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Peyote
& Mescaline
Peyote is a small,
spineless cactus, Lophophora williamsii, whose principal active ingredient
is the hallucinogen mescaline (3, 4, 5-trimethoxyphenethylamine). From
earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by natives in northern Mexico
and the southwestern United States as a part of their religious rites.
The top of the cactus
above ground--also referred to as the crown--consists of disc-shaped buttons
that are cut from the roots and dried. These buttons are generally chewed
or soaked in water to produce an intoxicating liquid. The hallucinogenic
dose of mescaline is about 0.3 to 0.5 grams and lasts about 12 hours.
While peyote produced rich visual hallucinations that were important to
the native peyote cults, the full spectrum of effects served as a chemically
induced model of mental illness. Mescaline can be extracted from peyote
or produced synthetically. Both peyote and mescaline are listed in the
CSA as Schedule I hallucinogens.
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