Revista de Arqueología Americana • July 10, 2026 • Stacy B. Schaefer
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is a psychoactive cactus central to religious beliefs, healing practices, and transformative experiences among Indigenous peoples of Mexico and North America. The Wixárika (Huichol) have the longest known continuous use, while the Native American Church's practices in the US and parts of Canada developed more recently. This article reviews peyote's botany, chemistry, medicinal qualities, ecology, archaeology, history, and religious practices, presenting Indigenous knowledge, rituals, and adaptation to change. It concludes by discussing the alarming scarcity of peyote and conservation efforts to protect the plant's future.
Molecular Psychiatry • July 10, 2026 • Cong Lin, Xiaohui Wang
Classic psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline, as well as the antidepressant ketamine, can cause lasting changes in brain function and behavior beyond their immediate effects. This review examines how these substances may influence epigenetic regulation—changes in gene activity that do not alter the DNA sequence itself—through mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA dynamics. The authors propose that psychedelics also affect metabolic pathways, altering the availability of key molecules like acetyl-CoA and SAM, which in turn may impact gene expression and synaptic connectivity. Understanding these processes could help explain how short-term psychedelic exposure leads to sustained therapeutic benefits and guide the development of new treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) • July 8, 2026 • Schüller Thomas
Two works examine the appropriation of Indigenous healing practices. The first, 'Die enteignete Heilerin' (The Expropriated Healer), focuses on the Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina, whose use of psilocybin mushrooms was co-opted by outsiders. The second, 'Vier Enteignungen, ein Muster' (Four Expropriations, One Pattern), compares the appropriation of peyote, ayahuasca, salvia, and iboga, arguing that a common pattern of colonial and capitalist expropriation underlies these cases.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) • July 1, 2026 • Schüller Thomas
A transdisciplinary monograph examines the cultivated psychoactive mushroom as a case of access reorganization, comparing it with peyote. The work argues that the regulation and cultural framing of these substances reshape who can access them and under what conditions, thereby reorganizing social and legal boundaries. The analysis draws on psychoanalysis and social critique to explore themes of closure, the fall of man, and therapeutic applications. The author presents this as a theoretical and philosophical paper, not an empirical study, and offers a bilingual (German and English) account funded privately and licensed under Creative Commons.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) • July 1, 2026 • Schüller Thomas
DMT is the fourth classical psychedelic in a series and has five distinguishing features: oral inactivity without an MAO inhibitor; ultra-short duration (minutes) when smoked or injected; ayahuasca as a plant combination (DMT source plus β-carboline MAOI); endogenous occurrence in mammals; and the unique religious legal ruling Gonzales v. O Centro (2006). Chemically, DMT is a tryptamine (like psilocybin and LSD), contrasting with the phenethylamine mescaline. This bilingual full work provides a transdisciplinary scientific overview of DMT and ayahuasca across eight disciplines, with explicit labeling of levels of certainty (confirmed / probable / open).
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) • July 1, 2026 • Schüller Thomas
Mescaline is the only phenethylamine among the classic psychedelics, with the lowest affinity for the 5-HT2A receptor, requiring the highest doses (hundreds of milligrams) and producing a dose-dependent duration of 6.4 to 14 hours. Clinical research is the weakest strand: as of 2026, no adequate randomized controlled trial exists. In the ecologically bound case of peyote, the logic of dispossession reverses compared to synthetic substances like LSD and psilocybin. The work elevates Discipline 8 (Law/Society) to address peyote conservation (IUCN 'vulnerable') and Indigenous rights (Native American Church, AIRFA 1994) as a standalone discipline.
Journal of Psychopharmacology • June 26, 2026 • Flavia Giaffone de Paiva Ferreira, João Ariel Bonar Fernandes, Renato Filev et al.
A scoping review categorized psychosocial protocols used in psychedelic research for mental health treatment. Seven categories were defined, reflecting distinct emphases on the substance, participant, research team, and sociocultural context. Although limited reporting and heterogeneity remain methodological challenges, the proposed parameters suggest a shared language to describe, compare, and examine psychosocial protocols across studies, reducing conceptual uncertainty. The review may facilitate research decision-making and support structured, replicable study designs while allowing flexibility for individualized and culturally responsive care. Explicitly defining the intended purpose of psychosocial protocols could improve transparent reporting and evaluation.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) • June 25, 2026 • Pavan S Brar, Rebecca B Price, Stephen Ross et al.
Psychedelic compounds like psilocybin and LSD are being studied again as potential treatments, but research usually excludes people at risk for psychosis. This narrative review examines the historical and theoretical links between psychedelics and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), including the psychotomimetic hypothesis. The authors compare the phenomenological experiences induced by psychedelics with those of SSDs, finding both overlap and important qualitative differences that challenge a simple equivalence. They review neural mechanisms involving serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate. Clinical evidence shows psychedelics can worsen existing psychotic illness and may trigger psychosis in vulnerable individuals, though the risk magnitude is not well quantified. The authors suggest potential therapeutic applications for carefully selected symptoms in stable patients using low-dose, controlled approaches and provide recommendations for managing psychosis-related risk.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences • June 24, 2026 • Yibo Wang, H Wang, C T Lin et al.
Natural hallucinogenic compounds like mescaline and psilocybin evolved independently across plants, fungi, and animals through a 'building-block' biosynthetic logic that repurposes primary metabolism. These molecules likely function as defensive agents or manipulators of herbivore and pollinator behavior, not primarily for human psychoactivity. Endogenous mammalian tryptamines appear to serve cytoprotective and stress-response roles via sigma-1 receptors, not hallucinogenic functions. Across kingdoms, these compounds converge on conserved neural targets such as serotonergic systems, making human psychoactivity an evolutionary by-product of molecules selected for ecological interactions with animals sharing deeply conserved receptor architectures.
Religions • June 24, 2026 • Leor Roseman
Prophetic or messianic states of consciousness can be charged with moral urgency and become active, historical, and political. The paper examines psychedelic micro-messianic phenomenology and revolutionary dynamics through three historical figures: Allen Ginsberg (LSD), Master Irineu (Daime/ayahuasca), and John Wilson/Moonhead (peyote). In moments of tension and uncertainty, psychedelics can catalyze micro-messianic movements that diffuse these substances into new situations. A revelatory event motivates the subject to spread the substance and practice, creating a movement that eventually becomes routinized or inverted, then stabilizes into a new status quo from which another revelatory event may arise. The analysis draws on Weber, Wallace, Kuhn, Taves, Whitehouse, Rogers, Badiou, and others to show how psychedelic insights and actions intertwine, with revelations seeking to ripple outward into movements.