In brief
- On September 2, the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service (in Acre) requested that drug and health agencies review regulations concerning ayahuasca and DMT.
- The proposal calls for two-year working groups, incorporating input from Indigenous communities and ayahuasca-using religions, to establish rules for production, distribution, and religious, spiritual, and therapeutic use.
- Conad and Anvisa have 30 days to respond; DMT has remained classified as a prohibited substance since 1998, with no updates since that time.
On September 2, the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service based in Acre recommended that the two agencies regulating drugs and health in the country conduct a thorough review of the legal framework for ayahuasca and its active compound, DMT. The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) is calling for an update to regulations that have classified DMT as a prohibited substance since 1998, noting that the prosecution itself has identified a lack of clear protocols to distinguish religious use from other forms of consumption.
What the prosecution is requesting
The Acre MPF issued two recommendations, drafted by prosecutors Lucas Costa Almeida Dias and Luidgi Merlo Paiva dos Santos. The recommendation directed to the National Drug Policy Council (Conad) calls for a two-year working group to gather information, consult with Indigenous communities and ayahuasca-using religions, and draft a technical report with clear parameters for production, circulation, and use. The recommendation to Anvisa, the Brazilian health agency, requests a separate working group to update Portaria SVS/MS 344—the regulation that has classified DMT as a prohibited substance since 1998—to include provisions for its religious, spiritual, and therapeutic use. Both agencies have 30 days to respond or provide a written justification for refusal; the MPF warns that failure to comply could lead to legal action.
Why now?
While Brazilian drug law allows for the exceptional use of plants containing prohibited substances in religious and ritual contexts, the prosecution argues that this margin has proven insufficient in practice. They point out that police training in Acre lacks any protocol for sacramental use and that there is a shortage of anthropological expertise capable of distinguishing a religious ceremony from other types of consumption. This, according to the document, leaves decisions subject to “discretionary interpretations and repressive actions.” Acre opened a procedure in 2024 to review these protocols, and the MPF is invoking ILO Convention 169, which requires the consultation of Indigenous peoples through their own institutions.
What it implies
It is best not to jump to conclusions. This is a recommendation from the prosecution, not an immediate law or regulatory change, and the proposed working groups have a two-year horizon before producing any report. It does not change the scientific understanding of DMT, but rather how Brazil intends to regulate it. Even so, the move is significant because it comes from an agency with the power to demand accountability, and it coincides with a process initiated over fifteen years ago by Iphan, the Brazilian National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, to recognize the ritual use of ayahuasca as intangible cultural heritage. A clearer framework would reduce police arbitrariness toward religious and therapeutic users, in line with what we understand as harm reduction: not sanctioning consumption, but providing clear rules to practice it more safely. The process acknowledges something Indigenous peoples have long demanded: the right to set the terms of the debate regarding a plant they consider their own.
Source
- Ministério Público Federal (Procuradoria da República no Acre). MPF recomenda revisão das regras sobre uso da ayahuasca no Brasil. MPF Brasil, September 4, 2026.
Educational content written from a harm reduction perspective and with respect for individual freedom. It is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional and is not intended to encourage or condemn any drug use.
