Professor of Toxicology, Dr De Wolfe, presented scientific evidence that DMT was not harmful to health and had no significant abuse potential. Consultant neurophysiologist Dr. Eric Fromberg gave testimony that he himself had drunk ayahuasca in Dutch Santo Daime rituals and considered them to be well organised with excellent concern for the safety of participants. He further stated that he regarded his consumption of ayahuasca as having assisted in his personal development. Charles Kaplan, a medical doctor at the University of Maastricht, stated that ceremonies of the type organised by the Santo Daime church, with their focus on facilitating visionary experiences, could be beneficial to public mental health. The court then heard from a whole procession of anthropologists, ethnobotanists, and historians who related the history of the Santo Daime church, emphasizing the central role played by the ayahuasca-drinking ceremony.
Members claim that the experience has notable psychological benefits.
Presenting the case for the prosecution, lawyer P.C. Velleman claimed that the potential mental and physical health benefits associated with ayahuasca usage were not relevant, for the simple fact remained that DMT was currently restricted under the terms of the European Psychotropic Substances Treaty 1971, and that members of the Santo Daime in Holland were thus in violation of the law. This statement was however challenged in court, the defence claiming that, in the original terms of the treaty, DMT, when found in naturally-occurring form, was not controlled. The case continues and a verdict is expected on 6th April 2001. The ongoing protests outside Huntingdon Life Sciences by animal rights demonstrators and the disputes in South Africa over the exhorbitant prices charged for HIV treatments have started to shine media attention on many of the activities of the private sector with regard to the development of new medicines. Whether animal testing is an effective precautionary measure is an issue that is occasionally raised, but a much deeper issue the media rarely look at is whether the drugs we develop to treat illness are really effective.