Sonoma County Man Dies After Participating in Ayahuasca Ritual in Peruvian Jungle

An 18-year-year-old man Sebastopol man is dead after ingesting ayahuasca, a psychedelic substance, at a shamanic retreat center in Peru, the Press Democrat is reporting.

Last month, Kyle Nolan, whose father, Sean Nolan, lives in Petaluma, traveled to the jungles of Peru to participate in a 10-day spiritual retreat meant to “open his mind.”

He had taken a year off school following his 2011 graduation from Analy High and had saved money for a trip he hoped would be a transformative experience, according to the story.

But the ayahuasca ceremony went terribly wrong when Nolan was found dead the following morning. No one at the center notified the Nolan family, who grew worried when Kyle did not return on August 26. They traveled to Peru and questioned a shaman who told Kyle’s parents that he had simply walked off the grounds with his luggage during the ceremony.

Police later questioned the shaman, who admitted that Nolan had died after drinking a brew made out of ayahuasca, an herb widely used by indigenous people in Amazon and which contains dimethyltryptamine, a psychedelic substance that is illegal in the United States.

Ayahuasca also has cardiovascular effects and can increase the heart rate and diastolic blood pressure and in some cases cause significant psychological stress.

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