Erowid
 
 
Plants - Drugs Mind - Spirit Freedom - Law Arts - Culture Library  
   
mckenna_dennis
Ltd Ed 'Solve et Elucido' Art Giclee
This reverberating psychedelic giclee print is a gift for a
$500 donation to Erowid. 12" x 12", stretched on canvas, the
image wraps around the sides of the 1" thick piece. Signed
by artist Vibrata, and Erowid founders Earth & Fire.
Dennis McKenna
Photo by Jon Hanna, 2008
Dennis McKenna
Photographer Unknown
Erowid Character Vaults
Dennis J. McKenna
Summary
Dennis McKenna is an ethnopharmacologist who has studied plant hallucinogens for over forty years. In 1975 he co-authored the book Invisible Landscape with his brother Terence McKenna. The book was based on their investigations of Amazonian hallucinogens in 1971. He also acted as co-star of his brother's book True Hallucinations, which further described their experiences while in the Amazon.

Dennis went on to study the botany, chemistry, and pharmacology of ayahuasca and oo-koo-he, which he wrote about for his thesis. He earned his Master's degree in botany at the University of Hawaii in 1979, and his Doctorate in Botanical Sciences in 1984 from the University of British Columbia. Since that time, he has conducted extensive ethnobotanical fieldwork in the Peruvian, Colombian, and Brazilian Amazon.

In 1990 he joined Shaman Pharmaceuticals as Director of Ethnopharmacology, and in 1993 he joined the Aveda Corporation as Senior Research Pharmacognosist. In 1998 Dennis co-founded the non-profit Institute for Natural Products Research to promote research and scientific education with respect to botanical medicines. In 2001 he joined the faculty of the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota. He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute, serves on the Advisory Board of the American Botanical Council, and has been a board member for Botanical Dimensions. In 2011, Dennis took time off from his other work to start writing The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss, a biography of his life's adventures with Terence; the book was released in November of 2012.
Author of (Books)
  • The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss (2012)
  • Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements, editor-in-chief (2002)
  • Natural Dietary Supplements: A Desktop Reference, editor-in-chief (1998)
  • The Invisible Landscape, co-author (1975)
  • Author of (Articles)
  • "Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca Alkaloids in Healthy Humans" (1999)
  • "Plant hallucinogens: Springboards for Psychotherapeutic Drug Discovery" (1996)
  • "Biodynamic Constituents in Ayahuasca Admixture Plants" (1995)
  • Neurochemistry and Neurotoxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy')" (1990)
  • Index of Dennis McKenna Articles
  • Interviews
  • 'Ayahuasca is changing global environmental consciousness', The Guardian (2016)
  • Too Much to Dream: A Psychedelic American Boyhood (excerpt) by Peter Bebergal (2011)
  • "The Dennis McKenna Interview" by Michael Pinchera, The Resonance Project (1997/1998)