Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Chacruna Institute; Psychedelic Policy Scholar
Anthropologist and policy scholar who founded the Chacruna Institute to bridge indigenous and scientific knowledge of psychedelics, and a leading voice for equity and indigenous rights in psychedelic medicine.
Biography
Beatriz Caiuby Labate (Bia Labate) is a Brazilian anthropologist who has spent her career studying the intersection of psychedelic plant medicines, religion, politics, and public health.
Labate founded the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines in 2017 to create a bridge between academic research, indigenous communities, and the growing psychedelic medicine field. Chacruna focuses specifically on perspectives often marginalized in mainstream psychedelic discourse: indigenous knowledge holders, communities of color, and non-Western frameworks.
She has been a consistent voice warning against 'psychedelic exceptionalism' — the tendency to treat psychedelic medicine as purely scientific while erasing cultural, spiritual, and political dimensions. Her work on indigenous rights and the appropriation of traditional plant medicine ceremonies has been widely cited in policy discussions.
Labate has published over 20 books on psychedelics, drug policy, and religious freedom.
Organizations
Why They Matter to the LearnShrooms Community
As psilocybin moves toward mainstream medicine, questions about cultural origins, indigenous rights, and who benefits from commercialization are urgently important. Labate's work ensures these questions remain in the conversation.
Legal Context
For the legal landscape where Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ph.D. operates, see psilocybin laws in California.