The Native American Church, Peyote, and Health: Expanding Consciousness for Healing Purposes
Contemporary Justice Review December 1, 2007 DOI: 10.1080/10282580701677477 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Citations | 31 |
| Key points | Argues that Native American Church members use peyote not as a hallucinogen but as a healing sacrament that fosters health, balance, respect, and community, and that this use supports individual and social justice for Native Americans despite ongoing legal challenges. |
Abstract
Since the passage of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, Native American Church (NAC) members have continually had to defend their legal right to use the sacred cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii). This legal right was established with the passage of 21 CFR 1307.31, which exempts peyote's Schedule I status for NAC members. The exemption, however, continues to be challenged by power‐based social arrangements. This article provides a brief history of the NAC, its use of peyote, the Native American beliefs behind the use of peyote, and psychopharmacological data concerning the cactus. It is argued that NAC members do not use peyote as a hallucinogenic drug but as a means whereby members expand access to parts of their consciousness for healing purposes. These healing purposes foster health, balance, respect, and a sense of community among NAC members and their social relations, providing a means of maintaining individual and social justice for Native Americans.
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 26
- Ethical and Practical Considerations for the Use of Psychedelics in Psychiatry Psychiatric Services March 29, 2023
- Racial/ethnic differences in prevalence of hallucinogen use by age cohort: Findings from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Journal of Psychedelic Studies July 15, 2021
- Enhancing equity-oriented care in psychedelic medicine: Utilizing the EQUIP framework International Journal of Drug Policy August 27, 2021
- Race, Ethnic, and Sex Differences in Prevalence of and Trends in Hallucinogen Consumption Among Lifetime Users in the United States Between 2015 and 2019 Frontiers in Epidemiology March 23, 2022
- Minorities' Diminished Psychedelic Returns: Income and Educations Impact on Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities June 1, 2025
and 21 more in the library
Cites 9
- Mescaline‐induced head‐twitches in the rat: An in vivo method to evaluate serotonin S2 antagonists Drug Development Research 1983
- Involvement of 5-HT receptor subtypes in the discriminative stimulus properties of mescaline European Journal of Pharmacology 1989
- Mescaline: excitatory effects on acoustic startle are blocked by serotonin2 antagonists Psychopharmacology November 1, 1987
- Effects of mescaline and some of its analogs on cholinergic neuromuscular transmission Neuropharmacology February 1, 1993
- Mescaline elicits behavioral effects in cats by an action at both serotonin and dopamine receptors European Journal of Pharmacology December 1, 1983
and 4 more in the library