The legality (and therefore, the legitimacy) of customs related to ayahuasca is determined by the States in which these practices are found. As they partake in globalization and cross borders, ayahuasca users (and their practices) are often faced with the inquisitorial and popular anti-drug discourse. Without question, legal doctrine is the most widely invoked by participants of the ayahuasca ritual. In fact, its analysis reveals how State actors grasp psychotic infusion, how the State formulates opinions regarding it and ultimately, what the State’s role is within the social construction of ayahuasca. As will be demonstrated, in order to defend the legitimacy of ayahuasca, consumers invest in other means of resistance. These methods include media outlets, research and lobbying. The present dissertation aims to offer a general view (International Law, United States, Europe, with particular attention paid to Canada) of the relationship between the marginal group of ayahuasca users and the State. Additionally, the paper will attempt to determine whether the relationship reinforces a hegemonic view of drugs, or on the contrary, if it allows for the marginalized group to be heard. The article will be divided in two parts. In the first, a brief review of central theoretical concepts that guide the analysis (hybridism and resistance) will take place, in order to then describe the social construction of drug use and better define ayahuasca and its ritual. The second part will be devoted to a case study of ayahuasca consumers, as they confront the State and a popular anti-drug discourse in a world of globalization. To begin with, the paper will examine the way in which groups involved with psychoactive infusion defend their legitimacy before the State. Subsequently, State intervention in recent cases of therapeutic/medicinal uses of ayahuasca will be analysed in order to compare State-granted legitimacy with the actual use of ayahuasca.