De-Stigmatizing Plant Medicine and Dismantling Stereotypes

June 11th, 2025

By Sergey Baranov

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Plant medicine and shamanic healing have been integral to human culture for millennia, offering effective remedies for physical, emotional, and spiritual ailments. Rooted in nature-based spirituality, these traditions are not primitive or obsolete—they are intelligent systems of medicine grounded in direct experience, ancestral knowledge, and a profound connection with the Earth. Despite their enduring power, they have been relentlessly targeted by systems of religious persecution, colonial domination, and modern medical gatekeeping.

Throughout history, those outside the Abrahamic faith—especially communities that honored nature as sacred—were labeled “pagans” or “heathens.” These derogatory terms were more than slurs; they were weapons used to justify genocide and cultural erasure. Celebrating the solstices or engaging with sacred plants for healing or divination could be grounds for torture and execution during the Inquisition—a brutal campaign led by the Catholic Church to eliminate spiritual diversity and enforce ideological conformity. The victims of this campaign included mystics, herbalists, alchemists, seers, and shamanic practitioners, all of whom were branded as witches or heretics. They were tortured, burned, and silenced—not for harming, but for walking spiritual paths outside of Church authority. Even scientists who dared to explore the Universe beyond the limits of human sight were brutally targeted.

Shamanic and Earth-based traditions were condemned as devil worship, not because they were evil, but because they were powerful. They offered an alternative worldview—one that empowered individuals through direct communion with the divine, rather than submission to religious institutions. The Christian theologian Augustine famously declared, “What pagans call gods, we call devils,” summarizing the deliberate demonization of spiritual systems that honored the feminine and the sacredness of nature.

Pagan temples were destroyed and converted into churches. Sacred groves were cut down. A loving and reciprocal relationship with the natural world was recast as idolatry or evil. Yet these so-called “primitive” systems were often more holistic, sophisticated, and spiritually attuned than the dogma that sought to replace them.

This spiritual conquest was also a political strategy. To conquer people, it is not enough to occupy their land—you must sever them from the spiritual source that provides meaning, identity, inspiration, and strength. Across the globe, colonizers employed this same tactic, from the highlands of Peru to the plains of North America.

In the Andes, Incan temples were leveled and replaced by Catholic churches. The church in Chinchero, a town near Sacred Valley, and the Church of Santo Domingo in Cusco were built directly on top of sacred Incan sites, temples dedicated to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Inti, the Sun God. These acts of spiritual vandalism were not accidental—they were strategic. They aimed to overwrite indigenous cosmologies with Christian doctrine, literally and symbolically.

However, the energy of these sacred places has never entirely dissipated, and centuries later, they continue to draw tourists from around the world. Beneath the colonial stonework, the ancient vibration still pulses. Visitors often speak of feeling a deep presence in places like Coricancha—the former Incan Temple of the Sun—now partially buried beneath a Spanish church, but still radiant in its essence. These sites remain living testaments to the resilience of ancestral traditions and the unbroken connection between land, spirit, and people.

The same story unfolded in North America. Native spiritual practices were outlawed and ridiculed. Children were taken from their families and placed in boarding schools to “kill the Indian and save the man.”

This awful, inhuman slogan was associated with the U.S. government’s forced assimilation policies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was most notably used by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania in 1879—the first off-reservation boarding school for Native American children.

Pratt’s full quote was:

A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.

Ceremonial practices, such as the use of peyote or the sweat lodge, were banned for decades. This cultural war—waged by missionaries, settlers, and lawmakers—sought to destroy not only indigenous identity but the spiritual technologies that sustained it.

On the other continent, across the Atlantic Ocean, another war had been raging for centuries between Vikings and Christians —a battle of swords, beliefs, and identity—a collision between the untamed, nature-rooted spirituality of the Norse and the expanding dominance of Christianity across Europe. To the Christians, the Norse were heathens to be converted; to the Vikings, the Christians were conquerors cloaked in piety. Accusing one another of believing in false Gods, they fought through centuries. Yet over time, the hammer gave way to the cross, not always by force, but often through politics, trade, and infiltration. Over time, the Norsemen were baptized, temples dismantled, and the gods of thunder and wisdom rebranded as demons. It was a spiritual conquest as much as a military one, eroding ancestral traditions while promising salvation. And yet, echoes of the old ways remain—carried in language, music, folklore, and the persistent northern spirit that never fully bowed, even when the sword was laid down and the cross was lifted.

This historical clash between worldviews—between monotheism and polytheism, domination and reciprocity, control and communion—continues to shape our global consciousness today. And yet, in sacred Huachuma ceremonies, those divisions dissolve. At Huachuma Wasi, we’ve seen people from opposing faiths sit together in peace, humility, and mutual love. In the presence of the sacred, old stories of division lose their power. Plant medicine is not a drug—it is a mirror. It reveals our shared humanity and invites us to heal the illusions of separation.

Stigma, Stereotypes, and the War on Consciousness

The modern stigma surrounding plant medicine didn’t emerge in a vacuum—it was cultivated by colonial institutions, religious authorities, and later, the pharmaceutical industry. As industrialized medicine rose to dominance in the West, traditional healing systems were branded as “folk medicine,” “superstition,” or “quackery.”

This stigma has been deeply institutionalized. Traditional medicines from Indigenous, African, Asian, and South American cultures have been labeled “unscientific,” even though they have been used effectively for thousands of years. In many cases, these traditions were criminalized. Healers were arrested. Ceremonies were banned. Sacred plants were demonized.

The term “alternative medicine” emerged as a way to frame these ancient systems as somehow secondary or fringe. It subtly implies that the dominant Western medical paradigm is the default—objective, rational, superior—while everything else is questionable, anecdotal, or inferior.

Even more damaging is the term “snake oil”—a phrase often used to dismiss natural remedies as fraudulent or dangerous. The irony is staggering: many of the synthetic drugs produced today come with long lists of harmful side effects and carry massive financial costs. Meanwhile, plant medicines like Ayahuasca and Huachuma, are proving to be safer and more effective at treating issues like PTSD, depression, and addiction than many pharmaceutical alternatives.

In the 20th century, a new Inquisition emerged: The War on Drugs. Under President Nixon, natural entheogens like peyote were criminalized. Mescaline—the active alkaloid in Peyote and San Pedro cactus—was designated a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it was deemed to have “no medical value” and a “high potential for abuse”—false statements indeed. It was lumped in with heroin and cocaine. This wasn’t based on science—it was a political move. As Nixon’s advisor John Ehrlichman later confessed, the War on Drugs was designed to disrupt and discredit communities who opposed the government, namely anti-war activists and Black Americans.

Here’s the most well-known quote from Ehrlichman:

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and Black people… We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities… Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

With the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA),

Mescaline became illegal in the United States shortly after. Thus, all research into mescaline was halted, and its use was driven underground.

Thus, a powerful psychoactive component and a millennia-old, rich spiritual tradition that has reached the West were buried beneath decades of misinformation, fear, and propaganda.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry promoted synthetic drugs as the only “legitimate” form of medicine. As profits soared, natural remedies were further stigmatized, labeled “pseudoscience,” and mocked in media. Stereotypes flourished: “Only hippies use it.” “It’s not real medicine.” “It’s just an excuse to get high.” These shallow caricatures ignore the ceremonial, therapeutic, and communal frameworks in which plant medicine is traditionally used. Yes, misuse exists—but so does misuse of alcohol, opioids, and even prescription antidepressants. The problem is not the plants—it’s our cultural ignorance.

Restoring Legitimacy and Respect

Despite the stigma, the tide is slowly shifting. Universities like Johns Hopkins, NYU, and Imperial College London are conducting groundbreaking research into psychedelics, affirming what shamans have known for centuries and millennia: these plants are not escapist drugs—they are tools for confronting truth, healing trauma, and reconnecting to life.

Studies show that substances like psilocybin and mescaline can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD with a level of efficacy that outpaces many pharmaceuticals. These substances work not by numbing symptoms, but by helping individuals uncover the root causes of their suffering. They dissolve the ego, open the heart, and reveal buried pain—not as punishment, but as a path toward liberation and healing.

At the core, the struggle for plant medicine is about more than legality—it’s about sovereignty. It’s about the right to choose how we heal, the freedom to explore consciousness, and the return of spiritual agency to the individual.

To truly dismantle the stigma, we need more than clinical trials—we need cultural healing. We must acknowledge the historical violence that demonized these traditions. We must honor Indigenous voices and protect the sacred plants that carry these lineages. We must also stop confusing modernity with superiority. Some of the most advanced healing tools we have are also the oldest.

Healing is not a luxury—it is a birthright. Plant medicine is not a relic of the past—it is a path forward. It teaches us to listen inward, to reconnect with the Earth, and to remember who we are.

The pursuit of happiness is enshrined in the United States Constitution as a human right. But happiness does not come from consumption—it comes from healing. Sacred plant medicine supports this journey by helping us let go of the past, release old pain, and awaken to the joy of being alive.

At Huachuma Wasi, our healing and retreat center in the Sacred Valley, Peru, we hold space for this sacred work. Through guided ceremonies with Huachuma (San Pedro cactus), we help people safely explore their inner world, uncover the root causes of fear, anxiety, and depression, and reconnect with their authentic selves. Our framework is both safe and profound—anchored in tradition, yet open to all seekers.

Those who embark on a spiritual quest with sacred plant medicine often discover profound insight, crystal clarity, and practical guidance for living with greater purpose, balance, and authenticity.

Take ownership of your physical and mental health. Your healing is in your hands. Mother Earth and her wisdom have already provided the tools. The knowledge surrounding their use is vast and deeply rooted in antiquity, developed over millennia by indigenous cultures through direct experience, spiritual insight, and careful transmission across generations.

A man who dwells only in his mind wanders without rest. The heart is the true home of healing—the quiet place where we return in our ceremonies, and learn to dwell again in our daily life.

Please watch our documentary, Divine Cactus Huachuma

About the author:

Sergey Baranov founded Huachuma Wasi, a healing center in The Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru. He is the author of Path: Seeking Truth in a World of Lies, The Mescaline Confession: Breaking Through the Walls of Delusion,  The Cactus of Sanity: Huachuma in a Time of Chaos, Dancing in Hell with Eyes Wide Open: How to Survive the New World Order and UNPLUGGED: Psychedelics, Farming, and Crypto the Three Pillars of Freedom. Sergey’s passion for life on Earth and its preservation is the driving force behind his work.

All of Sergey’s books result from a lifelong spiritual search and nearly two decades of ongoing shamanic practice.

To learn more, please visit www.huachumawasi.com

Follow Sergey on Instagram & X.com