Hallucinogenic herbal tea, Prince Harry once admitted to taking, kills tourist at Peru retreat

An American man died in Peru after consuming a hallucinogenic herbal tea as part of a shamanic ritual. Aaron Wayne Castranova participated in a spiritual retreat in the Amazon and took a brew known as ayahuasca, after which he suffered from a multi-organ reaction in his body, and passed away in Loreto, a region on the border with Brazil.

Ayahuasca is the same drug that Prince Harry once admitted to having used to cope with the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, according to Mail Online. It is a widely popular drug in the region, and tourists routinely seek it to treat depression and other mental troubles.

The indigenous community of Santa Maria de Ojeda is said to have been involved with the retreat that took place at a hostel called La Casa de Guillermo ICONA. The hostel's managers stressed that Castranova did not tell the organisers that he was on antibiotics.

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The regional prosecutor's forensic pathologist, Narciso Lopez, said that Castranova suffered a "breakdown that led to his death".

Ayahuasca is used for spiritual and medicinal purposes in the Amazon

Ayahuasca is commonly used by Indigenous cultures in the Amazon. Also known as yage, it is used for spiritual and medicinal purposes among the Amazonian tribes in South America. The concoction is made and offered in spiritual and healing rituals. It has become a major drawing point in the Peruvian Amazon for tourists looking to heal their mental health. It is made from the bark of a vine and the leaves of a bush found in the Amazon that contains a hallucinogenic called N-N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

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Several jungle retreats are organised in the region where visitors are offered the traditional indigenous brew made up of Ayahuasca. It is done under the supervision of a guide or shaman. Prince Harry stated that the drug "brought me a sense of relaxation, release, comfort, a lightness that I managed to hold on to for a period of time".

Ayahuasca can affect heart and breathing

However, Lopez warns that the drug can lead to death, and in some cases, "permanent, irreversible damage." It can also damage the heart. Data suggests that severe mental health problems among tourists lead them to take the psychedelic drug.

Since the drug is easily available in the region and used by the Amazonian tribes in South America, tourists have easy access to it. But the US Embassy in Peru warns Americans against using any kind of hallucinogenics.

The website says that locals market these "dangerous substances" to travellers in Peru as "ceremonial or spiritual cleansers."

"Ayahuasca is a psychoactive substance containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a strong hallucinogen that is illegal in the United States and many other countries."

Last year, a British mother of three also died after consuming an ayahuasca concoction at a Bolivian "wellness and detox" retreat. She reportedly collapsed ten minutes after drinking the ayahuasca as her breathing and heart rate dropped.