San Pedro Cactus
Because of its psychoactive properties, the San Pedro Cactus has been controversial since the Spanish arrived, who thought the drug contributed to the idolatry and radical, nonsensical thought of the natives. Shamans had quite a different view. They thought the cactus to be a vital link to a different dimension and an important elixir for combating disease.
Containing the psychoactive chemical mescaline, the cactus has been used in ancient Peruvian cultures for over 3,000 years. Not only has it been used in rituals and ceremonies in order to transcend to the ethereal, but also for its medicinal purposes, making it an important component of life of the indigenous peoples.
This special cactus can be traced back to the ancient cave paintings that were found at an old Chavin temple from 1400 BC. Artists renderings of the plant on textiles and pottery from 700-500 BC have also been recorded.
The Chavin people weren't the only ones inspired by this powerful plant. It inspired the Salinar pottery style of 400 to 200 BC and the Nazca artwork (200BC to AD 700). It is also depicted in Moche art in a popular motif as a snail that has consumed the mescaline-laden cactus.
The San Pedro cactus is one of thirty species that are found growing wild in the Andes. The cactus resembles a large column that can grow up to heights of twenty feet. Since the skin contains the most highly concentrated amount of psychoactive alkaloids, it is usually peeled, dried, and made into a powder and sometimes used in conjunction with coca. Slices of the stem can also be boiled for a few hours and then the liquid drank.
The San Pedro Cactus continues to a have an important role in Peruvian culture. It has been used for many serious illnesses, including ailing kidneys, high fever, and hepatitis. In recent times, it has even proven effective in battling alcoholism, much like the Native American peyote, which also contains mescaline.
Typically, the cactus causes a drowsy, dream-like state, which, according to Shaman accounts, is followed by a great vision that allows one to transcend across time and matter and enter a distant dimension. To the Spanish, it was wild, devilish heathenism, but even while ridiculing it, they still were compelled to reverberate the important medicinal uses of the plant.
Today it is legal in most countries to grow the plant as a decorative object but it is illegal to grow the plants for consumption.
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