A Note on the Safety of Peyote when Used Religiously, by Matthew J. Baggott

A well researched article surprisingly originally posted in alt.drugs

A Note on the Safety of Peyote when Used Religiously.

by Matthew J. Baggot



Among the psychedelic drugs, mescaline is perhaps the best understood. It was the first psychedelic to be isolated and synthesized by scientists. Its metabolism and biochemistry have been extensively studied in human and non-human animals. As the main psychoactive component in the cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii), mescaline has a long history of religious use that continues to this day. This gives us a rare opportunity to study the effects of a psychedelic in a controlled, traditional, and (relatively) Westernized setting. Unfortunately, this opportunity has too often been ignored, perhaps because of the political unpalatability of any positive model of psychedelic use. Those studies which have been conducted have tended to focus on the pathology-related issues where Western medicine excels (such as mutagenicity, teratogenicity, and adverse psychological reactions).

Peyote's long tradition of use has been used to examine whether it might be mutagenic. At one point there was concern that some psychedelics, in particular LSD but also mescaline, might cause chromosomal disorders. A comprehensive review of the evidence concerning LSD eventually concluded that there was no significant risk (Long 1972). It appears that the type of chromosome breakage that occurs with psychedelics can be induced by many different substances and causes no real harm to users or their offspring (Henderson and Glass 1994). Nonetheless, several studies have addressed this issue in Native American populations. For example, Oscar Janiger M.D. and his colleagues published a study on the effect of peyote on human chromosomes among the Huichols, who have used peyote for approximately 1600 years, and found no abnormalities (Dorrance, Janiger, and Teplitz 1975). They estimated that the people they tested took peyote up to 35 times a year and had been doing so for essentially all of their lives. Another study, among the Yanomano Indians of Venezuela, found no difference in chromosomal damage between males and females despite the fact that only males ingested peyote (Bloom et al 1970).

A more interesting type of study investigates the psychological safety of religious peyote use. It would appear that, when used in a controlled religious setting, peyote can be used with very few adverse reactions. This conclusion is reached in "Navajo Peyote Use: Its Apparent Safety" by Robert Bergman M.D. (Bergman 1971). While working with the mental health program of the Indian Health Service, Bergman tracked every report of a peyote-linked psychiatric episode in Navajoland over four years. At the time, the Indian Health Service provided almost all medical services in the area and consultation to many community organizations, including the Native American Church. This put the program in a good position to document adverse psychological reactions to peyote.

However, they saw "almost no acute or chronic emotional disturbance arising from peyote use (p. 697)." Of the approximately 40 to 50 reports of adverse reactions over the four year period, there was only one "relatively clear-cut case of acute psychosis and four cases that are difficult to interpret (p. 697)." The other reports were either heresay or were traceable to physicians blindly assuming that mental problems among the Navajo people were due to peyote.

This low number of cases allowed Bergman to make some estimates about the actual incidence of adverse reactions to peyote: ...The Native American Church of Navajoland estimates its membership at 40,000. This estimate may be high and there may be inactive members, so we will use a population base of 30,000. Our informants report attending meetings with an average frequency of about twice a month. Since this may be exaggerated, we will assume an average attendance of only once every two months. This would result in a total of 180,000 ingestions of peyote per year by the population we serve. Assuming that all five of our cases represent true reactions to peyote and that we hear about only half of the cases occurring, the resulting (probably overestimated) rate would be approximately one bad reaction per 70,000 ingestions. (p. 697) As you can see from this estimate, the incidence of negative reactions among peyote users is very low when the substance is taken under controlled circumstances. We should note that there may be a sampling bias in the estimate since people who experience repeated or severe problems after using psychedelics probably drop out of the Church and wouldn't be represented in the '70,000 ingestions.'

The 5 case reports which the article mentions involve:

• One man who, against rules, had been drinking alcohol and experienced a paranoid panic attack after taking peyote; he recovered in 24 hrs but quit attending the ceremonies;
• An acute schizophrenic episode which began at the time of the meeting and became worse over the next few days but improved after inpatient treatment and didn't prevent attendance at further meetings;
• A man who had attended ceremonies at the insistence of his wife, despite the objections of his family, and who reported feelings of anxiety and depersonalization until he quit attending meetings and worked out some of his feelings about his marriage; and
• Two chronic schizophrenic patients who became anxious during meetings but who continued to attend them without untoward effects.