Mescaline, or peyote, is a small spines cactus that has the ingredient hallucinogen mescaline. From the earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by native people in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States to enhance the religious part of their lives.
The crown of the cactus, which is the part that is above ground, contains disc-shaped buttons that are cut from the roots of the cactus and then dried. They are then chewed or soaked in water to produce a hallucigenic affect on the user. The dosage for this effect is about 0.3 to 0.5 grams and the effects last for up to 12 hours. Mescaline can be taken out of peyote and produced synthetically. Although peyote produced intense visualizations for natives, it also induced a form of mental illness.
The San Pedro cactus, Trichocereus pachanoi, is native to the high Andes in Peru, South America. Like Peyote, its principle active ingredient is mescaline. |
