A Note on the Safety of Peyote when Used Religiously. by Matthew
J. Baggot Note: this essay was originally posted to the
alt.drugs newsgroup as part of an informal discussion on past
mescaline research. Although it has been reorganized and
expanded by the author for its inclusion in the Council on
Spiritual Practices web site (www.csp.org), it is still meant as
an informal note rather than an exhaustive literature survey.
Among the psychedelic drugs, mescaline is perhaps the best
understood. It was the first psychedelic to be isolated and
synthesized by scientists. Its metabolism and biochemistry have
been extensively studied in human and non-human animals. As the
main psychoactive component in the cactus peyote (Lophophora
williamsii), mescaline has a long history of religious use that
continues to this day. This gives us a rare opportunity to study
the effects of a psychedelic in a controlled, traditional, and
(relatively) Westernized setting. Unfortunately, this
opportunity has too often been ignored, perh