Medicinal Uses of Peyote

So far, we have discussed peyote and mescaline mostly in the context of their ability to produce intense psychedelic hallucinations. A vast majority of Native American peyote users, however, strongly believe that the peyote cactus and other mescaline-containing plants also have tremendous healing powers that can cure the ills of both the mind and the body. Many Native American cultures view illnesses as having supernatural causes (such as evil spirits), and believe that communication with higher powers through the use of peyote can help cure those illneses. In fact, in many Native American dialects, the words for "medicine" are the same as those used for "peyote." (See Appendix 3 for a list of Native American words for peyote.)

Often there is no real distinction between medicine and religion in Native American cultures, and thus most "medicine men" in Native American tribes are also the tribe's spiritual leaders. Even when taken in religious ceremonies by Native Americans, peyote is used largely for its therapeutic properties. Many historians assert that the belief in the healing properties of peyote was largely responsible for the spread of peyote-based religions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For example, Quanah Parker, a leader in the early establishment of the Peyote Road religion, became a believer in the healing powers of peyote when a Native American woman successfully treated him with the cactus, after he was severely wounded by a bull in Mexico. The purported healing powers of peyote were much more persuasive in converting others to its use than its ability to produce hallucinations.

Some Native Americans, particularly those in Mexico, use peyote preventatively to protect themselves from illnesses. They believe ingesting the cactus forms a barrier through which evil spirits cannot pass to inflict illnesses upon them. Other Native Americans, such as those in the United States, use peyote to cure diseases. They believe that peyote use, by allowing communication with supernatural powers as well as by causing vomiting, actually purges the mind and body of disease-causing evil spirits and toxins. In Peru, Native American healers, called curanderos, employ the mescaline-containing San Pedro cactus to fight the supernatural powers believed to cause disease. Not only do curanderos feed the cactus to the diseased patient to induce vomiting to purge the body of impurities, but the curanderos themselves also eat the cactus to enlighten themselves as to the nature of the patient's disease. Others believe that the vomiting produced by eating peyote is punishment for one's sins. Some Native American tribes believe peyote has health benefits only when taken as part of nightlong religious ceremonies, whereas other tribes believe peyote can be taken at any time for medicinal purposes.

Since peyote and mescaline are illegal for most U.S. citizens to possess or use, there has been little scientific study of the medicinal value of these substances. There are many diseases and illnesses (cancer, broken bones, blindness, headaches, viral infections, etc.) that users believe the peyote cactus can cure. In this chapter we will focus on just a few of them.

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