Aaron Rodgers said ayahuasca isn’t a drug, and he’s lying again

Aaron Rodgers’ love of ayahuasca isn’t going away any time soon, and the Packers QB is still extolling its virtues. During Rodgers’ weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show he discussed his feelings about the drug, and said he might continue to use it if he’s “called” to take it again.

Rodgers has been a major proponent of the hallucinogen, crediting ayahuasca in part for his two most recent MVP seasons. Obviously that’s his prerogative, but Rodgers’ is also playing some major semantics in his justification of ayahuasca use.

“Ayahuasca is not a drug. It has properties in it that have hallucinogenic abilities. But it’s not a drug. We’re talking about plants here.”

Let’s be extremely clear: It is a drug. Both by legal and dictionary definitions it’s a drug. There is no semantic way of separating ayahuasca from “drug” just because Rodgers doesn’t like the term, and he’s trying to redefine what “drug” means to justify its use. By definition a drug is a substance which has a physiological effect when introduced to the human body. There are plenty of legal drugs that aren’t confined to medicine — caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are three examples of legal drugs.

Ayahuasca is an illegal drug, and its active ingredient Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is on the DEA’s list as a Schedule I as a substance “with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” DMT isn’t dissimilar from the compounds found in Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or Mescaline (peyote). There is extensive research being done into seeing if these compounds can be used medically, but these studies are not yet complete — though, to be fair, there is some promising research showing that these compounds can assist in the fields of psychiatric, and geriatric care.

One element researchers are exploring is the potential long-term danger of regular use of DMT and related psychedelic drugs. Preliminary findings show that occasional use of drugs like ayahuasca have no observable long-term effects, which matches their use in traditional religious ceremonies, however it’s unclear if regular use could have lasting effects or permanent changes to brain chemistry — as has been observed in other Schedule I drugs like heroin or LSD.

Now, we can debate whether unprocessed plant-based drugs like ayahuasca, mushrooms, peyote and marijuana should be decriminalized or legalized — but for now, they’re illegal in most states. It raises a weird, and fascinating problem for the NFL. One of the league’s most visible, and popular players is advocating for an illegal narcotic, and crediting it for his success — and the Packers are even poking fun at Rodgers’ love of ayahuasca.

Can you imagine the league’s reaction if players celebrated a touchdown by pretending they were passing a blunt? It would be absolute anarchy full of fines and complaints to networks. Instead Rodgers is more or less free to keep talking about it, because it’s a fringe, lesser-known substance than marijuana — which numerous players have been suspended for.

The point isn’t to narc out on Aaron Rodgers for using ayahuasca, it’s to acknowledge that yes, drug laws in the United States are archaic and dumb when it comes to unprocessed plant-based substances, but they’re still drugs. The dangers of DMT abuse is still being researched, and it’s kind of wild the NFL isn’t trying to put a stop to this. Lord knows a Ricky Williams was dragged through the mud in the early 2000s for discussing how marijuana helped him with social anxiety and borderline personality disorder, and that was for a more legitimate use than “expanding his mind,” as Rodgers is doing with ayahuasca.

It’s a wild double standard, and it’s incredible Rodgers isn’t being asked to stop.