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Peyote cacti grow very slowly and last up to 30 years from seedling to flowering. Blue-green, yellow-green or sometimes red-green shoots are usually flattened bulbs with recessed bud tips without sharp spines. They can reach heights from 2 to 7 cm and diameters from 4 to 12 cm, and can be found in groups of up to 1 m. Due to its size, the trade in peyote is currently not a significant problem worldwide. There are often significant vertical ribs consisting of low, rounded or hump-shaped bumps/crowns.

However, indigenous peoples today, such as the Huichol Indians of Mexico and members of many tribes in the United States and Canada who belong to the Native American Church, understand peyote as a sacred plant that helps to talk to God and follow a good way of life. It is also known among wise people to peyote that it is a medicine for body and soul. Let’s look at the history of peyote in the lives of indigenous peoples and how this sacred succulent has changed the perceptions of Westerners who have studied peyote, buy Peyote consumed it and listened to the knowledge it is meant to teach. The hallucinogenic plant peyote, native to Mexico, has been the subject of considerable interest and controversy in recent years. Increasingly popular with curious outsiders, human rights activists have pointed out that peyote is sacred to native Huichols and that the demand of trippy travelers puts the plant at risk. The recreational use of peyote is illegal in the United States, so its use there is also an inevitable cause of controversy.

However, as natives living in 2011, we must support ethical research into how native plants are used as medicine, for posterity, and ensure that our use as such is protected by law. As living representatives of our ancestors, it is our responsibility to preserve and protect traditional knowledge in all its forms. Indigenous peoples are now in a position to decide whether or not to disseminate such knowledge and to ensure that it is used appropriately.

In general, a trip to peyote is an extremely unpredictable and potentially dangerous experience. That said, there is growing evidence that peyote has beneficial therapeutic uses in the treatment of drug addiction, alcoholism, depression and anxiety. Mescaline, the alkaloid found in peyote, is known to modulate neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in the brain, both of which play an essential role in regulating pleasure.

Unfortunately, people often feel that because peyote is natural, it is safe. The effects of peyote are usually felt within 30 minutes to an hour after consumption. For most, the experience begins with increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, and some form of physiological upset, such as nausea, fullness in the stomach, sweating, and/or chills. These physical symptoms can last up to two hours, before they dissolve into a sense of calm and acceptance.

The median lethal doses observed in multi-species studies for mescaline are shown in Table 2. The dog appears to be the most sensitive species and in humans the lowest toxic dose has been extrapolated from data obtained in laboratory animals at 2500 μg/kg (i.e.) with reported effects of euphoria, distorted perceptions and hallucinations. Given the human dose range reported above, it would be very difficult to consume enough mescaline to cause death. Severe effects of taking peyote have only rarely been described and include Mallory-Weiss cracks from severe vomiting and botulism from ingestion of improperly stored peyote buds. This article attempted to completely review the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of mescaline, focusing on its possible therapeutic application, as hallucinogens appear to have favorable toxicological profiles for this purpose.