The Native American Church is facing a pressing challenge: a shortage of the sacred peyote cactus. This shortage has sparked concern among church members who rely on peyote for their religious rituals. The church, which originated in the late 19th century in the Oklahoma Territory, combines traditional Native American beliefs with elements of Christianity and has approximately 350,000 adherents practicing peyotism.
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that produces the hallucinogenic drug mescaline. It holds a sacred status within the Native American Church as a sacrament used in religious ceremonies. Under US federal law, mescaline is a controlled substance; however, a 1994 exemption to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act allows Native Americans to use, possess, and transport peyote legally. Despite this legal protection, the cactus faces environmental pressures and incorrect harvesting practices that threaten its supply.
The plant grows naturally in a limited range across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its slow growth rate adds to the scarcity issue, taking 10 to 12 years to reach maturity. Feeney, a concerned advocate, noted the plant's vulnerability:
"It’s a natural resource, limited in range, that can be harvested and re-harvested, but it is very slow growing and takes 10 to 12 years for the plant to reach maturity."
There are only three licensed peyoteros authorized to harvest and sell peyote to church members across the US. To purchase peyote, church members must demonstrate at least a quarter Native American heritage. Unfortunately, environmental pressures and improper harvesting of the tops, or buttons—which contain most of the psychoactive mescaline—are diminishing supplies.
"If the top is taken correctly and cleanly it will regrow, but you’re looking at many years." – Feeney
The shortage of peyote has become increasingly concerning as demand surges alongside ayahuasca, another psychoactive compound traditionally used by Indigenous cultures. This increase in demand poses a risk to the sacred plant's availability for religious purposes. A Navajo church member from Rio Grande City, Texas, expressed concern over this trend:
"This is a Native American sacred medicine and we don’t want people messing around with it."
The Native American Church has approached the US government to discuss potential protections for peyote. In Mexico, where the plant is classified as a threatened and protected species due to shrinking peyote gardens, similar concerns have arisen. The dwindling supply threatens to price out individuals who use peyote traditionally for religious purposes.
"The concern is … this opens up a limited resource to mass consumption that will price out people who use the cactus in a traditional fashion for religious purposes and be used by people in a western experimental perspective," – A Navajo member of the church from Rio Grande City, Texas