Immediate Release Sept 10, 2025
Bureaucrats Outlaw Ayahuasca Church over City Council Presentation
Charlottetown – Health Canada bureaucrats outlawed an ayahuasca church after a supporter asked Charlottetown City Council for a declaration of support for legal ayahuasca ceremonies.
Mr. Jamie Larkin, a church supporter, had been seeking a declaration of support from Charlottetown City Council for legal ayahuasca ceremonies in Canada. Instead, his presentation resulted in federal bureaucrats de-certifying the Companionship of the Sacred Vine (CSV) a legal Canadian ayahuasca church. (link).
After a video of Larkin’s presentation to City Council was posted on the Charlottetown YouTube channel, federal bureaucrats began a process that ultimately led to the CSV being stripped of its legal status. (Mr. Larkin’s 20-minute presentation starts at approximately 1:00:20 in the video – link.)
All ayahuasca churches in Canada must be issued a “religious exemption” by Health Canada prior to being allowed to conduct legal ayahuasca ceremonies. Citing the Charlottetown YouTube video and a 2023 CSV fund-raising video, bureaucrats issued an “Intent to Revoke” (ITR) the religious exemption that had allowed the CSV to operate legally.
Bureaucrats maintained that the Larkin presentation, combined with a two-year old 10-minute CSV fund-raising video, proved that the 2021 CSV application for a religious exemption was “not sincere.”
The CSV was given two weeks to respond to the ITR. In its submission, the CSV pointed out that Mr. Larkin was a member of the church but not a spokesman and had no knowledge of the contents of the original four-year old CSV exemption application.
The submission also pointed out that the 2023 fund-raising video had been seen by the Health Minister’s office and senior Health Canada officials prior to the CSV exemption being issued. It had been forwarded to the Health Minister’s office and to senior Health Canada officials several months before the exemption was approved in 2023.
The CSV also asked for disclosure as to what part(s) of the YouTube videos were in conflict with the original 2021 60-page CSV application. Bureaucrats refused to provide disclosure, which is considered a routine part of legal proceedings.
In May federal bureaucrats formally revoked the CSV exemption, saying that, based on the contents of the YouTube videos, the original 2021 60-page CSV application was “not sincere.”
“I have no idea how all this happened,” says Larkin. “I originally approached the Deputy Police Chief in Charlottetown to see if he was interested in finding out about the legalities of ayahuasca use.”
“The Deputy Chief said there was very little he could do with the information and he suggested I make a presentation to City Council,” he said. “That’s how the idea to make a presentation came about.”
“I received very good feedback from the Mayor, Deputy Chief, council members and members of the public, all of which was very supportive,” Larkin said. “Honestly, I’m still stunned by all this.”
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For further information:
Jamie Larkin, Political Affairs, AyahuascaCanada
email – jamiesells@hotmail.com
Allan Finney, Founder, Companionship of the Sacred Vine
email – afinney@sacredvinecompanionship.com