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Vegas Guide, part 2: Peyote

Flowering Peyote. Most of Nevada’s land is under federal control. The Pentagon, Department of Energy, and Bureau of Land Management claim a total area of about 80% of the state. It’s mostly desert, and the desert dois best left alone, so few people seem to care.

Some towns, mostly old silver mining camps, persist amid the desert. Horses graze free on the school ball field in Blue Diamond, Nevada. The town sits on a spring in Red Rock Canyon. The one paved road into town passes by a sign that reads: “Population low, elevation high, burrows ‘?’”

Watch out for burros in the desert. Motorists driving northwest from Vegas on Interstate 95, the state’s second most traveled highway (Route 15, which goes to Los Angeles is first) and pass only a state prison — “picking up of hitchhikers prohibited.” Cactus Springs, one of the few towns on the road, grew up around a small Air Force facility and has only one gas station. The rest is all desert.

That there is only one Indian reservation near Vegas, the Moapa River Indian Reservation, belies the fact that this area was once home to a large number of tribes. It’s hard to refute the suggestion that Indians of Nevada were the last to enjoy the effects of the civil rights movement. Few Las Vegas casinos allowed Indians inside until the mid 1970s.

One of the most enduring elements of Indian Nevada is the belief and practice of Peyotism, the mixing of Indian spirituality with Christian beliefs and mescalin cacti. “Peyote itself is sacred, they emphasize, and has many powers to help mankind” writes Omer C. Stewart in his History of Peyotism in Nevada . For true Peyotists, the use of these psychoactive cacti is strictly according to ritual. According to Stewert, “the leader, called the roadman, prays to Jesus, God, Mary and Peyote for guidance during the ritual and for health and wisdom throughout life.”

Clustered Peyote.

When eaten and prayed to in the proper ritual context, Peyote helps cure all diseases and reveals many things: the location of lost objects or persons, future events, and proper behavior, among others. Peyote protects from the evil intentions of witches. It brings knowledge for proper living, which includes avoiding alcoholic beverages and always acting according to strict Christian ethics–to love your wife and children and kin, be patriotic and law abiding, and to respect authority, God and elders.

Considering all the medicinal benefits, it may be no surprise that peyote is an endangered plant species and is difficult to find in nature. Purists may scoff, but there are alternatives. Steve Barton, an expert on things cacti, writes that the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) is more common than Peyote, legal, and can be found in nurseries. Steve instructs us that “t. pachanoi is a slightly tapering cylinder with a small number of ribs (typically 6 or 7), and clusters of 1-2mm spines running along the ridge of the rib and spaced about 1″ apart.” The preferred method of consuming San Pedro is in a recipe he titled crudités St. Pierre. “Slice raw, peeled cactus into sticks. Eat like ‘bitter cucumber spears.’ Add salt, lime-juice and chopped cilantro to taste” says Barton.

Aslynn Ward, a Pagan with an interest in psilocybin mushrooms and mescalin cacti notes that they “have a lengthy and amazing history in human religion and because it is considered a Sacrement; it would be advisable to restrict their use to ritual settings.”

Traveler’s Aid:

Peyote: the divine cactus

The History of Peyotism in Nevada

The San Pedro FAQ

Ashlynn’s Groove: Psilocybin Mushrooms

Posted July 27, 2002 by Casey Bisson
Categories: Travel. .

4 Comments

Trackback by romoblog on August 4, 2005 11:31 am
The Vaults of Erowid

The Vaults of Erowid is quite a fascinating site. Devoted entirely to the human relationship with psychoactive experiences, Erowid’s goal is to “[provide] access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants and chemica…
Comment by Roland on March 27, 2007 9:23 pm
You have a problem with the photos, they’re missing. Peyote is a cactus with many possibilies, a great plant in nature!
Comment by Mark on April 23, 2008 1:15 am
I’m 50 years old and on my way out of this world with a debilitating illness. I have always (since my teens) had a strong desire to try Peyote. Is someone willing to hook me up if I travel to Nevada?
Comment by trapper keeper on May 22, 2008 3:25 am
I think that the method of eating the san pedro raw, sliced, and with lemon and salt is actually not so bad at all. I would advise though, that eating something that tastes absolutely terribly, that only undergo what people in circles refer to as a “trip”, would only make for a bad situation. Not guaranteed, but likely none the less. If cactus like this tasted like ice cream, it would probably make you feel really good. But, it tastes kind of shitty! So, to each their own. Mind you this was like a year ago, i bust with the flow and rhyme with dimes of hash to the flo. Just playing though, ya’ll stay up.

The Mad Rapper

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