began leading retreats for addiction treatment, including ones in a Coast Salish First Nations community. “In all cases of addiction that I have seen, there’s deep pain that comes out of trauma. The addiction is the person’s unconscious attempt to escape from the pain,” he has said.

In 2011, Gabor Mate was ordered to stop arranging ayahuasca ceremonies in Canada. Since then, he has led groups out of Canada to use it in Peru.

References

Kim, V. (2017). Dr. Gabor Mate: Ayahuasca Is the “Antidote To Western Psychological Distress.” The Fix website

Lee, S. (2015). The profound power of an Amazonian plant – and the respect it demands. Gabor Mate Website

R., Roger (2016). Why Addiction Expert Dr. Gabor Mate Treats His Patients with Ayahuasca. Psychedelic Times Website

Ayahuasca Timeline – Previous and Next (Sample)

2006 – The United States Supreme Court Allows UDV Church Legal Right to Drink Hoasca (Ayahuasca)

2009 – Santo Daime Churches in Oregon Gain Religious Exemption to Drink Ayahuasca

2011 – Physician Gabor Mate Ordered by the Canadian Government to Stop Using Ayahuasca in Canada

2011 – Ayahuasca Vine Becomes Illegal in the United Kingdom

2012 – Ayahuasca Visions Activate the Brain Similar to Normal Vision, Study Finds

2012 – Long-Term and Regular Ayahuasca Use Associated with Better Mental Health