This class is a rather comprehensive guide to growing and using some popular (and mostly legal) entheogen and ethnobotanic drug plants.

Covered will be Ayahuasca, Khat, Kratom, Heimia, Calea, Poppies & Ololiuhqui and their propagation, cultivation, lore and use. Some of these plants are stimulants, some hallucinogens, some dream plants and some “medicinal.” More background information on these plants can be found at the Theatrum Botanicum web pages.

The class is held in the hidden, 3rd story, roof-top, shade-covered garden of Theatrum Botanicum, above Mordidas Restaurant and Bar in Colonia Buenos Aires. Access involves 3 flights of stairs (I apologize to the physically challenged). There is limited street parking and it is best to walk, take a taxi or a bus (the Paso Ancho bus stops directly in front of Mordidas).

The class is $100 pesos (about $5 US) and is very limited in size. It is taught in English.

It is taught by Rick Hepting, the owner of Mordidas and the creator and past owner (from 1990 to 2006) of Theatrum Botanicum, a commercial rare plant nursery in Northern California, USA. Theatrum Botanicum was sold in 2006 but it is now, again, being operated by Rick, here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

There will be an opportunity to purchase plants during the class. Purchases at this time are at a 25% discount.

COVID protocols will be observed.

• Calea, thle-pelakano, Calea zacatechichi, (Mayan: “Leaf of god”). The dried leaves of this plant were used by the Chontal Mayans of Tabasco State, Mexico, for obtaining visions during sleep.
• Sinicuiche, Heimia salicifolia : (Aztec: Sun Opener). The wilted leaves of this plant, crushed and fermented in water, were used as a sleep hallucinogen by the Aztecs.
• Ololiuhqui, Turbina corymbosa : (Aztec: ‘That which causes turns’). A morning glory relative whose seeds are used by many Mexican cultures to produce hallucinations.
• Khat, Catha edulis : The main effects of Khat use are “euphoria, improved intellectual efficiency and alertness.” The active principles are norpseudoephedrine and cathinone. It is a stimulant widely used in the Middle East and it grows well here in Vallarta.
• Kratom, Mitragyna speciosa : A tender tropical tree from Southeast Asia whose leaves are is used as a stimulant in small doses and a sedative or euphoric in larger doses. It is related to coffee and chinchona (the botanical source of quinine). Grows with care here in Vallarta.
• Ayahuasca, Psychotria viridis & Banisteriopsis caapi : A combination of two Amazonian plants that produce, together, long-lasting, vivid hallucinations. Grow well here in Vallarta.