The Trouble With Psychedelic Cacti: Conflicting Meanings of San Pedro and Peyote

Using autoethnography, this article considers conflict surrounding the psychedelic, mescaline cacti, San Pedro, and Peyote. We reflect on themes emergent in the lead authors’ lived experiences with growing, researching and working with mescaline cacti; Indigenous culture, psychopharmacotherapy research, psychedelic markets and ecology. These themes are considered relative to varied San Pedro and Peyote stakeholders. Among these stakeholders, powers of medicine and prohibition dominate, but are also met with resistance.