Psychedelic tourism in jamaica: the good, the bad, and the ugly
By Ifetayo Harvey
On a global level, Jamaica is known for its beautiful beaches, lush mountains, reggae music, and laid-back attitudes. Many outsiders associate Jamaica with cannabis, Rastafarianism, Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and, more recently, Jamaica is gaining recognition for its burgeoning psychedelic tourism retreats. Because mushrooms are a Schedule I substance in the United States, psychedelic retreat centers have started to build a home on the island. These retreats offer healing experiences for their clientele. The psychedelic industry, which purports to value healing and wellness, needs to build an infrastructure around reciprocity and reparations to live true to its values of wellness and healing in Jamaica in the aftermath of the recent trauma of Hurricane Melissa and the legacy of enslavement. This is an opportunity to right past wrongs.
Jamaica is a former British colony that started as an island plantation. Explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica in 1494, and Spanish colonists began establishing their settlements. During this period, the colonists systemically killed the indigenous population, the Arawak people. The Spanish colonists brought the first group of enslaved people from the African continent in the 1500s. The English eventually took over the colony and trafficked more enslaved Africans. Slavery ended in Jamaica in 1838, and after that, the British colonists brought thousands of Indian and Chinese people to the island as indentured servants.
Today, Jamaica is 90% African descended people with other minority populations like white people, Middle Eastern people, Indian people, and Chinese people. Jamaica's motto is 'Out of many, one people,' meaning that there are many types of people in Jamaica, yet our culture unites us. However, social stratification reveals class and economic disparities, with a small minority (White, Middle Eastern, Indian, and mixed race] having more financial power than the economically disenfranchised Black majority. In the 1960s, Jamaica gained independence from England and has since experienced economic struggles because the British have not paid reparations. Tourism is a significant source of revenue for Jamaica, alongside bauxite mining. Jamaica has a strong tourism infrastructure, but all Jamaicans do not directly benefit from it.
Jamaica's minimum wage is $2.50USD an hour, and the Jamaican government further marginalizes its own people by allowing foreigners to purchase land and privatize beaches that were once public.
Now, Jamaica is also known for cannabis and Rastafarianism. These have become cultural exports of Jamaica, thanks to singers like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, despite the government and law enforcement marginalizing Rastafarians in Jamaica for decades. So all these things combined, along with the fact that Jamaica does not have any laws for or against psilocybin mushrooms, make for the perfect situation for psychedelic organizations to take advantage of the legal gray area that psilocybin mushrooms are in. It should also be noted that cannabis is not legal in Jamaica despite its widespread use and cultural acceptance by most Jamaicans. Organizations and companies that want to host retreats in Jamaica should hold themselves to a higher standard and refrain from exploiting the country. Most of these companies do not actually care about Jamaica itself. They just want a beautiful place with no legal consequences to do their retreat. This becomes clear when you examine some of the advertisements and marketing surrounding retreats in Jamaica; they are clearly not geared toward a Jamaican audience. So, the question remains: Is the aim of these retreats to make money, to heal people, or both? But to whom are these people being marketed, since the average Jamaican citizen cannot afford these high-priced retreats? Do they not deserve access to healing spaces as well? The psychedelic wellness industry should make a more positive contribution to Jamaica’s economy and the communities in which it operates. Jamaicans just survived a Category 5 Hurricane for the first time in 30 years, many riddled with psychological trauma. This is an opportunity for the existing psychedelic industry in Jamaica to provide care like talk therapy, group therapy, and get involved in relief efforts.
These companies that claim to care about wellness have a duty to care about the wellness of the people and the land, and that care should be shown through resource sharing and offerings that are inclusive of Jamaicans. Beckley Retreats, an offshoot of Beckley Research, began hosting retreats on the former Good Hope Plantation in Jamaica despite concerns about the location. Beckley has continued to operate their retreats on this former plantation.
And some say, well, the Jamaicans we have working for us don't have an issue. But what about healing trauma? How can people who are descended from enslavement heal on a property that was used to torment their ancestors?
These retreats perpetuate the notion that tourism is akin to colonialism. Tourism will ever be an equitable enterprise, but the Jamaican government owes its people more regulation around tourism. If we're going to have tourism, it needs to benefit more people. We need to raise the minimum wage and make it easier for Jamaicans to own and operate these businesses.
To ensure that Jamaicans and Jamaica benefit from the burgeoning psychedelic tourism, there must be:
Opportunities for Jamaicans to benefit from the healing powers of mushrooms
Center and uplift Black Jamaicans working in the psychedelic tourism industry
Encourage tourist dollars to benefit Jamaicans directly by creating pathways for professionalism and business ownership
Sources:
-https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5b70de70-2f0f-4e28-a492-f55384f07faa
-https://jis.gov.jm/protocols-in-place-for-magic-mushrooms/
-https://transformdrugs.org/publications/how-to-regulate-psychedelics
-https://www.uwi.edu/jamaica.php
-https://globetrender.com/2021/05/12/silo-wellness-lgbtqia-psychedelic-retreats-jamaica/
-https://www.businessinsider.com/magic-mushroom-retreat-has-struggled-with-safety-staffing-2020-6
https://retreat.guru/search?subtopic=psilocybin&country=jamaica
https://jis.gov.jm/minimum-wage-moves-to-16000-june-1/