| Peyote | |
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| Peyote in the wild | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Genus: | Lophophora |
| Species: | L. williamsii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lophophora williamsii (Lem. ex J.F.Cels)J.M.Coult. | |
| Synonyms | |
Echinocactus williamsii Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck | |
Thepeyote (/peɪˈoʊti/;Lophophora williamsii/ləˈfɒfərəwɪliˈæmziaɪ/) is a small, spinelesscactus which containspsychoactive alkaloids,[2] particularlymescaline (see also:cactus alkaloids).[3]Peyote is a Spanish word derived from theNahuatlpeyōtl ([ˈpejoːt͡ɬ]), meaning "caterpillarcocoon", from a rootpeyōni, "to glisten".[4][5][6] Peyote is native toMexico and southwesternTexas. It is found primarily in theSierra Madre Occidental, theChihuahuan Desert and in thestates ofNayarit,Coahuila,Nuevo León,Tamaulipas, andSan Luis Potosí among scrub. It flowers from March to May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, withthigmotactic anthers (likeOpuntia).
Known for itspsychoactive properties when ingested, peyote has at least 5,500 years ofentheogenic andmedicinal use byindigenous North Americans.[7]
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The various species of the genusLophophora grow low to the ground and they often form groups with numerous, crowded shoots. The blue-green, yellow-green or sometimes reddish-green shoots are mostly flattened spheres with sunken shoot tips. They can reach heights of 2 to 7 centimeters (0.79 to 2.76 in) and diameters of 4 to 12 cm (1.6 to 4.7 in). There are often significant, vertical ribs consisting of low and rounded or hump-like bumps. From the cuspareoles arises a tuft of soft, yellowish or whitish woolly hairs. Spines are absent. Flowers are pink or white to slightly yellowish, sometimes reddish. They open during the day, are from 1 to 2.4 cm (0.39 to 0.94 in) long, and reach a diameter from 1 to 2.2 cm (0.39 to 0.87 in).
The cactus produces flowers sporadically; these are followed by small edible pink fruit. The club-shaped to elongated, fleshy fruits are bare and more or less rosy colored. At maturity, they are brownish-white and dry. The fruits do not burst open on their own and they are between 1.5 to 2 cm (0.59 to 0.79 in) long. They contain black, pear-shaped seeds that are 1 to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide. The seeds require hot and humid conditions to germinate. Peyote contains a large spectrum ofphenethylamine alkaloids.[2] The principal one is mescaline for which the content ofLophophora williamsii is about 0.4% fresh (undried) and 3–6% dried.[8]
French botanistCharles Antoine Lemaire described the species asEchinocactus williamsii in 1845. It was placed in the new genusLophophora in 1894 by American botanistJohn Merle Coulter.
L. williamsii is native to southernNorth America, mainly distributed inMexico. In the United States, it grows in SouthernTexas. In Mexico, it grows in thestates ofChihuahua,Coahuila,Nuevo León, andTamaulipas in the north toSan Luis Potosi andZacatecas.[9][10][11] It is primarily found at elevations of 100 to 1,500 m (330 to 4,920 ft) and exceptionally up to 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in theChihuahuan desert, but is also present in the milder climate of Tamaulipas. Its habitat is primarily in desert scrub, particularlythorn scrub in Tamaulipas. It is common on or nearlimestone hills.[12]
Peyote is extremely slow growing. Cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, sometimes taking less than three years to go from seedling to mature flowering adult. More rapid growth can be achieved by grafting peyote onto matureSan Pedro root stock. The top of the above-ground part of the cactus, the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons. These are cut above the roots and sometimes dried. When done properly, the top of the root forms a callus and the root does not rot. When poor harvesting techniques are used, however, the entire plant dies.[13] Currently in South Texas, peyote grows naturally but has been over-harvested, to the point that the state has listed it as anendangered species.[14] Cultivation is an important conservation tool for this particular species.[15] Promoting San Pedro as a Peyote substitute may act as an intervention to reduce Peyote consumption.[16]
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| Psychedelia |
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When used for itspsychoactive properties, common doses for pure mescaline range from roughly 200 to 400 mg. This translates to a dose of roughly 10 to 20 g of dried peyote buttons of average potency; however, potency varies considerably between samples, making it difficult to measure doses accurately without first extracting the mescaline. The concentration of mescaline is typically highest at the sides of the peyote button.[17] The effects last about 10 to 12 hours.[18] Peyote is reported to trigger rich visual or auditory effects (seesynesthesia) and spiritual or philosophical insights.[19][20]
In addition to psychoactive use, some Native American tribes use the plant infolk medicine. They employ peyote for varied ailments.[21] Although uncommon, use of peyote and mescaline has been associated with poisoning.[22] Peyote contains thealkaloid,hordenine (also called peyocactin).[23]
In 2005, researchers usedradiocarbon dating and alkaloid analysis to study two specimens of peyote buttons found inarchaeological digs from a site called Shumla Cave No. 5 on the Rio Grande inTexas. The results dated the specimens to between 3780 and 3660BCE. Alkaloid extraction yielded approximately 2% of the alkaloids including mescaline in both samples. This indicates that native North Americans were likely to have used peyote since at least 5500 years ago.[24]
Specimens from a burial cave in west centralCoahuila, Mexico have been similarly analyzed and dated to 810 to 1070 CE.[25]
From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by indigenous peoples, such as theHuichol[26] of northern Mexico and by various Native American tribes, native to or relocated to the Southern Plains states of present-dayOklahoma and Texas. Its usage was also recorded among various SouthwesternAthabaskan-language tribal groups. TheTonkawa, theMescalero, andLipan Apache were the source or first practitioners ofpeyote religion in the regions north of present-day Mexico.[27] They were also the principal group to introduce peyote to newly arrived migrants, such as theComanche andKiowa from the Northern Plains. The religious, ceremonial, and healing uses of peyote may date back over 2000 years.[28]
Under the auspices of what came to be known as theNative American Church, in the 19th century, American Indians in more widespread regions to the north began to use peyote in religious practices, as part of a revival of native spirituality. Its members refer to peyote as "the sacred medicine", and use it to combat spiritual, physical, and other social ills. Concerned about the drug's psychoactive effects, between the 1880s and 1930s, U.S. authorities attempted to ban Native American religious rituals involving peyote, including theGhost Dance. Today the Native American Church is one among several religious organizations to use peyote as part of its religious practice. Some users claim the drug connects them to God.[29]
Traditional Navajo belief or ceremonial practice did not mention the use of peyote before its introduction by the neighboringUtes. The Navajo Nation now has the most members of the Native American Church.[citation needed]
Since 1846, the officialMexican Pharmacopoeia recommended the use of peyote extract in “microdose” as a tonic for the heart.[30]
John Raleigh Briggs (1851–1907) was the first to draw scientific attention of the Western scientific world to peyote.[31]Louis Lewin describedAnhalonium lewinii in 1888.[32] British sexologistHavelock Ellis self experimented with it onGood Friday 1896, publishing details in 1898.[33]Arthur Heffter conducted self experiments on its effects in 1897.[34] Similarly,NorwegianethnographerCarl Sofus Lumholtz[35] studied and wrote about the use of peyote among the Indians of Mexico. Lumholtz also reported that, lacking other intoxicants,Texas Rangers captured by Union forces during theAmerican Civil War soaked peyote buttons in water and became "intoxicated with the liquid".[36]
A study published in 2007 found no evidence of long-term cognitive problems related to peyote use inNative American Church ceremonies, but researchers stressed their results may not apply to those who use peyote in other contexts.[37] A four-year large-scale study ofNavajo who regularly ingested peyote found only one case where peyote was associated with apsychotic break in an otherwise healthy person; other psychotic episodes were attributed to peyote use in conjunction with pre-existing substance abuse or mental health problems.[38] Later research found that those with pre-existing mental health issues are more likely to have adverse reactions to peyote.[39] Peyote use does not appear to be associated withhallucinogen persisting perception disorder (a.k.a. "flashbacks") after religious use.[40] Peyote also does not seem to be associated withphysical dependence, but some users may experiencepsychological dependence.[41]
Peyote can have strongemetic effects, and one death has been attributed toesophageal bleeding caused by vomiting after peyote ingestion in a Native American patient with a history of alcohol abuse.[42] Peyote is also known to cause potentially serious variations in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, andpupillary dilation.[43][22]
Research into theHuichol natives of central-western Mexico, who have taken peyote regularly for an estimated 1,500 years or more, found no evidence of chromosome damage in either men or women.[44]
According to a statement made byGertrude Bonnin in1916, a member of theSioux tribe, the use of Peyote had been the direct cause of death among 25Utes in last two years.[45]
TheWixarika religion consists of four principaldeities: Corn, Kayumarie (Blue Deer), Hikuri (Peyote), and the Eagle, all descended from their Sun God. Schaefer has interpreted this to mean that peyote is the soul of their religious culture and avisionarysacrament that opens a pathway to the other deities.[46]
Peyote is considered sacramental and sacred in the Native American Church, also known as Peyotism. It is used in rituals for "a closer understanding of the spiritual world"[47] and to commune with God and the spirits (including the deceased) in order to receive spiritual power, guidance, reproof, and healing. To many followers, peyote itself is personified as "Peyote Spirit", considered to be either God's equivalent for the Indians toJesus for mainstream Christians, or Jesus himself.[48]
Peyote is consumed during an all-night healing ceremony inside ahogan, a traditional Navajo building, or atipi. The ritual starts around 8 P.M Saturday, and includesprayer,singing, sacramental eating of peyote, water rites, andcontemplation. It concludes with a communion breakfast on Sunday morning.[48]
Mescaline is listed as a Schedule III controlled substance under the CanadianControlled Drugs and Substances Act, but peyote is specifically exempt.[49] Possession and use of peyote plants is legal.[50]
Non-drug uses of peyote in religious ceremonies by the Native American Church and its members is exempt from registration.[51] This law has been codified as astatute in theAmerican Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, and made part of thecommon law inPeyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Thornburgh, (5th Cir. 1991);[52] it is also inadministrative law at the21 CFR1307.31 which states for "Special Exempt Persons":
Section 1307.31 Native American Church. The listing of peyote as a controlled substance in Schedule I does not apply to the nondrug use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, and members of the Native American Church so using peyote are exempt from registration. Any person who manufactures peyote for or distributes peyote to the Native American Church, however, is required to obtain registration annually and to comply with all other requirements of law.
U.S. v. Boyll, 774 F.Supp. 1333 (D.N.M. 1991)[53] addresses this racial issue specifically and concludes:
For the reasons set out in this Memorandum Opinion andOrder, the Court holds that, pursuant to 21 C.F.R. § 1307.31(1990), the classification of peyote as a Schedule I controlledsubstance, see 21 U.S.C. § 812(c), Schedule I(c)(12), does notapply to the importation, possession or use of peyote for 'bonafide' ceremonial use by members of the Native American Church,regardless of race.
Following the passage of theAmerican Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 1994, United Statesfederal law (and manystate laws) protects theharvest,possession,consumption andcultivation of peyote as part of "bona fide religious ceremonies" the federal statute is the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, codified at42 U.S.C. § 1996a, "Traditional Indian religious use of the peyote sacrament", exempting only use by Native American persons. US v. Boyll expanded permitted use to all persons engaged in traditional Indian religious use, regardless of race. All US states with the exception of Idaho, Utah, and Texas allow usage by non-native, non-enrolled persons in the context of ceremonies of theNative American Church. Some states such as Arizona additionally exempt any general bona fide religious activity or spiritual intent. US jurisdictions enacted these specific statutory exemptions in reaction to theUS Supreme Court's decision inEmployment Division v. Smith,494 U.S.872 (1990), which held that laws prohibiting the use of peyote that do not specifically exempt religious use nevertheless do not violate theFree Exercise Clause of theFirst Amendment. Though use in Native American Church ceremonies or traditional Indian religious use, regardless of race, is legal under US federal law and additional uses are legal under some state laws, peyote is listed by the United States DEA as aSchedule I controlled substance.[54]
The US military prohibits inductees from enlistment for prior drug usage, however past usage of peyote is permissible if found to be used in accordance with Native American cultural practices.[55]
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