OBJECTIVES: Drug addiction is mental and behavioral disorder characterized by high public health relevance and socio-economic impact worldwide, in particular in Latin American countries where the consumption of cocaine paste is the highest in the world. In Peru, a Health Centre recognized by National Health System introduced an innovative treatment protocol for consumers of legal or illegal drugs in 1992. In this Centre, modern medicine is associated with Amazonian traditional treatments for drug addiction based on the use of medicinal plants such as Ayahuasca. The aim of the research is to perform a comparison between the drug addiction treatments provided by the National Health System in Peru and the Ayahuasca treatment enrolled at Takiwasi Centre (Tarapoto, Peru) from an economic point of view. METHODS: Analysis of scientific literature and technical reports from clinical and economic databases has been used to obtain the data on the economic impact of the drug addiction treatment provided by the National Health System in Peru. Cost data related with the Takiwasi treatment has been acquired through questionnaires specifically designed for the collection of health economic data administered via phone interview and videoconference call to the healthcare professionals and administrative staff of the Centre. RESULTS: Literature data highlight a range of substantial evidence of positive effects and safe use for Ayahuasca-assisted intervention, including retrospective and prospective studies (Phase II). The economic literature and the preliminary collected cost data show a relatively low economic impact of Ayahuasca treatment performed at Takiwasi Centre respect to different drug addiction treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Several experimental studies carried out in Latin America show that the innovative treatment based on the use of Ayahuasca is effective for drug addiction disorders. This is the first study on the cost of this innovative Amazonia treatment enrolled at Takiwasi Centre.