Mescaline (Peyote and San Pedro Cacti)
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.
Source: DEA
The San Pedro cactus, Trichocereus pachanoi, is native to the high Andes in Peru, South America. Like Peyote, its principle active ingredient is mescaline.