Name: Psychedelics as Medicine: The History of Peyote
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Peyote is an important medicinal plant that is used in rites of passage and in religious and healing ceremonies in Indigenous communities.

Indigenous communities use this small psychedelic cactus as a medicinal herb.

Psychedelics as Medicine: The History of Peyote

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Peyote is an important medicinal plant that is used in rites of passage and in religious and healing ceremonies in Indigenous communities.

Indigenous communities use this small psychedelic cactus as a medicinal herb.

Body & Brain

Psychedelics as Medicine: The History of PeyotePublished October 19, 2022NARRATOR: In many cultures, psychedelics have been used in rites of passage and to gain wisdom, usually administered in specific religious and healing ceremonies. In North America, some indigenous peoples use peyote, a cactus that grows in northern Mexico and a small region of south Texas.ADRIAN PRIMEAUX: I am Adrian Primeaux. I come from five generations of peyote people, myself being the sixth, and then my son being the seventh generation. To me, peyote it’s a very intimate medicinal herb. We use it as a guide; we use it as a means to synchronize with the universe. My grandparents explained to me, at a very young age, that we could acquire any means of success through medicine and peyote if we approached it with the right intent.NARRATOR: Peyote use can touch on many aspects of life.ADRIAN PRIMEAUX: How this medicine is able to heal, there’s a lot of complex facets. Within indigenous forms of thought, we believe that, like, the spirit exists somewhere back there in the subconscious, it’s connected to the universe. So, this plant medicine helps you reach those depths of your ability to manifest whatever it is you can picture in your mind. Maybe you’re picturing pain going away; maybe you’re picturing your cancer going away; maybe you’re picturing your body being healthy; maybe you’re picturing education. Whatever it is that you’re picturing, your subconscious brain has that power to create that for you. And this medicine is just the tool to help you to reach that point.YASMIN HURD: When we think about how native people have used these drugs, it was a ritual. So, there’s something still really important about the setting, the ritualistic aspect. You can see this positive outcome, you can hear the positivity around you, all of that then gets encoded into the brain, in a manner that, when you’re not in that hallucinogenic state it still stays with you.NARRATOR: A peyote cactus can take over 10 years to reach maturity. Since the arrival of Europeans, Native American tribes have often been persecuted for peyote use and had limited access to the plant. Now, commercial interests and poachers are putting undue pressure on peyote’s fragile ecosystem. Recently, a philanthropist purchased 605 acres of peyote land, here in South Texas, to provide access for members of the Native American Church, which teaches Native American traditions, sometimes elements of Christianity, and regards peyote as a sacrament.STEVEN S. BENALLY (Dine Nation): In order to assure that this medicine is going to be available, we have to have some kind of direct connection with this land. And this land, I think, is an answer to a prayer from years ago, that there will be medicine for our children.SANDOR IRON ROPE (Titonwan Lakota Oyate): This land now means the world to all of us. Mother Earth and what she has provided us, this represents the future. It’s about what you are going to teach your children, your grandchildren, and what you’re going to leave behind, the essence of, of generational responsibilities, you know? Words cannot suffice what the spirit feels in connecting with this land.

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Psychedelics as Medicine: The History of Peyote

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