Peyote

Peyote is a small cactus with small round bumps on its crown, which are cut off the plant, sliced and dried. The dried slices are either chewed or soaked in water and the resulting liquid is used as medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, peyote is used to treat fever, rheumatic joint pain and paralysis. Peyote is applied to the skin to treat broken bones, wounds and snake bites. Peyote is also chewed as a recreational drug and can cause hallucinations. Peyote contains a chemical called mescaline, which has similar effects to LSD, but is weaker.

How does peyote work?

There is not enough information available to say how peyote might work as a medicine.

How effective is peyote?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of peyote for fever, rheumatic joint pain, bone fractures and snake bites. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of peyote in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Peyote is not safe or harmless. Peyote can cause nausea and vomiting, anxiety, paranoia and emotional instability. Peyote can also increase blood pressure, speed up the heartbeat and increase the breathing rate. It can also cause changes in vision, drooling, headaches and drowsiness. Although peyote is rarely fatal, peyote can cause psychotic or suicidal behavior associated with the hallucinations it causes.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and lactation: Peyote is not safe to use during pregnancy. The mescaline contained in peyote can cause birth defects.

Surgeries: Peyote acts like a stimulant. Doctors are concerned that an increase in heart rate and blood pressure during surgery could lead to complications. For this reason, the use of peyote should be stopped at least 2 weeks before planned operations.

Interactions

Peyote should not be combined with the following medications:

Stimulants

Stimulants accelerate the function of the nervous system. By accelerating the function of the nervous system, stimulants can speed up the heart rate and cause a feeling of restlessness. Taking peyote in combination with stimulants could cause serious side effects including accelerated heart rate and high blood pressure. For this reason, a combination of peyote with stimulants should be avoided.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of peyote depends on various factors such as age, health status and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for peyote. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

Gilmore HT. Petoye use during pregnancy. S D J Med 2001;54:27-9.