Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is the famous source of the hallucinogen called mescaline.
Native to the deserts of Mexico and southwestern Texas, it has a long history of ritualistic and medicinal use by indigenous North Americans and is now used worldwide.
It is a low-growing cactus that forms little mounds with its crowded shoots. It is very slow growing and today is overharvested in South Texas to the point it has been listed as an endangered species.
The buttons are usually chewed directly or boiled for its psychoactive effect.
The religious, medicinal and ceremonial uses of peyote have been traced back thousands of years and today it is used in more widespread groups among the Native American Church.
The US tried to ban Peyote use during Native American rituals but its use has been protected as part of ceremonial use through the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 1994.
An international study in 452 people in non-clinical settings on mescaline found beneficial effects various mental illnesses, such as anxiety (80%), depression (86%), post-traumatic stress disorder (76%) and alcohol (68%) and drug dependency (58%).
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