Navajo Peyote Use: Its Apparent Safety
American Journal of Psychiatry December 1, 1971 DOI: 10.1176/ajp.128.6.695 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Members of an American Indian religion that uses peyote |
| Intervention | peyote |
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Navajo Feeling Hallucinogen Population Traditional medicine |
| Citations | 70 |
| Key findings | The rate of serious emotional disturbance among members of this religion was very low, likely due to cultural and religious practices that channel the drug experience positively. |
Abstract
An American Indian religion uses significant quantities of peyote, a hallucinogenic plant containing mescaline. Since there have been many reports of serious emotional disturbance caused by similar drugs, the rate of such illness in this population was investigated. The rate was found to be very low, probably because the feelings evoked by the drug experience are channeled by church belief and practice into ego-strengthening directions and there are built-in safeguards against bad reactions.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study Randomly selected United States adults | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 135,095 |
| Long-lasting subjective effects of LSD in normal subjects Healthy participants | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 16 |
| Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans. Navajo Native Americans aged 18-45 | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 176 |
| Mescaline-induced psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurometabolic effects in normal subjects: experimental psychosis as a tool for psychiatric research. Normal men who were volunteers | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 12 |
| 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methyl-amphetamine (STP): A New Hallucinogenic Drug Normal control volunteers | 1967 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 26
- Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study PLoS One August 19, 2013
- Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin. Neurotherapeutics July 1, 2017
- Clinical applications of hallucinogens: A review. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology August 1, 2016
- Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans. Biological Psychiatry October 15, 2005
- An online survey of tobacco smoking cessation associated with naturalistic psychedelic use Journal of Psychopharmacology January 18, 2017
and 21 more in the library