Examination of Recreational and Spiritual Peyote Use Among American Indian Youth.

OBJECTIVE: Some American Indians legally use hallucinogenic substances as part of religious and spiritual ceremonies. Research to date has either failed to differentiate spiritual versus recreational use or has categorized hallucinogen use in an "other drug" or "illegal drug" category. This approach could contribute to ineffectual models of prevention and treatment intervention and limit understanding of hallucinogen use in American Indian cultures. METHOD: This study is a secondary data analysis of an ongoing epidemiologic and etiologic investigation of substance use among American Indian youth (N = 3,861). Two Firth logistic regression models were run with (a) spiritual peyote use and (b) recreational peyote use as the dependent variables, and grade, sex, 30-day alcohol use, 30-day marijuana use, religiosity, religious affiliation, and cultural identity as predictors, as well as a grade by sex interaction term. RESULTS: Grade, sex, religious affiliation, and the interaction term did not predict either recreational or spiritual peyote use. Thirty-day alcohol and marijuana use predicted both spiritual and recreational peyote use, but the effects were stronger for predicting recreational use. Religiosity and cultural identity predicted spiritual but not recreational use, such that American Indian youth who identified as more religious and identified more strongly with their culture were more likely to report using peyote for spiritual purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that current self-reported use of alcohol and/or marijuana by American Indian youth indicates an increased likelihood of using peyote. In addition, use of Firth logistic regression models proved feasible for analyzing rare events like peyote use.

MDA, MDMA, and other "mescaline-like" substances in the US military's search for a truth drug (1940s to 1960s).

This article describes the context in which 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other mescaline-like compounds were explored as hallucinogens for military and intelligence purposes from the 1940s to the 1960s. Germans first tested mescaline as a "truth drug" in a military context. In the 1940s, the United States military started testing hallucinogenic substances as truth drugs for interrogation and behavior manipulation. After tests carried out using mescaline and other drugs in 1950, some derivatives of mescaline were synthesized by the Army for the exploration of possible "speech-inducing" effects. After insufficient animal testing, the substances were given to patients at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDE), a compound almost identical to MDMA, was among the compounds delivered for testing at the NYSPI. During tests with other derivatives (3,4-dimethoxyphenethylamine (DMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine (MDPEA), MDA) in 1952-53, an unwitting patient died in these tests, which was kept secret from the public. Research was interrupted and toxicological animal testing procedures were initiated. The secret animal studies run in 1953/1954 revealed that some of the "mescaline derivatives" tested (e.g. MDA, MDE, DMA, 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), MDMA) were considered for further testing in humans. In 1955, the military changed focus to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), but some interest in mescaline-like compounds remained for their ability to change mood and habit without interfering with cognition and sensory perception. Based on the known documents, it remains unclear (but probable) whether any of the mescaline derivatives tested were being used operationally.

Prevalence of reported peyote use 1985-2010 effects of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1994.

BACKGROUND: Peyote was classified as a hallucinogen in the Drug Abuse Control Act of 1965, leaving American Indian (AI) religious use in legal ambiguity. In 1994, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was amended to unambiguously protect the right of religious use of peyote for AIs. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to report the prevalence rates of peyote use by AIs compared to the rest of the US population and to determine what effect the act's passage had on peyote use rates. METHODS: This investigation utilized an analysis of existing archived large nationally representative surveys of the American population. Data on peyote use rates was determined for most years 1985 through 2010. A total of 886,088 completed surveys were analyzed, of which 12,749 were from AIs. Use rates were triangulated using peyote harvest data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Peyote use for AIs and the rest of the US population has remained stable between 1% and 2%. American Indian use rose dramatically in the 4 years following the AIRFA and leveled to just under 10%. The rapidity of the rise was excessive in light of the growth in the NAC and compared to the amounts of peyote stocks available. It is hypothesized that social desirability biases suppressed the Pre-AIRFA use rates due to peyote illegal status. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Beyond describing peyote use rates and the effects of the AIRFA, this research adds to the body of evidence regarding the levels of under-reporting of illicit drugs.

Psychedelics as medicines for substance abuse rehabilitation: evaluating treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca.

Substances known as psychedelics, hallucinogens and entheogens have been employed in ethnomedical traditions for thousands of years, but after promising uses in the 1950's and 1960's they were largely prohibited in medical treatment and human research starting in the 1970's as part of the fallout from the war on drugs. Nonetheless, there are a number of studies which suggest that these substances have potential applications in the treatment of addictions. While these substances are generally classified as Schedule I, alleging no established medical uses and a high drug abuse potential, there is nonetheless evidence indicating they might be safe and effective tools for short term interventions in addictions treatment. Evidence suggests that the psychedelics have a much greater safety profile than the major addictive drugs, having extremely low levels of mortality, and producing little if any physical dependence. This paper reviews studies evaluating the use of LSD, peyote, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of dependencies and the possible mechanisms underlying the indications of effectiveness. Evidence suggests that these substances help assist recovery from drug dependency through a variety of therapeutic mechanisms, including a notable "after-glow" effect that in part reflects their action on the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Serotonin has been long recognized as central to the psychedelics' well-known phenomenological, physical, emotional and cognitive dynamics. These serotonin-based dynamics are directly relevant to treatment of addiction because of depressed serotonin levels found in addict populations, as well as the role of serotonin as a neuromodulators affecting many other neurotransmitter systems.

Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans.

BACKGROUND: Hallucinogens are widely used, both by drug abusers and by peoples of traditional cultures who ingest these substances for religious or healing purposes. However, the long-term residual psychological and cognitive effects of hallucinogens remain poorly understood. METHODS: We recruited three groups of Navajo Native Americans, age 18-45: 1) 61 Native American Church members who regularly ingested peyote, a hallucinogen-containing cactus; 2) 36 individuals with past alcohol dependence, but currently sober at least 2 months; and 3) 79 individuals reporting minimal use of peyote, alcohol, or other substances. We administered a screening interview, the Rand Mental Health Inventory (RMHI), and ten standard neuropsychological tests of memory and attentional/executive functions. RESULTS: Compared to Navajos with minimal substance use, the peyote group showed no significant deficits on the RMHI or any neuropsychological measures, whereas the former alcoholic group showed significant deficits (p < .05) on every scale of the RMHI and on two neuropsychological measures. Within the peyote group, total lifetime peyote use was not significantly associated with neuropsychological performance. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence of psychological or cognitive deficits among Native Americans using peyote regularly in a religious setting. It should be recognized, however, that these findings may not generalize to illicit hallucinogen users.

Transient reinforcing effects of phenylisopropylamine and indolealkylamine hallucinogens in rhesus monkeys.

Relatively few studies have assessed the reinforcing effects of hallucinogenic compounds, and no such studies have attempted to engender contingent responding for these compounds in animals with behavioral histories that include experience with serotonergically mediated reinforcing effects. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the capacity of several hallucinogenic compounds to maintain self-administration behavior in rhesus monkeys with a previous history of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) self-administration, and to compare these effects across a range of doses of drugs from two structural classes (indolealkylamines and phenylisopropylamines). The results indicate that no compound generated reliable responding and that no subject ever self-administered 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenylisopropylamine (DOI) at rates above those engendered by contingent saline. However, 3 out of 4 subjects did respond at rates between 0.75 and 3.0 responses/s in one or more sessions where N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline or psilocybin were available. During some of these sessions in which self-administration was maintained, animals earned a majority of all available infusions and appeared intoxicated by the end of the session. This pattern of transient self-administration may indicate that these compounds have weak reinforcing effects, or mixed reinforcing and aversive effects.

Peyote use during pregnancy.

Peyote is a substance with varied potential. Used properly it may be a spiritual aid but used in excess, it can be a hallucinogenic agent with teratogenic potential. There is a growing community of devout people who use it as part of their religious observance. The active ingredient, mescaline, has been linked to a specific group of fetal abnormalities when the substance is used inappropriately.

Effects of intraocular mescaline and LSD on visual-evoked responses in the rat.

The effects of mescaline and LSD on the flash-evoked cortical potential (FEP) were determined in unrestrained rats with chronically-implanted electrodes. Systemic administration of mescaline or LSD significantly attenuated the primary component of the FEP at three stimulus intensities with the greatest effect observed 60-90 minutes following drug administration. The magnitude and specificity of the effects of these agents on the primary response suggest that they produce deficits in conduction through the retino-geniculato-cortical system. The serotonin receptor antagonists, cyproheptadine and methysergide, antagonized the mescaline-induced depression of the FEP in accordance with neurochemical and behavioral evidence that mescaline acts as a partial agonist on serotonin receptors. Topical or intraocular administration of atropine antagonized the actions of systemically-administered mescaline. In addition, intraocular administration of mescaline or LSD attenuated the FEP indicative of an action of these hallucinogens on visual processing in the retina which is modulated by muscarinic receptor activity.

Effects of mescaline and its derivative N-[3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylethyl]-aziridine on the spatial orientation of rats in a T-maze.

The central effect of mescaline and of its derivative N-[3,4,5- trimethoxyphenylethyl]-aziridine (FAZ) after their stereotaxic administration into the lateral ventricle of the brain was studied in behavioural experiments on rats. The effect of the two substances was tested by a method studying memory elicitation in response to appetitive motivation in a multiple T-maze. The results show that both substances worsened the behaviour in question. The negative effect of mescaline (lengthening of the time of passage through the maze) was manifested both immediately and several weeks after a single dose. FAZ likewise worsened the test reaction, but its effect was less pronounced than that of mescaline.

Action of a chronic administration of mescaline in dynamic behavioural situations.

The modifications of the rat behaviour caused by a chronic administration of mescaline were studied in two schedules of operant conditioning. In the "periodic conditioning" test, the schedule of reinforcement was changed from a fixed ratio to a fixed interval schedule. Mescaline (4 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day) caused no modification of the ability of the rat to adapt its behaviour to the new experimental situation. In the "reversal test" the contingency for food delivery was switched from one lever, where responses were previously reinforced to the other lever where responses had no programmed consequences. A chronic administration of mescaline (4 mg/kg/day) caused a total incapacity of the rat to switch to the lever which became reinforced in the reversal trial. A chronic administration of 9 mg/kg/day of mescaline had an excitatory effect and the number of reinforced responses in the II and III reversals exceeded the unreinforced responses in a measure greater than in the controls.

Mescaline action on "memory decay" and "problem solving" behavior in the rat.

The modifications of behavior caused in the rat by a chronic oral administration of mescaline have been studied in three experimental situations. In the staircase maze mescaline accelerated the spontaneous decay on the conditioned reflex (memory decay) during the period without daily training. Only the results observed at 30 mg/kg/day of mescaline were statistically significant. In a T maze two lateral alleys closed by two swinging doors, 30 mg/kg/day of mescaline increased the time spent in opening the first door. When the two doors of the lateral alleys were closed with a latch, mescaline 30 mg/kg/day, caused an increase in the time spent by the rat in opening the doors. Mescaline caused an increase in food consumption. The increase at 30 mg/kg/day is statistically significant.

Drug and alcohol abuse intervention in American Indian communities.

American Indian tribes are seen as an anachronism by many non-Indian people. Most would acknowledge that Indians provided a colorful chapter in American history, but apart from contemporary Indian arts and crafts little serious thought is given to their way of life. In fact, however, Indian culture has survived a period of strong attack and today it is vital and growing. The historical conflicts between Indian and White ways of life are still not totally resolved, and there are major differences in thinking as to whether tribes should be assimilated into the larger culture or allowed to pursue an alternate cultural path. In its ambivalence toward Indian people the federal government has fostered a state of dependency which has made problem resolution extremely difficult. Federal policy has vacillated between paternalistic and repressive, which has led to much inertia within both Indian communities and those groups intended to help them. Currently there is a strong activist climate on Indian reservations and the result is a vigorous move toward self-determination. Not only are Indian people asking for self-government, but they are attempting to revitalize their traditional culture and maintain a unique alternative to the beliefs, values, and customs of the larger society. Within this historical/cultural context, drug and alcohol abuse exist as major problems for Indian people. Extant data point to alcoholism as perhaps the number one health problem for many tribes. The consequences of drug abuse are not as well documented, but recent survey data from Indian school students point to an extremely serious situation. Drug use rates are above national norms and appear to be rapidly increasing. Interventions in Indian communities must be congruent with the current movement toward self-determination. Externally imposed solutions, at a minimum, will not work and probably will only add to the sense of failure experienced by Indian people. The dynamics of drug and alcohol use are rooted in the health of the community. Where there is cynicism, despair, and a withering of the basic human spirit, substance abuse will prevail. Alternately, if the spirit of the community can be bolstered and hope developed through communal action and mutual support, solutions to abuse problems will be forthcoming. When the community has clearly decided its position on the use of chemicals it will be in a position to construct programs and request external assistance. Substance abuse intervention is a local problem and can be resolved best through local initiative.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

GLC-mass spectral determination of mescaline in plasma of rabbits after intravenous injection.

A GLC-mass spectral analysis with a deuterated internal standard was developed to measure plasma mescaline concentrations after intravenous administration to rabbits. The drug and the internal standard were extracted with benzene, derivatized with trifluoroacetic acid anhydride, and chromatographed on 2.5% QF-1 with mass fragmentographic detection. The detection limit is 5 ng/ml of plasma. The relative standard deviation was approximately 5%. The main advantage of this method is that it combines the specificity of the GLC retention time and mass spectral fragmentation pattern with the sensitivity of the mass fragmentographic detection.

Effect of mescaline on an innate behaviour of mice.

The action of mescaline on mice innate behaviour was studied. In the first experiment the drug modified the innate behaviour of mice. The dose-effect curve was obtained by the second. The results pointed out that, in the range of doses examined, there was one for which the disruptive action of mescaline reach the maximum so that mice behaviour became completely casual.

6-Hydroxydopamine inhibits some effects of mescaline centrally administered to rabbits.

The narcotic antagonist naloxone does not antagonize antinociception elicited in the rabbit by 100 microgram/kg of mescaline centrally administered, whereas pretreatment with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) inhibits this mescaline effect. Stereotyped behavior of rabbits following central mescaline administration is also prevented by 6-hda pretreatment. Since 6-OHDA in known to produce a degeneration of catecholamine containing nerve terminals, a crucial role of catecholamines is suggested in the complex of effects seen in the rabbit after central administration of the hallucinogen.