psi research nowadays in the world. And it is really important that they not only support the research, but also publish their results, making possible dialogue among scientists and spreading information to those interested in general. WELLINGTON ZANGARI

Paranormal or psychic phenomena may impact society in several ways. Sometimes they are institutionalized through academic organizations. In Brazil, through spiritism, paranormal phenomena have been integrated to practices of mainstream Western medicine for almost a century in dozens of spiritist psychiatric hospitals throughout the country. The present study aims to present a historical investigation of the Spiritist Sanatorium of Uberaba, one of the oldest and most important spiritist hospitals in Brazil, since its foundation in 1933 until the death of its first director in 1988, Inácio Ferreira. We have also studied Ferreira’s life as a physician, since he was the first major spiritist psychiatrist in Brazil and probably in the world. Ferreira conducted research, wrote and published several books reporting case studies of patients at the Sanatorium, their treatment and follow up. His work at the Sanatorium reached press, lay audience and researchers from several countries. Ferreira had a prominent role in pursuing the integration of psychic experiences with conventional medicine, in institutionalizing spiritist practices and representations regarding the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, mainly ideas referring to the importance of the influence of discarnate intelligences and past live experiences on mental health. He was the major promoter of these principles and practices in Brazil and abroad. Ferreira’s work often raised resistance among physicians and was not adopted by Brazilian academic medicine. We are not aware of any academic study on Ferreira or his work at the Spiritist Sanatorium of Uberaba. The present historical paper is a brief report of an ongoing investigation that aims helping to fulfill that lack in historical studies.

Researches have emphasized religiosity as a protective factor against drug use although the mechanism through which it occurs is still unknown. This article aims to explore religious beliefs that could prevent drug use among youth. Three sources of qualitative data were used: participant observation in 21 religious institutions, semistructured interviews of 37 religious leaders, and 6 focus groups comprised of 55 religious drug-naïve youths. The young people’s discourses and the sermons of religious leaders revealed that conceptions about drugs were based on media content, with little religious or scientific context. Catholics and Spiritists considered the consumption of licit drugs less harmful than that of illicit ones and were especially tolerant of the use of alcohol. Protestants were more emphatic when describing all drugs as being harmful to one’s health. Findings suggest that young people who practice a religion invoke several religious concepts to justify their choice for not using drugs, and they attribute this position more to the family