This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A British "shaman" caught administering a potion containing a class-A hallucinogenic drug to 17 followers at a candlelit "healing" ceremony has been jailed for 15 months.

Peter Aziz, of Buckfastleigh, Devon, who claims to have spent years in the jungles of Peru learning the art of making the drink ayahuasca, provided the brew, which contained N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), during a week-long retreat in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

He told the followers at the Dorville hotel in December 2007 that it would cure serious illnesses including cancer.

Aziz, 51, was found guilty of producing and supplying a class-A drug by a jury at Bristol crown court.

Judge Michael Roach accepted Aziz had tried to help others but told him: "You knew it was wrong to produce this drug and you knew it was wrong to supply it but produce and supply it you did.

"I have to treat this matter as serious, which means a prison sentence."

Kate Brunner, for the prosecution, told the jury: "The participants sat around in a circle, candles were lit and he poured out his brew into plastic or paper cups.

"They drank it and when people drink this brew they vomit frequently. Some participants had hallucinogenic experiences. They felt that they were going on a journey. Whilst some found the experience restorative, others felt terrified."

Nick Lewin, representing Aziz, said he was a "fundamentally good man" who was determined to help other people.

Aziz made only £10,000 a year and lived in a two-bedroom former council house with his family. "This isn't a case where a man is selling cocaine to make a good living of Maseratis and villas on the Riviera," he told the court.

"The money he was making from these events was little more than a subsistence income," he said.

"It has caused him a considerable amount of worry as far as his personal beliefs are concerned. He has learned what can be learned from this and will not be before the court again."

According to his website, Aziz has spent 35 years training as a shaman. He claims to have helped a disabled boy walk again and healed broken bones within a few hours.

Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones, of Avon and Somerset police, said DMT was a dangerous drug.