Overview
Echinopsis pachanoi, also known as San Pedro, is a species of columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. For centuries South American healers, or huachumeros/as, utilized its properties as a medicine and an entheogen.1 Gathering atop the Andes, locals and tourists alike come to honor the gods and to communicate with the spirit world through the consumption of this cactus. Steeped in mythology and legend, the ritual associated with San Pedro provides a glimpse into the ancient and mysterious world of shamanic healing.
The ceremony begins with the burning of sacred herbs and the invocation of the spirits by the huachumero guide. Participants then imbibe the plant medicine most commonly as a brew called cimora and allow its mysterious forces to lead them on a spiritual journey. Participants and healers claim it helps gain a better understanding of oneself and one’s place in the world. It accomplishes this by facilitating the exploration of one’s innermost depths, of the mysteries of the cosmos, and the discovery of the power of one’s own being. The unique and powerful experience of the San Pedro ceremony has drawn devotees from all over the world.
Today’s article will explore this ancient cactus to better inform those who may be interested in utilizing its healing capabilities.
History
San Pedro, or huachuma in the Quechua language, finds its roots in ancient Andean culture. The Guitarrero cave in the Callejón de Huaylas valley held the earliest evidence of its use. Fossilized remains found here date from 6800-6200 BCE. This places the mescaline containing cactus among the oldest psychoactive plants in human history. 2
Archaeologists discovered evidence of San Pedro and the accompanying shamanic rituals in the form of stone engravings as well as depictions adorning textiles and ceramics in the following pre-Columbian cultures: Cupisnique (1500 BCE), Chavin (1000 BC), Moche (100-750 AD) and Lambayeque (750-1350 AD). 2
As Spanish conquistadors and Christianity spread across the Andean mountains like wildfire, the traditional shamanic rituals gave way to settler religious ideologies and emerged as San Pedro, or Saint Peter, who guards the gates of Heaven. This served as a nod to the idea that the cactus opens the gates to the spiritual realm. 2
In 1896 mescaline took a stronger foothold in Western society as a German scientist, Arthur Heffter, isolated the compound for the first time. Roughly two decades later in 1919, Ernst Späth first synthesized mescaline from 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic.3
Chemistry
San Pedro contains several pharmacologically active compounds, including mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine), 3-methoxytyramine, and hordenine. Mescaline is a psychedelic alkaloid that induces altered states of consciousness and is primarily responsible for the effects of San Pedro.4,5
Upon ingestion, absorption into the gastrointestinal tract occurs rapidly. The majority of the mescaline present disperses to the kidneys and liver. The liver then metabolizes it via oxidative deamination, or the process in which oxygen and enzymes break down an amino acid into its component parts. With this, the mescaline moves through the body.4,5
Mescaline has a low lipid solubility making it difficult to cross the blood brain barrier, but once it reaches the brain, it activates serotonin receptors, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor, which regulates mood, perception, and cognition.4,5
Dosage and
Effects
One can ingest San Pedro in several forms, including powder, tea, and tinctures. The effects vary heavily depending on the dose. Generally, it produces mild to moderate psychedelic effects.4,5
These effects also vary depending on the individual’s mental state and the environment in which they take it. At low to moderate doses, mescaline can produce feelings of euphoria, altered perception, and increased awareness. At higher doses, it can produce intense, dissociative episodes and hallucinations. The duration of the effects of mescaline can range from 6 to 12 hours.4,5
The standard dosage for San Pedro spans between 200-400 mg of dried cactus. Mescaline does not induce a physical addiction, but for some it can produce a psychological addiction. While many label it a mild psychedelic, mescaline can produce negative side effects including anxiety, panic attacks, and psychosis.4,5
Heath &
Research
Researchers have not studied San Pedro’s effects extensively in humans, but the recent advent of psychedelic usage in a therapeutic setting works to change that. One study released in 2022 aimed to fill this absence.
Forty-two participants joined psychedelic retreats in the Netherlands and used San Pedro during their time there. Researchers subjected these participants to the 11 dimensions of altered states of consciousness (11D-ASC) questionnaire, and probed into challenging experiences, mystical experiences, and ego-dissolution. The 11 subscales of the 11D-ASC include the following: 6
- Experience of Unity.
- Spiritual Experience.
- Blissful State.
- Insightfulness
- Disembodiment
- Impaired Control and Cognition.
- Anxiety
- Complex Imagery.
- Elementary Imagery.
- Audio-Visual Synesthesia (stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway).
- Changed Meaning of Percepts.
Results of the questionnaires showcased divergence from typical waking consciousness on all 11 subscales of the 11D-ASC. Additionally, the questionnaires revealed San Pedro induces moderate ego-dissolution and two-thirds of participants had a complete mystical experience. Entrants reported low levels of disembodiment, anxiety, and impaired control and cognition, but in regards to challenging experiences, they reported relatively higher levels of physical distress and grief. 7
Benefits & Risks
San Pedro has a wide range of potential benefits, including its ability to induce altered states of consciousness, antidepressant-like effects, anxiolytic and anti-inflammatory properties, and an ability to induce feelings of empathy and connection. However, one should note that there are some risks associated with taking this psychedelic cactus.2,4,5
It can cause mild to moderate side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches. Researchers advise against consumption for people with pre-existing mental health conditions or people with a history of cardiovascular disease, as it can worsen symptoms in some cases.2,4,5
Therapeutic
Uses
San Pedro healers believe it to have a wide range of therapeutic benefits. As psychedelics become a more acceptable complement to traditional therapy, these benefits become increasingly clear. While some accounts deem the cactus a panacea that renders all other medicine moot, the research conducted thus far points more toward psychological benefits mentioned above.4,5
In a study published in 2021, about 50% of the respondents reported a pre-existing psychiatric condition such as depression or anxiety. After imbibing San Pedro or Peyote, another mescaline rich cactus, 67% reported improvements in these conditions.4 Despite these cacti having a rich and long history, clinical studies of their therapeutic benefits are largely lacking due to their legal status amongst many governments around the world.4,5
Media & Books
- Cactus of Mystery: The Shamanic Powers of the Peruvian San Pedro Cactus by Ross Heaven, 2009.
- Psychoactive Cacti- The Psychedelic Effects of Mescaline In Peyote, San Pedro, & The Peruvian Torch by Alex Gibbons, 2020.
- Peyote and Other Psychoactive Cacti by Adam Gottlieb, 1977.
- Shamanism & the Sacred Cactus: Ethnoarchaeological Evidence for San Pedro Use in Northern Peru by Douglas Sharon, 2020.
- San Pedro Huachuma: Opening the Pathways of The Heart by Javier Regueiro, 2017.
- The Cactus of Sanity: Huachuma in a Time of Chaos by Sergey Baranov, 2020.
- This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan, 2021
Legal Status
The legal status of San Pedro is highly debated throughout the world depending on its usage from country to country. In the United States, mescaline and peyote are a schedule 1 substance meaning they are illegal to possess and consume with exception put forth by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. 8
San Pedro falls in a bit of a gray area since the government does not classify it under the schedule 1 moniker, despite it containing one. Therefore, an individual may legally cultivate San Pedro as long as intent to sell does not accompany the cultivation. 9 Some states have begun to utilize this gray area to benefit their citizens. As of October of 2021, Seattle, Washington became the largest U.S. city to decriminalize psychedelics including non-peyote-derived mescaline which would include San Pedro.10
According to Erowid.org the following represents the legality of San Pedro around the world: 9
- Brazil- Peruvian Torch and San Pedro are legal while mescaline and peyote are illegal.
- Canada- Possession and sales of the cactus are typically not prosecuted in Canada, but once dried and prepared for consumption they would be prosecuted under the 2001 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
- Germany- Processing the living cactus in order to derive the psychoactive components remains illegal, but possession of the living cactus itself is not.
- Ireland- Headshops sell dried San Pedro and the fresh cactus is readily available despite mescaline being scheduled.
- Switzerland- San Pedro is a prohibited substance here.
- United Kingdom- The 2007 case Regina v. Saul Sette left dried mescaline containing cacti legal to sell and possess.
References
- Erowid Cacti Vaults : San Pedro, The Miracle HealerÂ. (n.d.). https://www.erowid.org/plants/cacti/cacti_writings1.shtml
- iceers.org. (2022, September 27). San Pedro: Basic Info. ICEERS. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://www.iceers.org/san-pedro-basic-info
- Dinis-Oliveira, R. J., Pereira, C. L., & da Silva, D. D. (2019). Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Aspects of Peyote and Mescaline: Clinical and Forensic Repercussions. Current molecular pharmacology, 12(3), 184–194. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874467211666181010154139
- Uthaug, M. V., Davis, A. K., Haas, T. F., Davis, D., Dolan, S. B., Lancelotta, R., Timmermann, C., & Ramaekers, J. G. (2021). The epidemiology of mescaline use: Pattern of use, motivations for consumption, and perceived consequences, benefits, and acute and enduring subjective effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(3), 309–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211013583
- Dinis-Oliveira, R. J., Pereira, C. L., & da Silva, D. D. (2019). Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Aspects of Peyote and Mescaline: Clinical and Forensic Repercussions. Current molecular pharmacology, 12(3), 184–194. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874467211666181010154139
- Schmidt, T. T., & Berkemeyer, H. (2018). The Altered States Database: Psychometric Data of Altered States of Consciousness. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1028. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01028
- Arne Bohn, Michiel H. H. Kiggen, Malin V. Uthaug, Kim I. M. van Oorsouw, Johannes G. Ramaekers & Hein T. van Schie (2022) Altered States of Consciousness During Ceremonial San Pedro Use, The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2022.2139502 retrieved December 16, 2022 from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10508619.2022.2139502
- 42 U.S. Code § 1996 – Protection and preservation of traditional religions of Native Americans. (n.d.). LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1996
- Erowid Cacti Vault : Legal Status. (n.d.). https://erowid.org/plants/cacti/cacti_law.shtml
- Adlin, B. (2021, October 4). Seattle Becomes Largest U.S. City To Decriminalize Psychedelics. Marijuana Moment. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/seattle-becomes-largest-u-s-city-to-decriminalize-psychedelics
