1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Vogeba here. For centuries, people's in Central America 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: and the North American Southwest have used peyote, a hallucinogetic cactus, 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: for certain religious ceremonies and rituals, and during the psychedelics 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: infused days of the nineteen sixties, peyote found a new 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: audience among counterculture hippies seeking a back to nature lifestyle. 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: These days, peyote is in the news again, in part 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: because the plant, along with hallucinogenic mushrooms, was decriminalized in Oakland, California, 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: in June of nineteen, the second city in the US 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: to do so after Denver, Colorado. Advocates say the cactuses 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: new status will free up law enforcement to pursue more 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: serious matters and potentially allow for more research into payotes 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: physical and psychological effects, which may help people with mental 14 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,959 Speaker 1: health disorders or substance misuse disorders. But before we look 15 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: at its medicinal side, let's first find out what the 16 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: plant is all about. Payote taxonomical name Lufaphora william z I. 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: Peyote is a small cactus that grows mostly underground only 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: its top is visible. This is called the button or crown, 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: and it ranges in size from roughly that of a 20 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: ping pong ball to a baseball. Both slightly flattened and bulbous, 21 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: they're actually super cute and look like little bluish green 22 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: steam buns. Peyote is a spineless, slow growing cactus one 23 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: that may take years to reach flowering maturity in the 24 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: deserts of South Texas and northern Mexico. As they grow, 25 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: the cacti produced a range of compounds called enetyl amine alkaloids, 26 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: some of which have a distinctive hallucinogenic effect on humans. 27 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: Once harvested, the crowns can be eaten, brewed as a tea, 28 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: or dried and crushed into a powder, which can then 29 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,279 Speaker 1: be loaded into capsules. Users may also smoke the dried version. 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: The primary active ingredient is mescaline, a powerful drug that 31 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: the United States categorizes as a Schedule one substance, making 32 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: it mostly illegal to possess or consume. Interestingly, the mescaline 33 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: causes a severe reaction in animals, which deters them from 34 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: eating it, providing protection for this cactus with no spines, 35 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: but as with many plants, that developed chemical deterrence to 36 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: being eaten by mammals. Some humans have decided that they 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: enjoy the effect flavor compounds that taste bitter or spicy, 38 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: or thought to have developed for the same reasons. Some 39 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: indigenous people in parts of northern Central America revere peyote 40 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: is a way to accentuate their spiritual ceremonies. Native Americans 41 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: may gather around a fire and share peyote as a 42 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: shaman or ceremonial leader chance and sings, guiding participants through 43 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: the experience, which may last ten hours or longer. In Mexico, 44 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: the Uhe tool or Weraritari people may set out on 45 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: peyote pilgrimages throughout the desert several times a year, stopping 46 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: along the way to take more peyote. The traditional belief 47 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: is that the experience opens channels to their gods, and 48 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: I hope I said we atari correctly. I couldn't find 49 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: a good pronunciation. I did try. Beyond religious ceremonies, peyote 50 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: has a long history as medicine in these cultures. People 51 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:57,239 Speaker 1: sometimes use the cacti to help with fever, skin problems, blindness, colds, diabetes, 52 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: and pain. The u s government does not reckoning eyes 53 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: any of the medicinal claims made regarding payoty, and given 54 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: its illegality, research into those medical claims has thus far 55 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: been limited. Paoty ingestion was prohibited in nineteen seventy when 56 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: the Controlled Substance Act was passed by Congress, although the 57 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: Native American Church was exempt from this law. In nineteen 58 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: seventy six, Alan Bernbaum, founder of his own Native American 59 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:22,679 Speaker 1: Church of New York, challenged the status quo by insisting 60 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 1: that the Drug Enforcement Administration or d e A quote 61 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: exempt the use of all psychedelic drugs and religious ceremonies 62 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: of all churches that believe that psychedelic drugs are deities. 63 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: When the d e A refused, he sued. The Supreme 64 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: Court sided with him. Laws regarding payoty vary in other nations. 65 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: For example, it's legal in Canada, but only if you're 66 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: using the plant for religious reasons, not for recreational purposes, 67 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: and in the United Kingdom it's legal to grow payote, 68 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: but not to prepare it for consumption. In Mexico, it's 69 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: illegal to consume payote or harvest the wild variety because 70 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: it's endangered, but there's again an exception for religious purposes. 71 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: Peyote works by interacting with the neurotransmitter serotonin in your 72 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: brain to alter your thinking and perception. Because potency varies 73 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: from plant to plant, it's difficult to dose the drug 74 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: with any real accuracy. Those who eat peyote cacti or 75 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: drink its tea report a bitter taste, one so overwhelming 76 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: that many people become nauseated and wind up vomiting, sometimes violently. 77 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: As the drug takes hold, people may see brighter colors 78 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: or hear louder sounds, or lose track of time or place. 79 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: They could experience euphoria, detachment, allusions, or visual distortions. As 80 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: to whether they have a good trip or a bad 81 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: trip can depend on the expectations of the users and 82 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: the setting. Is it taking place in a church, a nightclub, 83 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: or a doctor's office. If the trip goes badly, mood swings, paranoia, 84 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: or panic may occur. Other side effects may include dry mouth, headaches, 85 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: increased heart rate, and impaired motor skills. Peyote isn't generally 86 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: regarded as a physically addictive drug, like hallucinogenic mushrooms. Many 87 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: users take the drug only occasionally and often as part 88 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: of a spiritual experience, but as with all mind altering substances, 89 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: some mental health experts express concerns the peyote may produce 90 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: psychological dependency in some users. Although most Native cultures frown 91 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: on recreational use, many curious people outside of Native American 92 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: churches seek payote, sometimes simply as a psychedelic or perhaps 93 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: as part of what they see as a personal spiritual journey. 94 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: There is an industry of churches and guides who will 95 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 1: help tourists find an take peyote, but over harvesting from 96 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: tourism is threatening the payote supply, and as a result, 97 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: is also imperiling which hold religious traditions which rely so 98 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: heavily on the sacred plant. Once the plant has been harvested, 99 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: it may take a decade or more for it to 100 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: regenerate and produce mature crowns. In Texas, only a handful 101 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: of peyote harvesters called peyotheros can legally harvest the cacti 102 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: and then sell them to the Native American church. The 103 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: potheros leaves land in the tiny patch of Texas where 104 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: the cacti is found, hoping to find enough of the 105 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: prized plant to make a living. It grows in less 106 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,719 Speaker 1: than one percent of the state by area, a swath 107 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: roughly the size of Rhode Island, or about one thousand, 108 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty square miles. That's around thirty square 109 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: kilometers for a metric fronts. Today's episode was written by 110 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clain. Brain Stuff is 111 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works. For more 112 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 1: in this and lots of other spiritual topics, visit our 113 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: home planet, how stuff Works dot com and for more 114 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 115 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.