Navajo Peyote Use: Its Apparent Safety
American Journal of Psychiatry December 1, 1971 DOI: 10.1176/ajp.128.6.695 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA study investigated the rate of serious emotional disturbance among members of an American Indian religion that uses peyote, a hallucinogenic plant containing mescaline. Despite many reports of such disturbances caused by similar drugs, the rate in this population was very low. The authors suggest this is because the feelings evoked by the drug experience are channeled by church belief and practice into ego-strengthening directions, and there are built-in safeguards against bad reactions.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Members of an American Indian religion that uses peyote |
| Intervention | peyote |
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Navajo Feeling Hallucinogen Psychology |
| Citations | 70 |
| Key finding | The rate of serious emotional disturbance among members of this religion was very low, likely due to cultural and religious practices that channel the drug experience positively. |
Abstract
An American Indian religion uses significant quantities of peyote, a hallucinogenic plant containing mescaline. Since there have been many reports of serious emotional disturbance caused by similar drugs, the rate of such illness in this population was investigated. The rate was found to be very low, probably because the feelings evoked by the drug experience are channeled by church belief and practice into ego-strengthening directions and there are built-in safeguards against bad reactions.