Peyote is a spineless cactus that grows throughout the southern part of America as well as in Mexico. The primary drug in the cactus is called mescaline, and it is a psychedelic. Since it is easy to use the alkaloid in peyote, use by Native Americans has occurred for thousands of years. Peyote has been used even longer than most plant-based psychedelics. Evidence of use stems as far back as 5500 years, and indigenous cultures continued to use Peyote for spiritual and medicinal purposes. The use of peyote has grown over time, and some of the earliest recorded writings of peyote came from Spanish explorers around 600 years ago. It is currently thought that some of the earliest use of Peyote was in 3700 BC by Native Americans around the current United States border with Mexico.…show more content… Those strange physical sensations sometimes come from actual changes in body temperature and that can be concerning. Most of the negative effects are not unique from other psychedelics and they are not so concerning as far as health goes. However, peyote is easier to overdose on than some other drugs making the chance of negative physical effects even greater. The main effect last six hours on average. The legal situation on peyote is a bit inconsistent. While the drug is an illegal, schedule 1 Substance in the United States, there are some notable exceptions to the law. The Native American Church is able to use the drug, but there are race related restrictions. That means in order to use a drug legally, you need to have native American roots. Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah have made they use a bit easier. In those states, it is legal to use as a true religious or spiritual practice. Restrictions to members of a tribe are not enforced in the states. Some states like Kansas, Texas and Wyoming require that Native American heritage be proven in order for the legal exception to
