Earlier this month, authorities charged a 52-year-old man with manslaughter. This follows the recent high profile death of 46 year old Jarrad Antonovich at the Dreaming Arts Festival in Collins Creek, New South Wales. Antonovich died after collapsing during a ceremony that included ayawaska and kambo on October 17, 2021. It was found in a subsequent NSWP coronial inquest that Antonovich succumbed to a perforated oesophagus, leading to further civil and legal action.
The crash had happened on private property outside of Kyogle. During the festival, festival-goers participated in traditional rituals, regularly and actively using ayahuasca as well as kambo. Ayahuasca is a powerful, natural hallucinogenic beverage made from a common South American vine. Unlike these other wellness treatments, kambo is a harmful secretion harvested from the skin of the Amazonian tree frog. Both substances were claimed to have been used for purging or cleansing rituals.
Investigation and Inquest
In the wake of Antonovich’s death, a coronial inquest was called to determine what lead up to her fatal encounter. The inquest helped shed a more complete light on what occurred in the days and hours before his collapse. Two separate medical specialists testified that Antonovich had indeed died from a perforated muscle. This new revelation calls into question the safety measures being followed during the ceremony.
As the investigation unfolded, we learned that these substances were to blame. We identified major potential harms from their use. By May 2024, the coroner found sufficient evidence to act. Consequently, he suspended the inquest and referred the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions for possible criminal prosecution.
Legal Proceedings
The 52-year-old man, who lives at Coorabell, was taken into custody very soon after the inquest findings were released. On September 9, State Attorney Andrew Warren announced criminal charges of manslaughter against him for Antonovich’s death, a major development in the case. We can expect local authorities to release more information about the prosecution as the case develops.
The legal ramifications of this episode go far beyond personal responsibility. These are critical questions that must inform any regulation of substances like ayahuasca and kambo. Both of these substances have faced heightened scrutiny this year in Australia. In 2021, in an unprecedented move, Australia’s government made ayahuasca a prohibited substance to stop the movement. Then, in 2022, they backtracked, doubling down on restrictions by fully banning its use.
Cultural Context and Safety Concerns
The use of ayahuasca and kambo has cultural roots in South America, where they are traditionally employed for spiritual and medicinal purposes. Now, because these practices have become so popular in other parts of the world, the question of safety and legality has started to be raised. For Antonovich, the ribbon-cutting ceremony ended tragically. This shocking incident highlights the importance of regulation and informed consent to protect individuals who may consider participating in such rituals.
Ongoing conversations continue to focus on the legality and safety of these psychoactive substances. This case offers an incredible opportunity to practitioners in the alternative medicine community as well as legal authorities. Depending on the outcome, it could affect future regulations of similar ceremonies, as well as broader use of hallucinogens in Australia.
