Peyote
Peyote in the wild
Conservation status
Apparently Secure (TNC)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Cactaceae Genus: Lophophora Species: L. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future The NatureServe conservation status system was developed by NatureServe, The Nature Conservancy (TNC and the Natural Heritage Network as a ranking of the Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There Caryophyllales is an order of Flowering plants that includes the cacti, carnations Amaranths Ice plants and most A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas Lophophora ( John M Coulter, 1894) is a Genus of spineless button-like cacti native to the southwestern United States williamsii
Binomial name
Lophophora williamsii (Lem. ) J. Coult.

Lophophora williamsii (pronounced /loʊˈfɒfərə wɪlˈjæmsiaɪ/, lō-fof′ŏ-ră will-yăm′sē-ī), better known by its common name Peyote, but also sometimes called Mescal Button or the Divine Cactus, is a small, spineless cactus whose native region extends from the southwestern United States, specifically in the southwestern part of Texas, through central Mexico. A cactus (plural cacti) is any member of the Spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas The Southwestern area of the United States could be defined as the states west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37 Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. They are found primarily in the Chihuahuan desert and in the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi amongst scrub, especially when limestone is present in the soil. The Chihuahuan Desert is a Desert that straddles the US-Mexico border. Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states of Mexico, it is located in the northeast San Luis Potosí is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's capital city

The cactus is well known for its psychoactive alkaloids and among these mescaline in particular. A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a Chemical substance that acts primarily upon the Central nervous system where it alters Brain This article is about the chemical compounds alkaloids For the Pharmaceutical company in the Republic of Macedonia see Alkaloid (company. Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class It is currently used world wide mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and a supplement to various transcendence practices including in meditation, psychonautics, and psychedelic psychotherapy. Recreational drug use is the use of Psychoactive drugs for Recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes An entheogen, in the strictest sense is a Psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic (or entheogenic) context Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness A psychonaut (from the Greek ψυχοναύτης meaning literally a sailor of the mind/soul is a person who uses Altered states of consciousness, intentionally Psychedelic therapy refers to therapeutic practices involving the use of Psychedelic drugs particularly serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD, Psilocin Peyote has a history of ritual religious and medicinal use among certain indigenous Americans back thousands of years. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The plant's pink flowers emerge from March through May, and in exceptional cases as late as September.

Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Uses 4 History 5 Popular culture 6 Legality 6.1 United States 6.2 Canada 6.3 International 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

Description

The cactus flowers occur sporadically, producing small pink fruit, which can be delectable and bitter-sweet-tasting when eaten. The seeds are small and black, requiring hot and humid conditions to germinate. Peyote contains a large spectrum of phenethylamine alkaloids, the principal of which is mescaline. Phenethylamine, or β -phenylethylamine or 2-phenylethylamine is an Alkaloid and Monoamine. This article is about the chemical compounds alkaloids For the Pharmaceutical company in the Republic of Macedonia see Alkaloid (company. Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class The mescaline content of Lophophora williamsii is about 0. 4% fresh^[2] (undried) and 3-6% dried. ^[2] All Lophophora species are extremely slow growing, often taking three years to reach its root). Lophophora ( John M Coulter, 1894) is a Genus of spineless button-like cacti native to the southwestern United States Human cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, usually taking less than three years to go from seedling to mature flowering adult. More rapid growth can be achieved by grafting Peyote onto mature San Pedro root stock to expedite the age at which the Peyote flowers.

The top of the cactus that grows above ground, also referred to as the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons that are cut above the roots and sometimes dried. When done properly, the top of the root will callous as to not allow the Peyote root to rot. When poor harvesting techniques are used, however, the root is damaged and the entire plant dies. This is the current situation in South Texas where Peyote grows naturally, but has been over-harvested to the point of listing as endangered species. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation The buttons are generally chewed, or boiled in water to produce a psychoactive tea. The resulting infusion is extremely bitter to some people and, in most cases, the partaker experiences a high degree of nausea before the onset of the psychoactive effects. An infusion is the outcome of steeping plants with a desired flavour in Water or oil. Nausea ( Latin: Nausea, Greek:, " Sea-sickness " also called wamble) is the sensation of unease and discomfort

Distribution and habitat

L. williamsii is native in southern North America where it is only found in the extreme southwest of the US in the state of Texas, as well as much of northern Mexico. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. It is primarily found at elevations of 100 to 1500 m and exceptionally up to 1900 metres in the Chihuahuan desert, but is also present in the more mild climate of the state of Tamaulipas. The Chihuahuan Desert is a Desert that straddles the US-Mexico border. Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states of Mexico, it is located in the northeast Altogether, peyote can be found in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in the north to San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas in the south. Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of Mexico 's 31 component states. Nuevo León ( Spanish for "New León " after the former kingdom in Spain) is a state located in northeastern Mexico. Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states of Mexico, it is located in the northeast San Luis Potosí is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's capital city Zacatecas is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. It is located in the north-central region and it is bounded to the northwest by Durango Its habitat is primarily in desert scrub, particularly thorn scrub in Tamaulipas, and it is most common on or near limestone hills. ^[3]

Uses

The effective dose for mescaline is about 300 to 500 mg (equivalent to roughly 5 grams of dried peyote) and the effects last about 10 to 12 hours. Chemical structure refers to Molecular geometry, Electronic structure and Crystal structure. Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class For other uses of the words gram or gramme see Gram (disambiguation. When combined with appropriate set and setting, peyote is reported to trigger states of deep introspection and insight that have been described as being of a metaphysical or spiritual nature. Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly Psychedelic drug experiences one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality At times, these can be accompanied by rich visual or auditory effects (see synesthesia). Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae)—from the Ancient Greek (syn meaning "with"

In addition to psychoactive properties, Native Americans used the plant for its curative properties as well. They employed peyote for treating such varied ailments as toothache, pain in childbirth, fever, breast pain, skin diseases, rheumatism, diabetes, colds, and blindness. The U. S. Dispensatory lists peyote under the name Anhalonium and states it can be used in various preparations for neurasthenia, hysteria and asthma. Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, Anxiety, Headache Hysteria in its colloquial use describes a state of Mind, one of unmanageable Fear or Emotional excesses Screening for antimicrobial activity of peyote extracts in various solvents showed positive microbial inhibition. The principle antibiotic agent, a water-soluble crystalline substance separated from an ethanol extract of the plant, was given the name peyocactin. Hordenine (N N-Dimethyl-hydroxyphenylethylamine is a Phenylethylamine Alkaloid with antibacterial and Antibiotic properties ^[4]

In the same study, mice were used for preliminary animal toxicity tests and protection studies to determine the degree of the inhibitory action of peyocactin against normally fatal infections with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus (ˌstæfɨləˈkɒkəs ˈɔriəs literally "Golden Cluster Seed" and also known as golden staph) is the most common cause of In every case, the mice that had been given a peyocactin extract survived, while those in the control group died within 60 hours after infection. It proved effective against 18 strains of penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, several other bacteria, and a fungus. ^[4]

The flesh may also be applied topically to promote milk production (see galactogogue). A galactogogue is a substance which is used to increase the production of Milk in humans and other animals

History

Two specimens of peyote buttons found in archaeological digs from a site called Shumla Cave No. 5 on the Rio Grande in Texas were examined with radiocarbon dating and alkaloid analysis in 2005. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The results dated the specimens to 3780 to 3660 BC, while 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 five and a half thousand years ago. ^[5] Specimens from a burial cave in west central Coahuila, Mexico have been similarly analysed and dated to 810 to 1070 AD. Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of Mexico 's 31 component states. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. ^[6]

From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by indigenous peoples, such as the Huichol of northern Mexico and by various Native American Tribal Groups, native to or relocated to the Southern Plains States of Oklahoma and Texas. The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical The Huichol or Wixáritari are an indigenous ethnic group of western central Mexico, living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of Its usage has also been recorded among various Southwestern Athabaskan tribal groups, with the Mescalero and Kiowa (or "Plains Apache") having the dubious honor of being named or identified as the source or initial practitioners of the Peyote religion in the regions north of present-day Mexico. They are also the principal group that introduced peyote to newly arrived Northern Plains migrants, the Comanche and Kiowa. The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose range (the Comancheria) consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado The Kiowa (ˈkaɪoʊwə are a nation of American Indians who migrated from what is now Canada to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma.

Peyote and its associated religion, however, are fairly recent in terms of usage and practice among the Navajo in the Southwestern United States. Their acquisition of the peyote religion and use of peyote can be firmly dated to the early 20th Century. There is no mention of peyote in traditional Navajo belief or ceremonial practice prior to its introduction by the neighboring Utes. To date, however, The Navajo Nation holds the largest membership within the confines of the Native American Church. As a result of such a large percentage, some estimate as much as 20% or higher of the Navajo populace are practitioners, and there is a very real detrimental influx and change taking place with regard to the traditional ceremonial practices and beliefs of the Navajo in the 21st Century.

There is documented evidence of the religious, ceremonial, and healing uses of peyote dating back over 20,000 years. The tradition began to spread northward as part of a revival of native spirituality under the auspices of what came to be known as the Native American Church, whose members refer to peyote as "the sacred medicine", and use it to combat alcoholism and spiritual, physical, and other social ills. Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion originated in the U Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions Between the 1880s and 1930s, U. S. authorities attempted to ban Native American religious rituals involving peyote, including the Ghost Dance. Noted in historical accounts as the Ghost Dance of 1890 the Ghost Dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems The Native American Church is one among several religious organizations that use peyote as part of their religious practice.

A resurgence of interest in the use of peyote was spawned in the 1970s by very detailed accounts of its use, properties, and effects in the early works of writer Carlos Castaneda. Carlos Castaneda (December 25 1925 – April 27 1998 was a Peruvian born American author Don Juan Matus, the name of Castaneda's teacher in the use of peyote, used the name "Mescalito" to refer to an entity that purportedly can be sensed by those using peyote to gain insight in how to live one's life well, but only if Mescalito accepted the user. Don Juan Matus is a major character in the series of books on Native shamanism by Carlos Castaneda. Later works of Castaneda asserted that the use of such psychotropic substances was not necessary to achieve heightened awareness, although his teacher advised that its use was beneficial in helping to free some people's minds. A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a Chemical substance that acts primarily upon the Central nervous system where it alters Brain

Popular culture

Many authors, especially those of the Beat Generation, wrote about their experiences with peyote, or were otherwise influenced by the plant. Ken Kesey, for example, while working as a night watchman at a psychiatric ward, was inspired to write his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Kenneth Elton Kesey ( September 17, 1935 &ndash November 10, 2001) was an American Author, best known for his major novels One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962 is a Novel written by Ken Kesey. One night while he was on the job under the influence of peyote he thought up Chief Bromden, who would turn out to be the central character in the novel, described by Tom Wolfe as "a full-blown Indian -- Chief Broom -- the solution, the whole mothering key, to the novel". Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr (born March 2, 1931 in Richmond, Virginia) known as Tom Wolfe, is a Best-selling ^[7] Another example is from William S. Burroughs' semi-autobiographical novel Queer. William Seward Burroughs II ( – ˈbʌroʊz was an American Novelist, Essayist, Social critic, painter and Spoken word Queer is the title of an early Short novel (written 1951&ndash1953 published 1985 by William S The protagonist and his unrequited lover are setting out to search the Amazon jungle for yage, another psychedelic drug, prompting the protagonist to recount his idiosyncratic struggles with the peyote experience. This entry focuses on the Ayahuasca brew for information on the vine of the same name see Banisteriopsis caapi Ayahuasca ^[8] Also, an image of the plant, and by extension its possible usage, can be seen in the gonzo fist symbol attributed to Hunter S. Thompson. "Gonzo" redirects here For other uses see Gonzo (disambiguation Gonzo journalism is a style of Journalism which is written Hunter Stockton Thompson ( July 18, 1937 &ndash February 20, 2005) was an American Journalist and Author, most Hunter S Thompson also recounts experiences with mescaline, most notably in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'

The image of the peyote plant has made its way into other media as well. The Eagles song "Bitter Creek" contains the line, "Oh peyote/She tried to show me/You know there ain't no cause to weep/at Bitter Creek. " In the movie, Zoolander, hippie model Hansel talks about his psychedelic experience with peyote, falling off a mountain, and later realizing he had never even been to such a place. Zoolander is a 2001 Comedy film directed by Ben Stiller. The film is based on a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and In the movie "Young Guns" the band of outlaws led by Billy the Kid while hiding from a pursuing posse consumed a peyote drink prepared by their native companion. Young Guns is a 1988 action / Western film first made by Morgan Creek Productions and released by 20th Century Fox (in North They then proceeded through a hostile Indian village under the influence. The Indians all looked at them a bit bemused and Billy asks "Why ain't they killing us?"

Legality

United States

United States federal law (and many state laws) protects the harvest, possession, consumption and cultivation of peyote as part of "bonafide religious ceremonies" (the federal statute is 42 USC §1996a, "Traditional Indian religious use of the peyote sacrament," exempting only Native American use, while some state laws exempt any general "bonafide religious activity"). Federal law is the body of Law created by the Federal government of a country State law in the United States, is the Law of each separate U In Agriculture, the harvest is the process of Gathering mature crops from the fields Reaping is the cutting of Grain In law possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the Soil by Ploughing ripping or turning it American jurisdictions enacted these specific statutory exemptions in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Employment 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 the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Employment Division v Smith, 494 US 872 ( 1990) is a United States Supreme Court case that determined that the state could deny unemployment The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress Peyote is listed by the United States DEA as a Schedule I controlled substance. Although many American jurisdictions specifically allow religious use of peyote, religious or therapeutic use not under the aegis of the Native American Church has often been targeted by local law enforcement agencies, and non-natives attempting to establish spiritual centers based on the consumption of peyote as a sacrament or as medicine, such as the Peyote Foundation in Arizona, have been prosecuted. Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion originated in the U The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The Peyote Way Church of God [1] in Arizona is a spiritual center that welcomes all races to Peyotism.

Canada

Mescaline is listed as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but peyote is specifically exempt. Mescaline or 345-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally-occurring Psychedelic Alkaloid of the Phenethylamine class The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is Canada 's federal drug control statute [2]

International

Article 32 of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances allows nations to exempt certain traditional uses of peyote from prohibition:

A State on whose territory there are plants growing wild which contain psychotropic substances from among those in Schedule I and which are traditionally used by certain small, clearly determined groups in magical or religious rites, may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, make reservations concerning these plants, in respect of the provisions of article 7, except for the provisions relating to international trade. The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is a United Nations Treaty designed to control Psychoactive drugs such as Amphetamines Barbiturates

See also

• Entheogen
• The Doors of Perception, by Aldous Huxley
• Mescaline

References

• Shaman Golden Eagle Red Hawk, Choctaw Nation Mississippi River Clan

Further reading

Calabrese, Joseph D. "The Therapeutic Use of Peyote in the Native American Church" Chapter 3 in Vol. 1 of Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogens as Treatments Michael J. Winkelman and Thomas B. Roberts (editors) (2007). Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.

Feeney, Kevin. "The Legal Basis for Religious Peyote Use. " Chapter 13 in Vol 1 of Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogens as Treatments Michael J. Winkelman and Thomas B. Roberts (editors) (2007). Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.

External links

• The Vaults of Erowid: Peyote
• The cultivation of peyote
• Peyote, Wine and the First Amendment by Douglas Laycock
• Peyote Won't Rot Your Brain
• Notes on growing Lophophora
• Growing Lophophora williamsii (Plot55.com)
• Range Maps and Habitat photos of Lophophora
• Peyote news page - Alcohol and Drugs History Society
• Botany of Peyote
• Discover Magazine -- Peyote on the Brain
• American Ethnography -- Some early ethnographic work on peyote religion
• Texas' Peyote Hunters Struggle to Find a Vanishing, Holy Crop
• Mescaline on the Mexican Border
• USDA: NRCS Plants Profile Lophophora williamsii

The Alcohol and Drugs History Society is a scholarly organization whose members study the history of a variety of illegal regulated and unregulated Drugs such as Opium

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