Regulation of peyote (Lophophora williamsii: Cactaceae) in the U.S.A: A historical victory of religion and politics over science and medicine
Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas July 24, 2017 DOI: 10.17348/jbrit.v11.i1.1146 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Politics Victory Law Speculation |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key points | Argues that peyote prohibition originated from politically organized religious and missionary efforts aimed at destroying Native American cultures, and that these efforts succeeded after more than fifty years with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. |
Abstract
The peyote cactus, Lophophora williamsii, is presently classified as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance in the USA, with an exemption for use as a sacrament in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church (NAC). Any botanist or other researcher seeking to work with peyote or any of its alkaloids, must com-ply with applicable (nontrivial) regulatory requirements. This paper presents an examination of the prohibition efforts that paved the way for current peyote regulation, accompanied by documentation of the religion-based political origins of such efforts, which involved the "acculturation" of Native Americans (i.e., the destruction of American Indian cultures). We also look at the historical emergence of a nationally organized and coordinated effort by missionaries and other prohibitionists to sell a federal anti-peyote law to Congress, which manifested itself repeatedly over a period of more than fifty years, before finally realizing success in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. In view of ongoing changes in the legal/regulatory status of Cannabis sp. (another Schedule 1 plant that was targeted for illegality during the prohibitionists' rise to political predominance), we compare and contrast the two plants with speculation on peyote’s future.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research | 1954 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Thought insertion as a self-disturbance: An integration of predictive coding and phenomenological approaches | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Entactogens: How the Name for a Novel Class of Psychoactive Agents Originated | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Steric and Electronic Relationships among Some Hallucinogenic Compounds | 1970 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| EFFECT OF DRUGS One individual | 1952 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Anthropology of Psychedelics Anthropology of Consciousness April 20, 2025
- Preferences, Perceptions, and Environmental Considerations of Natural and Synthetic Psychedelic Substances: Findings from the Global Psychedelic Survey Journal of Psychoactive Drugs December 24, 2024
- Of shrub, cactus, vine and toad: psychedelic species of conservation concern Frontiers in Conservation Science September 29, 2025
Cites 3
- Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans. Biological Psychiatry October 15, 2005
- Over 30 million psychedelic users in the United States F1000Research March 28, 2013
- Peyote and mescaline exposures: a 12-year review of a statewide poison center database Clinical Toxicology 2010