Mescaline

A definitive history of mescaline that explores its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to Western modernity Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-twentieth century through Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, after which the word "psychedelic" was coined to describe it. Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: the earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples. Mescaline was isolated in 1897 from the peyote cactus, first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. During the twentieth century it was used by psychologists investigating the secrets of consciousness, spiritual seekers from Aleister Crowley to the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, artists exploring the creative process, and psychiatrists looking to cure schizophrenia. Meanwhile peyote played a vital role in preserving and shaping Native American identity. Drawing on botany, pharmacology, ethnography, and the mind sciences and examining the mescaline experiences of figures from William James to Walter Benjamin to Hunter S. Thompson, this is an enthralling narrative of mescaline's many lives.

The instant New York Times bestseller | A Washington Post Notable Book | One of NPR's Best Books of the Year “Expert storytelling . . . [Pollan] masterfully elevates a series of big questions about drugs, plants and humans that are likely to leave readers thinking in new ways.” —New York Times Book Review From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan, a radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants—and the equally powerful taboos. Of all the things humans rely on plants for—sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber—surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable. So, then, what is a “drug”? And why, for example, is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable, but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime? In This Is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs—opium, caffeine, and mescaline—and throws the fundamental strangeness, and arbitrariness, of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming (or, in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants. Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings? In this unique blend of history, science, and memoir, as well as participatory journalism, Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts, and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively—as a drug, whether licit or illicit. But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants, Pollan shows, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago, this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants, and our attraction to them through time, holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds, and our entanglement with the natural world.

Two great classics come to life in one of the most loved books in American History. Remastered to include Illustrated exercises, a biography of Aldous Huxley, and including the full essay of Heaven and Hell, and The Doors to Perception, this book is a great gift to those who are unfamiliar with his work, or may have forgotten about Huxley's famous contemplations of life and death. - ZKBS(c) All Rights Reserved.

Are you interested in uncovering more about the powerful substance of Mescaline? Do you want to learn about people's experiences and the transformational impact it had on their minds, emotions, and lives? Want to make sure you don't have a bad trip if you decide to take it? Inside this profound book, you'll uncover detailed and insightful accounts of Mescaline, and how these trips impacted the minds and lives of its users. With an exploration of the spiritual and psychedelic effects of different cacti, as well as their hallucinations and what they learned about themselves and others, this book allows you to peer behind the curtain of Mescaline and see it for the powerful tool of self-discovery that it is. Psychedelic cacti has been used in ancient cultures for thousands of years to communicate with spirits, invoke visions, and allow people to interact with their higher selves and deeper consciousness. Now, you can learn about the incredible effects of this drug from people who have experienced it first-hand. Also included is a Frequently Asked Question section including questions such as: - Can you die from taking too much Mescaline? - What does a bad trip feel like? - How long does a bad trip last? - What is ego death? With personal stories, a down-to-earth tone, and a wealth of valuable insights, this guide provides an in-depth look at the secrets of Mescaline. Scroll up and click the 'Buy Now' button now to discover more about this incredible psychedelic today!

Guide to cultivating peyote and other psychoactive cacti and extracting active properties, including obtaining seeds, growing a variety of cacti, cloning, and grafting, and extracting the maximum output of mescaline and other alkaloids, descriptions of procedures used for extracting mescaline from peyote and San Pedro, and legal aspects prepared by Attorney Richard Glen Boire.

"This book is an exploration. By means of words, signs, drawings. Mescaline, the subject explored." In Miserable Miracle, the great French poet and artist Henri Michaux, a confirmed teetotaler, tells of his life-transforming first encounters with a powerful hallucinogenic drug. At once lacerating and weirdly funny, challenging and Chaplinesque, his book is a breathtaking vision of interior space and a piece of stunning writing wrested from the grip of the unspeakable. Includes forty pages of black-and-white drawings.

This book explains the role that peyote—a hallucinogenic cactus—plays in the religious and spiritual fulfillment of certain peoples in the United States and Mexico, and examines pressing issues concerning the regulation and conservation of peyote as well as issues of indigenous and religious rights. Why is mescaline—an internationally controlled substance derived from peyote—given exemptions for religious use by indigenous groups in Mexico, and by the pan-indigenous Native American Church in the United States and Canada? What are the intersections of peyote use, constitutional law, and religious freedom? And why are natural populations of peyote in decline—so much so that in Mexico, peyote is considered a species needing "special protection"? This fascinating book addresses these questions and many more. It also examines the delicate relationship between "the needs of the plant" as a species and "the needs of man" to consume the species for spiritual purposes. The authors of this work integrate the history of peyote regulation in the United States and the special "trust responsibility" relationship between the American Indians and the government into their broad examination of peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus containing mescaline that grows naturally in Mexico and southern Texas. The book's chapters document how when it comes to peyote, multiple stakeholders' interests are in conflict—as is often the case with issues that involve ethnic identity, religion, constitutional interpretation, and conservation. The expansion of peyote traditions also serves as a foundation for examining issues of international human rights law and protections for religious freedom within the global milieu of cultural transnationalism.

Are you interested in uncovering more about these powerful psychedelic drugs? Do you want to learn about people's experiences and the transformational impact it had on their minds, emotions, and lives? Want to make sure you don't have a bad trip if you decide to take one? Inside this profound book, you'll uncover over ten detailed and insightful accounts of DMT, Mescaline, Acid & Magic Mushroom trips, and how these trips impacted the minds and lives of its users. With an exploration of the spiritual and psychedelic effects, as well as their hallucinations and what they learned about themselves and others, this book allows you to peer behind the curtain of these entheogens and see it for the powerful tool of self-discovery that it is. These psychedelics have been used in ancient cultures for thousands of years to communicate with spirits, invoke visions, and allow people to interact with their higher selves and deeper consciousness. Now, you can learn about the incredible effects of this drug from people who have experienced it first-hand. Also included is a Frequently Asked Question section including questions such as: - Can you die from taking these drugs? - What does a bad trip feel like? - How long does a bad trip last? - How do you kill a bad trip? - What is an ego death? With personal stories, a down-to-earth tone, and a wealth of valuable insights, this guide provides an in-depth look at the secrets of DMT, Mescaline, Acid & Magic Mushrooms. Scroll up and click the 'Buy Now' button now to discover more about these incredible psychedelics today!