Peyote, San Pedro and Mescaline: Cultural Context, Research and Conservation

A note on respect. Peyote is a sacrament of the Native American Church (NAC) and of other Indigenous peoples of North America. This page does not describe ceremonies or any preparation, and it relies on community-authored sources where it can. Authors who are NAC leaders ask people who are not Indigenous not to buy peyote and not to use it outside a bona fide Native American Church context. [1]

Mescaline

Mescaline is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in cacti, mainly the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) and cacti of the Echinopsis genus. A review traces its use back about 5,700 years. It acts mainly on serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, like psilocybin and LSD. [2] NIDA groups mescaline with the classic psychedelics. [3]

Peyote: historical and cultural context

A review of Mesoamerica reports archaeological evidence of peyote use dating back more than 5,000 years, and describes peyote among the sacred plants of Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec peoples. [4] In the United States, the Native American Church has hundreds of thousands of members, and its members see peyote as an extension of the divine. [5] Authors writing for the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (IPCI) describe the "Peyote Religions", known in the US and Canada as the Native American Church, as a healing home and say their peoples live in Mexico, the United States and Canada. [1]

San Pedro and the Peruvian torch

"San Pedro" is a common name for columnar Echinopsis (formerly Trichocereus) cacti that South American healers have used in traditional medicine. A laboratory study of 14 kinds found that all contained mescaline, with concentrations spanning two orders of magnitude, and that the plants with the most mescaline, particularly E. pachanoi from Peru, were those most associated with documented shamanic use. [6] "Peruvian torch" is another name often used in this keyword family; we did not find a source that settles exactly which species each popular name covers, so we do not rank or identify them. This page does not help identify cacti.

What research shows

Evidence labels: established, insufficient evidence, no good evidence of benefit.

• Effects. In humans, mescaline can produce euphoria, hallucinations and psychotic-like effects, and a review describes a sympathomimetic (stimulant-like) pattern of body effects. [2][7]
• Treatment uses: insufficient evidence. Reviews call mescaline "the forgotten psychedelic" because research has been limited since the early 1970s, and conclude mescaline is potentially beneficial in clinical settings, which remains to be shown in modern trials. [2] We searched PubMed reviews on peyote and mescaline and found no modern randomized trial in our sources: Proper evidence not found for mescaline as a treatment.
• Dependence. A pharmacology review says addiction and dependence are practically absent and that most reported intoxications appear mild, with the caveat that most reports had no laboratory confirmation of what was taken. [7]

Risks

Mescaline can cause strong, unpredictable psychological effects, as with other classic psychedelics. [3] Intoxication reports include psychosis-like states. [7] For heart conditions, a review notes that data in people with cardiovascular disease are lacking. [8] Pregnancy data for classic psychedelics are limited. [3] Talk with a clinician before combining anything with medicines: medication interactions.

Conservation

In the United States, peyote grows naturally only in Texas, and its supply there is declining because of development, over-harvesting and poaching. [5] IPCI authors list mining, oil and gas development, root plowing, grazing, poaching and over-harvesting as threats, and describe IPCI's formation in 2017 by the National Council of Native American Churches after a Peyote Research Project found the plant threatened. [1] Reporting in 2025 said only four active licenses to harvest and distribute peyote existed in Texas and that conservation groups disagree on the best approach. [5]

Legal status

Not legal advice; laws change. US federal regulations list mescaline and peyote (all parts of Lophophora williamsii) in Schedule I. [9] A separate rule says that listing does not apply to the nondrug use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, and members so using it are exempt from registration. [10] Other countries and the status of San Pedro: not verified here. See legal status by country and Indigenous traditions, ethics and conservation.