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What have you heard about ayahuasca? Maybe that it’s a wild psychedelic that will make you vomit and see fantastical creatures. Perhaps you know someone who went to Mexico, took some and found the meaning of existence. You’ve read it’s dangerous, heard it’s epic.

“It’s a big topic right now,” Rev. Dr. Jessica Rochester said. “Unfortunately, other media have sensationalized, fantasized and drawn negative attention to it.”

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Rochester is the founder of Céu do Montreal, a church that employs ayahuasca in its ceremonies. Though ayahuasca is illegal in Canada, Céu do Montréal is one of five Canadian groups, including four from Quebec, granted an exemption on religious grounds.

Her church will host a conference on Oct. 19 to demystify the strain of plants and its uses, which has a history going back hundreds of years.

One of the first orders of business is explaining what exactly ayahuasca is.