Legal notice
In the United States, peyote and mescaline are Schedule I controlled substances; the species is also protected (CITES Appendix II).
Non-drug use in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church is exempt in the USA (21 CFR 1307.31). Legal status varies by country.
For education and documentation only. Not a consumption guide, not legal or medical advice. Possession, cultivation and use are regulated differently by country and species — check the law that applies to you.
© Frank Vincentz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Peyote
CautionPeyote · (Lophophora williamsii)
Cactus family (Cactaceae)
Description
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus from the semi-deserts of northern Mexico and southern Texas that grows half-sunk into the ground and matures only slowly. Its principal alkaloid is the psychoactive mescaline, alongside pellotine and hordenine. Peyote has long been used ritually in the Native American Church. The species is botanically protected and its active compound is strictly regulated by law in many countries. This description is for botanical context and is expressly not a recommendation to consume it — mescaline carries serious health and legal risks.
Mescaline is a psychoactive substance with serious health and legal risks; this is not a recommendation for use. Conservation: the species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and wild populations in south Texas are threatened by overharvesting and listed in Appendix II of CITES.
Harvested part: Crown (species is protected)
- MeskalinAlkaloid
- PellotinAlkaloid
- HordeninAlkaloid
- [2]MonographPeyote and Mescaline — U.S. DEA Drug Fact Sheet(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [3]Monograph21 CFR 1307.31 — Native American Church (eCFR)(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [4]MonographLophophora williamsii — NatureServe Explorer (conservation status)(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [1]WikipediaLophophora williamsii — Wikipedia(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [5]CommonsFile:Lophophora williamsii ies.jpg — Wikimedia Commons(accessed: 2026-06-23)