Mawaan Rizwan was brought up in a religious family but is no longer practising and feels detached from spirituality. In this two-part series Mawaan is curious to discover more about those who claim to connect with a higher power by taking traditional medicines, which contain powerful hallucinogenic drugs.
Episode one - Trip To The Mountains
In the first episode he travels to Salt Lake City in Utah, America to join the Oklevueha Native American Church run by ‘Medicine Man’ James Flaming Eagle Mooney.
Mawaan joins the church on one of their ceremonial retreats in the mountains where they take the ancient drug peyote, believing it to be a truth serum which gives them spiritual empowerment and strength.
The drug has a long history of ritualistic and medicinal use by Native Americans and originates from a small cactus plant. It has a similar intense affect to LSD but in America members of the church have legal protections when using it.
Will Mawaan discover a route to enlightenment or continue to feel sceptical about a higher power?
Publicity contact: EJ
TBC
