Peyote is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled drug and is illegal for use in the United States. In 1994, an amendment to the American Indian Religious Act clearly declared the legal status of this plant. This was mainly due to the religious importance of the plant in Native American culture. Peyote is a small round cactus. It has no spines, but has unique characteristics that make it a particularly resistant species. When you cut the so-called “button” used in ceremonies, the root has the ability to slowly repel a new button. Nevertheless, wild peyote is in retreat. According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there has been a decline of at least 30% over the past 20 years. People may begin to feel the effects of the medication (as well as physical discomfort, including nausea, sweating, and chills) within 30 minutes of taking peyote. The effects can last up to two hours before reaching a peak. Tourists can have an incredible psychedelic experience, but locals say that overexploitation of tourists threatens the supply of peyote and, as a result, also endangers the religious traditions of the Huichols who depend so heavily on the sacred plant.
Once the plant has been harvested, it may take a decade or more for it to regenerate and bear fruit. The peyote cactus grows primarily in Mexico and the southern United States, especially in the southwestern regions of the United States, including the Greater Sonoran Desert. It is found in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua Desert, Nayarit, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí. Persistent psychosis and HPPD are rare in people who use peyote, but they can occur. Conditions can begin without warning and have also been reported after a single exposure to peyote. Beyond religious ceremonies, peyote has a long history as a medicine in these cultures. People sometimes use cacti to help with fever, skin problems, blindness, colds, diabetes, and pain. The U.S. government does not recognize any of the medical claims related to peyote. Remember: Montana law no longer requires testing for total mold levels. If the bud actually came from Montana and was tested in a state lab, it could very well have passed the legal exam.
Encouraging, isn`t it? The exception has been a recurring and controversial issue for years, although case law has revealed that even members of the Native American Church who do not have Native American ancestry can legally use peyote in this context. Possible negative effects of peyote medications on the brain and mental effects are as follows: Although more research is needed to determine the specific withdrawal symptoms associated with peyote, the drug is known to cause psychological withdrawal symptoms such as depression or dysphoria. The addictive potential of peyote is very low, and although heavy users can develop a tolerance, the addiction is barely noticeable. What is considered dangerous is a persistent perceptual disorder to hallucinogens that causes people to experience flashbacks of peyote trips long after the effects have worn off. Peyote consumption in the rest of the U.S. population is between 1% and 2%. However, most data sources that quantify drug use exclude peyote, making it difficult to estimate the total extent of use. When aided by a healer or “street worker” (similar to a priest or minister), members use peyote to facilitate communication with the Great Spirit (also called the Creator). “My father was still alive and had returned to Mirando. He sold peyote for about 18 years. I came back here and applied for my licence and started selling peyote.
I`ve been doing it ever since,” Johnson says. The recreational use of peyote drugs is still illegal in the United States under all circumstances. Under U.S. federal law, planting, consuming, and possessing peyote is only legal if it is intended for religious or ceremonial purposes by the Native American Church and/or a member of the Native American Church. These days, peyote is back in the news, in part because the plant (along with magic mushrooms) was decriminalized in June 2019 in Oakland, California, the second city in the United States to do so after Denver, Colorado. Proponents say the new status of cacti will relieve law enforcement of pursuing more serious questions and potentially allow for more research into the psychotropic effects of peyote, which may help people suffering from mental and emotional distress or people addicted to alcohol or drugs. But before we look at the medicinal side, let`s first find out what the plant is. Apart from these effects, peyote is not really considered a physically addictive drug. Like magic mushrooms, users only take the drug occasionally, often as part of a spiritual quest.
But as with all psychotropic substances, some mental health experts worry that peyote may be psychologically addictive in some users. “We`re harvesting the shrinking area of the planet that is actually home to wild peyote,” says Martin Terry, professor of botany at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. In short, the effects of peyote include those that would produce dopamine and norepinephrine at a higher dose, euphoria, brain excitement, and altered mental state. With the use of this drug, the brain becomes desensitized to the effects of mescaline and causes tolerance. As a result, the person increasingly needs the drug to achieve the desired effects. In some states, people can legally attend a peyote meeting or ceremony if the organization performing the ceremony is affiliated with the Native American Church. Maybe you`ll be more successful if you go to Mexico. The Mexican city of Real de Catorce, home to many Huichols, receives visitors from all over the world every year. Many come simply to find and experience the peyote that grows in the bush around the area. Tourists hire guides to take them into the desert, where they search, sometimes for hours, hoping to find peyote buds to consume on the spot. It`s not easy access to peyote.
Of course, you can roam the glowing desert landscape in search of the few remaining plants in South Texas. Or you can participate in a “spiritual walk” organized by Peyote Way Church of God, located in a remote part of the Arizona desert. After donating $400, Church leaders prepare you for your experience, which begins with a 24-hour fast and ends with peyote tea. However, the mescaline in peyote is known to be potentially harmful to fetal development. If you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant, you should not use peyote. According to the National Institute on Substance Abuse, not much is known about the long-term effects of hallucinogens, including peyote. However, it is known that repeated or long-term use of hallucinogens can have the following effects: “The most important document a person must have is what we call the Indian blood certificate, because it will show you who you are, who your parents are, and your blood quarter; You have to be at least a quarter [American] Indian to buy peyote in the state of Texas, or possess peyote in the state of Texas,” Johnson says. People who use peyote in a ceremonial sense and use it, say, once a month or so, which means how ceremonies are distributed, actually – if used correctly, as it has always been used – ceremonial – peyote is completely safe. And yet, we have governments that include it in things like Schedule I for which there`s no evidence of adverse effects,” Terry says. Like other psychedelics, peyote is not necessarily addictive when used sparingly and, in some cases, can be used to treat addiction and substance use.
However, people who use peyote are more likely to develop a high tolerance, which requires the use of more and more medication to achieve the same effects. But Terry says this attitude toward peyote isn`t new. Ecologically, South Texas is known as the bush – it is home to many thorny shrubs, trees and palms. Its humid climate makes it similar to parts of northern Mexico, and it`s only in these two places that you`ll find a controversial member of the cactus family: Peyote – genus Lophophora – is a small cactus native to the Rio Grande Valley. It contains a psychoactive substance known as mescaline and has been used for centuries by indigenous cultures as a religious sacrament in ceremonies. But the sale is banned in all states except the one where it grows: Texas. “I believe this is the only way for a certain group of people to get closer to God, and there is no other way. This religion could never continue without this peyote,” Mooney says.
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