At Chacruna: I have HIV and ayahuasca and psilocybin have saved me

Kevon Adrian Simpson

While I was in the jungle seeing if plant medicines could help my diagnosis, I remember my maestra asking me, “Well, how did you catch it?” I was what you would call an “at-risk” youth; I grew up with HIV coloring books in my school, The Weeksville School, P.S. 243 (once called “Colored School #2”), and I remember hearing my uncle say as a child, “Why would anyone want to go find out if they have that? I would just rather be dead.” It was a comment he made after a news story, with topics too advanced for me to fully grasp, and so, as a child, I learned a clear thing: Don’t catch AIDS... continue reading.