Peyote Won't Rot Your Brain

In the first study of its kind, researchers have found that peyote -- for now, the only legal hallucinogenic drug in the United States -- doesn't rob regular users of brain power over time.

While the findings don't directly indicate anything about the safety of psychedelic drugs like LSD and mushrooms, they do suggest that at least one hallucinogen is OK to use for months or even years.

Peyote comes from the crowns of a cactus that grows in northern Mexico and parts of Texas. Harvesters cut off the crown, dry it and sell it in buttons. The commonly found peyote plant is often confused with the endangered star cactus.

"We really weren't able to find any (mental) deficits," said Dr. John Halpern, associate director of substance abuse research at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and co-author of the study, released today in the Nov. 4 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry. Hallucinogenic drugs have long fascinated researchers, who are now studying whether they hold the potential to treat mental illnesses like depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

But little is known about the long-term effects of hallucinogenic use. Part of the problem is that many users -- such as LSD aficionados -- take a variety of other drugs, so it's hard to tease out the specific effects of psychedelic drugs.

Enter peyote, currently the only hallucinogenic drug legally allowed for use outside research labs (although that may change). Compared with LSD and mushrooms, peyote is a bit obscure, with its use -- at least legally -- limited to the sacramental rites of the Native American Church, which has as many as 300,000 members. Many peyote users don't take other drugs, making them ideal subjects for hallucinogenic research.

Peyote comes from the crowns of a cactus that grows in northern Mexico and parts of Texas. Harvesters cut off the crown, dry it and sell it in "buttons," Halpern said. Generally, users eat the buttons whole or grind them up into a powder that can be mixed into food or brewed into a tea.

When enough peyote is eaten, users enter a hallucinogenic state thanks to its active ingredient, the chemical mescaline. Halpern and colleagues recruited three groups of Navajos -- 61 members of the Native American Church who regularly ate peyote, 36 alcoholics who have been dry for at least two months and 79 people who reported little or no use of alcohol or drugs. The researchers then gave mental-health and cognitive tests to the subjects.

Source:Wired

http://ly.lygo.com/ly/wired/news/ima...l/peyote_f.jpg

..and has rather an attractive flower...

Hey what, i didnt know it was legal.

regardless of whether or not it has longterm effects, the fact that it makes people hallucinate is rather serious i think. i wouldn't wanna be involved with people who r hooked onto such things

ask Carlos Castaneda

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Originally Posted by oceansgurlie

regardless of whether or not it has longterm effects, the fact that it makes people hallucinate is rather serious i think. i wouldn't wanna be involved with people who r hooked onto such things

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Quite right, terrible, terrible peyote users....

It's part of their religion m8. I do hope you don't get involved with people who drink alcoholic beverages...these people are known dangers to the safety on public highways, and in marital affairs, seem to be pretty dodgy...

Peyote gives you an absolutely astounding "come-down" headache.

Not at all worth the trouble.

I stumbled across this knowledge while participating in my "try everything once, and all drugs twice (or more)" program.:huh:

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Originally Posted by j2k4

I stumbled across this knowledge while participating in my "try everything once, and all drugs twice (or more)" program.:huh:

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oh i see, like a modern day hoffman. it's fun to blur the line between objective research and first person experience isn't it? i highly recommend any experimentation to be combined with "drug diaries", it makes for some interesting reading later in life.

note on peyote:
i have heard an unconfirmed rumour that fasting for 1 or 2 days before smoking(which is probably better) or eating peyote will keep you from puking.

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Originally Posted by MediaSlayer

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Originally Posted by j2k4

I stumbled across this knowledge while participating in my "try everything once, and all drugs twice (or more)" program.:huh:

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oh i see, like a modern day hoffman. it's fun to blur the line between objective research and first person experience isn't it? i highly recommend any experimentation to be combined with "drug diaries", it makes for some interesting reading later in life.

note on peyote:
i have heard an unconfirmed rumour that fasting for 1 or 2 days before smoking(which is probably better) or eating peyote will keep you from puking.

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I was smoking lots of pot then, too.

Wasn't gonna be no fasting goin' on.

The theory is entirely plausible, but I'd guess the headache might be even worse...:huh:

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Originally Posted by 100%

ask Carlos Castaneda

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You certainly know your classics.......:rolleyes:

Peyote tea goes down a bit better

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Originally Posted by Yogi

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Originally Posted by 100%

ask Carlos Castaneda

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You certainly know your classics.......:rolleyes:

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I read a fair few of his books too in me youf...

as for 100% I am beginning to think that he has somehow downloaded the whole internet to his brain as he seems to know something subtle and relevant about everything...you is a scary clever bloke 100%...oh yes you are! :lol:


edit...naughty me...back on topic. I have never had the opportunity to try peyote, and now I am old and my brain is too full of miscellaneous rubbish, I am rather scared as to what it would dredge up from the depths of my psyche to provide me with my hallucinations. My spirit guide animal would probably be Dill the Dog.

You mean Muttley, surely :P

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Originally Posted by ruthie

Peyote tea goes down a bit better

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Never did it.

No headache? :huh: