Keep Kambo and carry on ... healing
I’m a big advocate of the use of Kambo and plant medicines ... because these address the root causes of our ills
Marc McLean, freelance journalist and author of the book ‘The Healing Power of Ayahuasca,’ is an advocate of the use of Kambo and other alternative medicines. The 37-year-old has experienced Kambo three times in the past year under the supervision of a trained practitioner. With a retreat offering up the controversial substance happening here this weekend, here are his thoughts on the phenomenon ....
Burning small spots on your skin and having frog poison applied to them sounds like a ridiculously stupid idea.
Drinking two litres of water quickly beforehand and then vomiting repeatedly after the poison floods through your body makes the whole experience sound even worse.
But please don’t be quick to jump to conclusions when it comes to the frog medicine known as Kambo.
I was surprised, and impressed, to read in last week’s newspaper that East Kilbride woman Claire Ross was offering Kambo healing retreats in the town.
It’s a huge step forward in helping to raise awareness in Scotland of natural, traditional medicines that are proven to be extremely effective in healing various physical, psychological and emotional issues. Note that I use the word ‘heal’. We live in a society where doctors prescribe all sorts of medications that only serve to mask symptoms – and often create worse side effects (which of course requires another prescription).
I’m a big advocate of the use of Kambo and also the use of plant medicines – when used responsibly with the support of trained facilitators – because these address the root causes of our ills.
Unfortunately, these natural medicines are illegal in the UK and will likely remain so while pharmaceutical companies and closed-minded politicians rule the roost. But in 2018, I spent seven months interviewing people from all over the world who turned to the Amazonian plant medicine ayahuasca, used along with Kambo in several cases, because Western medicine had failed them.
These include a South African woman who cured her four-year heroin addiction overnight with one ayahuasca ceremony, and a young American woman who finally overcame the bulimia that almost killed her – doctors had simply prescribed her antidepressants ... from the age of 11. But back to Kambo. I’d like to address a couple of points in the excellent coverage of the issue in the East Kilbride News last week.
The Scottish Government said that it would discourage people from taking any substance not prescribed by a medical practitioner, suggesting Kambo to be harmful.
Italian pharmacologist Vittorio Erspamer – the man who discovered serotonin and two-time Nobel Prize nominee – would beg to differ.
Erspamer was the first person to analyse Kambo in a laboratory back in 1979, describing it as a “fantastic chemical cocktail with potential medical applications”.
Since then, medical researchers have closely studied Kambo and, as a testament to its medicinal properties, there are now more than 70 Kambo patents registered in the pharmaceutical world.
While a Kambo experience is intense and uncomfortable, it is unrivalled for detoxing the body and contains nine bioactive peptides that treat a long list of ailments.
I understand this traditional medicine, which has been used for thousands of years in the Amazon, has been linked to five deaths across the world.
However, the reports did not appear conclusive and it was suggested that there were other contributory factors at play in these situations. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that more than 22,300 deaths are caused in the UK year due to errors and mix-ups with prescriptions. ■ Marc’s book shares the stories of 16 individuals of have experienced the healing power of Ayahuasca. You can pick up ‘The Healing Power of Ayahuasca’ online and decide for yourself the merits of such therapies.