Peyote
Peyote, scientifically known as Lophophora williamsii, is a spineless cactus native to the limestone soils of the Chihuahuan Desert, found in southern Texas and northern Mexico. This small cactus, which averages about eight centimeters wide and five centimeters tall, is recognized for its psychoactive properties, primarily due to the presence of mescaline. Historically, peyote has held significant ceremonial and medicinal roles among Indigenous peoples in Central and North America, with its use dating back over three thousand years. The cactus's bitter taste deters animals, while its unique crown structure allows it to thrive in harsh desert conditions.
Despite facing opposition from European colonizers who viewed its use as a threat, peyote's cultural importance persisted, evolving into a central element of various Native American religious practices today. The legal status of peyote varies, as it is illegal to possess or uproot the plant in many regions, except for certain Native American tribes that continue to use it in traditional ceremonies. While peyote can induce intense hallucinations and introspective experiences, reactions can vary widely, and its use has been linked to both beneficial effects and potential risks, depending on individual circumstances and settings.
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Peyote
Peyote is a cactus plant found on limestone soils of the Chihuahuan desert of southern Texas and northern Mexico. The plant averages about eight centimeters (three inches) wide and five centimeters (two inches) tall, and the body is spineless, soft, and in most cases, blue green in color.
The common species of peyote is Lophophora williamsii. Although the plant grows underground, its crown is visible at the surface. The most common variation produces pink-white-yellow flowers in summer and has thorns that act like leaves that require no moisture whatsoever but somehow manage to protect the cactus from the bright desert sunlight. The bitter taste of the plant prevents animals from coming close.
The psychoactive essence of the peyote cactus is mescaline, which produces a wide range of effects when ingested and is often used to induce auditory and visual hallucinations. Peyote played a serious role in the religion and culture of the Indians in Central America; images found attest to its usage in ceremonies over three thousand years ago.
Brief History
The earliest reports of the existence of the peyote cactus are those of Sahagún, a Franciscan friar and missionary priest who lived from 1499 to 1590 and who was the first "anthropologist" to thoroughly record the Spanish conquest and the history of Indians of Mexico.
Mexican Indians of the seventeenth century were known to have used peyote medicinally and ceremonially for many maladies and claimed to see "horrible visions" when intoxicated. When the European immigrants arrived in America in the seventeenth century, they mistook the use of peyote by the Native Americans as anti-Christian, and in 1620, the Jesuits forbade the use of the plant, and anyone caught doing so was punished for connecting to evil spirits through the use of "heathen rituals and superstitions." The Spanish inquisitors persecuted the natives who used it by torturing and killing them.
Although the Spanish conquerors condemned the drug for its "satanic trickery," the plant continued to play a major sacramental role among the Indians of Mexico. Its use spread quickly to the North American tribes where it was incorporated into Native American religious rituals that continue to this day.
There is no clear documentation as to how the drug spread within the United States, but some evidence does show that it moved first to the tribes in northern Mexico, then to Oklahoma and beyond to other states. Records show that many of the Oklahoma tribes accepted the drug as a medicine during the Native American cultural disintegration of the 1880s. Western doctors began studying the properties of the peyote cactus in the late 1890s but found that it had no medicinal purposes.
The use of peyote was deemed illegal in the United States in 1970 with the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, and under Mexican law, it is illegal for anyone other than the Huichol—an indigenous tribe—to uproot it or possess it.
Use of peyote for recreational purposes continues unabated, and a whole religion has evolved around it in the United States where is quite easy to obtain the drug legally, and there is a lack of federal oversight.
Peyote Today
Peyote comes in several different forms. The plant grows in groups close to the soil, with yellow, green, or blue flowers or a mixture of reds and greens with yellowish or whitish hairs peeking out through the outer pieces the cactus. The spineless nature of the peyote cactus may be one of the reasons why this cactus was originally consumed by natives in tribal areas centuries ago.
The top part of the peyote cactus is rounded with disc-like "buttons" that are connected to each other. These discs are harvested separately and then dried out; whether chewed or boiled as tea, the plant’s effect is to produce euphoric, psychoactive feelings. Often, the bitterness of the plant causes the user to feel nauseated prior to the onset of the psychoactive effects of the drug.
The mescaline that is derived from peyote produces the hallucinogenic effects. It takes only ten to twenty grams of dried peyote "buttons" to produce a wide range of metaphysical reactions.
Mescaline belongs to a family of compounds known as phenethylamines, which differ from the other major psychedelics that belong to the indole family, such as LSD, psilocybin, harmaline, and DMT. Many popular synthetic psychedelics, such as ecstasy (MDMA) and 2C-B, are phenethylamines and are related to the chemistry of mescaline.
The major downfall to the drug, like most hallucinogens, is that the results are not known beforehand. The drug affects people in a variety of different ways, and it is impossible to know how someone will react. The National Institute on Drug Abuse and other drug research centers have shown that many users of peyote are able to enter a sphere of deep introspection while others may endure intense anxiety or out-of- body sensations that can cause dangerous and often life-threatening behavior by the user, especially if it triggers a "bad trip." It could also cause adverse reactions in terms of health based on poor eating habits, poor sleep habits, or it could also cause rituals that might interfere with day-to-day routines.
There is little evidence to indicate that the use of peyote is addictive or that long-term use of the drug can cause any serious side effects. Most peyote users do not use the drug for an extended period of time and require little or no professional treatment, so it is difficult to assess the results.
In a controlled situation, the use of peyote can offer beneficial results. Chewing on the peyote buttons can induce a sense of anesthetic or pain-relief qualities, and it is often used to reduce childbirth pain, discomfort from a toothache, or that associated with certain types of skin disease. Even today, there are Native American tribes in the United States that continue to use peyote as a curative drug for a wide array of ailments and claim that if peyote is used correctly, all other medicines would not be necessary.
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