Brazil is giving ayahuasca to prison inmates on their path to redemption
“We are considered the trash of Brazil, but this place accepts us,” said Darci Altair Santos da Silva, 43, a construction worker serving a 13-year sentence for sexual abuse of a child under 14. “I know what I did was very cruel. The tea helped me reflect on this fact, on the possibility that one day I can find redemption”.
In a quest to ease pressures on the Brazilian prison system, mental health workers have opted to give prison inmates the psychedelic brew ayahuasca, in the hopes of helping them to work through their deeply-rooted emotional traumas. It is no secret that the current prison system is in shambles. Over crowded holding spaces, abusive staff, unsanitary living conditions – these types of environments are rarely conducive to redemption and rehabilitation, but instead almost always seed further violence, aggression, and feelings of alienation from society.
Original Article (Collective Evolution):
Brazil is giving ayahuasca to prison inmates on their path to redemption
Artwork Fair Use: Sascha Grabow