Drug effects

Peyote is a small, spineless cactus, Lophophora williamsii, whose principal active ingredient is the hallucinogen mescaline. From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by natives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States as a part of traditional religious rites. Mescaline can be extracted from peyote or produced synthetically.

The word “peyote” comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word “peyotl.” Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that grows extremely slowly. Peyote is native to southwestern Texas and central Mexico and is found primarily in the Chihuahuan Desert. It often grows among scrub, especially where there is limestone.

Short-term effects

When a person first ingests peyote, nausea and vomiting as well as anxiety are common. After these initial peyote effects have been described as very dream-like, drifting, almost a delirium type of state during the first couple of hours. The sensation is similar to LSD but less edgy. While both auditory and visual hallucinations occur, many users say that a peyote high is more suitable for inner reflection and contemplation.
Much depends on the potency of the peyote and the blend of mescaline and the fifty or some odd alkaloids contained in cactus.

Other effects can include increased body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure; loss of appetite, sleeplessness, numbness, weakness, tremors.

Long-term effects

Some users experience "flashbacks", or hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), which are reoccurrences of hallucinations long after ingesting the drug. The causes of these effects, which in some users occur after a single experiencewith the drug, are not known.