A crucial element of ayahuasca, the derivative N,N-dimethyltryptamine, commonly called DMT, remains illegal in many countries including Canada, which lists it as prohibited in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The first sign that something was off was the sound of truck doors being slammed outside, a puzzling break to the peace inside the yurt located down a long driveway in a wooded rural outstretch not f…