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Peyote: The psychedelic cactus of Mexico

IndependentCo

From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by indigenous peoples in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States as a part of their religious rites.

Peyote is a small, spineless cactus native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, known scientifically as Lophophora williamsii. It’s prohibited in Mexico. The cactus grows to a height of 2 to 7 cm and a diameter of 4 to 12 cm, with the part above ground called the “corona.” This corona consists of disk-shaped sections that contain mescaline, a psychoactive compound.

Peyote flowers, which can be white, pink, slightly yellow, or reddish, bloom during the day and measure 1 to 2.4 cm in length and 1 to 2.2 cm in diameter. After flowering, small pink fruits appear, which turn brownish-white when dried. These fruits are fleshy and contain black, pear-shaped seeds that are about 1 to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide. Peyote has a bitter taste.

The cactus thrives in limestone soils and thorny desert scrub at altitudes between 100 to 1,500 meters above sea level, which helps protect it from predators. Peyote grows very slowly, taking over 30 years to mature and flower. Within its genus, L. williamsii has the highest concentration of mescaline.

The oldest peyote plants have the highest mescaline content, which varies from 0.7% to 3.5% by weight, depending on environmental conditions and soil quality. Mescaline induces a psychedelic state comparable to those produced by LSD and psilocybin, but with unique characteristics. Subjective effects may include altered thinking processes, an altered sense of time and self-awareness, and closed- and open-eye visual phenomena.

Common effects during mescaline use may include:

• Visual hallucinations and radically altered states of consciousness (psychedelic experience)
• Open and closed eye visualizations
• Euphoria
• Dream-like state
• Altered body image
• Slowed passage of time
• Altered perception of space
• Laughter
• Mixing of senses (synesthesia, such as “seeing a sound” or “hearing colors”)
• Pupil dilation

Side effects or risks of mescaline use may include:

• Anxiety, fear
• Racing heart beat (tachycardia)
• Increased blood pressure
• dizziness
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Elevated body temperature
• Excessive sweating
• Tremors
• Intense nausea, vomiting
• Headache
• Sccidental injury
• Psychosis, panic or paranoia
• Seizures
• Amnesia (loss of memory)
• Posthallucinogen perceptual disorder (flashbacks)
• Rarely, suicidal thoughts or actions

Like most psychedelic hallucinogens, mescaline is not physically addictive; however, it can cause tolerance meaning higher doses are need to achieve the same hallucinogenic effect. Mescaline-containing cacti can induce severe vomiting and nausea, which is an important part to traditional Native-American or Shaman ceremonies and is considered a cleansing ritual and a spiritual aid.

San Luis Potosi Desert Highlands, Mexico — A detail of Peyote, a succulent plant belonging to the Cactaceae family that grows in the desert areas of the state of San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico. Used for medicinal purposes since the time of the Aztec indigenous peoples and considered a sacred plant, Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is famous for its exceptional hallucinogenic properties and for its psychotropic effects, thanks to the strong presence of alkaloids and in particular of mescaline.