This is worth reading carefully.

https://chacruna.net/nat...solution-protect-peyote/

This proposition will, no doubt, be controversial for many reasons; and the approach taken in it will undoubtedly alienate some of us who would otherwise be supporters.

While I personally do not & would not take peyote, due to its past over-harvesting, and present limited supply, especially since it is considered a sacramental plant, without substitute, by a portion of my human family, I have two concerns:

1. Exclusive, unlimited, perpetual ownership of any plant or animal species by any sub-population of mankind; and

2. The use of the word mescaline - a component of other plant species - in association with a proposal to secure #1.

I respect and empathize with the intention to conserve this endangered resource, but do not believe nature or its products should be under the exclusive, unlimited, perpetual ownership or use of any human sub-population.

If mention of “mescaline” were removed from the proposition, and if the proposition were written in a way that allowed for all mankind to have the possibility of accessing peyote (perhaps where/when there exists sufficient sustainable supply beyond the needs of the sub-population that uses it for its non-substitutable sacramental purposes), then I could support it.

I fully expect mescaline and all its cactus sources to become decriminalized/legalized in at least some parts of the US, and it gets my hackles up to have some of my brothers & sisters (who are members of a particular religious organization) decide to appropriate this currently denied birthright, to my exclusion, in the future.

My issues are not with this particular sub-population, I’d feel exactly the same it they were some other sub-population…like, say, a corporation.

In short, there are plenty of pathways to protect this sacred resource for all of mankind; cooperation, not selfishness, is the righteous route.

All the best.

"Religious freedom for those who believe as I do' has long been a toxic meme.

Peyote is already being excluded from decrim efforts due to this ideation. Indigenous complaints also removed San Pedro from the Santa Cruz resolution that was approved. The present venue of action is a state resolution in Colorado.

There is much stated in this document that is simply not true; including its presentation of the current peyote law.
If people want to see peyote survive into the future it will become cultivated for peyote users to consume. I am apparently culturally insensitive for thinking this to be true and found myself damned for telling other people what to do.

Opening up Mexico to fill in what Texas can't provide is a short-sighted and selfish idea. Mexico has its own peyote people who are already struggling with loss of wild populations and overharvesting.

Sad times.

Separate from my previous comment is the hypocrisy of this particular group, whose very own culture believes that no man owns nature.

They have become their own oppressor!

This completely turns me off to helping support their cause(s), way beyond the specific peyote issue.


Btw, the power holding class in santa cruz is the epitome of privileged white patronizing shallow-thinking hypocritical hippy do-gooders. The kind that will beg, buy, or appropriate any peyote they want, regardless of their public stance. If this was Sandoz, Merck, Walmart, Exxon, Monsanto, or the Southern Baptist Convention demanding exclusive, unlimited, perpetual ownership of peyote, they would be the primus inter pares of the no-fucking-way crowd!

I understand that Peyote is a vulnerable species, but the thinking that decriminalizing it will endanger it is backwards. If anything, it will help secure its survival and flourishing by allowing many people to grow and propagate it.

Have you seen what the decriminalization/legalization of cannabis has done to the the cannabis plant?

After being gone for some time, I highly agree. The propagation of peyote is its only survival against illegal poachers and harvesters. We always needed a symbiotic relationship with plants and animals. One can not live without the other. Its our duty as an intelligent life to maintain the order of that which is our planet. Otherwise we die. There is no alternative. If we abuse what we have it will leave us, with nothing.

IMO, propagation of peyote should be compulsory - make mine a peyote cultivation mandate

Peyote is a versatile medicine with broad antimicrobial properties, as it would happen.

What a mess this situation is. Its understandable that the NAC is doing everything possible to protect their access to the dwindling supply of peyote in South Texas. I'm sure they fear that decriminalization or legalization would lead to greater interest in peyote and increased poaching of what peyote remains in Texas. If a legal market opens up for peyote in the USA then it will lead to more poaching to supply plants and seeds for the new market. Its just a sad state of affairs.

But the NAC is going to have to accept peyote cultivation eventually, or at some point there won't be enough harvestable peyote in Texas for them to use. Cultivation is the only way to meet the demand moving forward. Harvesting in Mexico is just pushing the problem down the road for future generations, not to mention how detrimental it would be for peyote populations in Mexico.

The whole issue of banning non-Natives from growing and using peyote is problematic as well. At face value it seems quite unfair. I would love to grow peyote one day if it ever becomes legal to do so. But at least we have Trichocereus, right? Honestly our main focus should be on maintaining Trichocereus' legal status. As long as Trichocereus are legal then the Natives can have their peyote as far as I'm concerned.

They need to get off that selfish horse, and realize there are plenty of non-natives who can, and are willing to, help them as a decriminalization/legalization progresses.

There is much more going on here than loss of peyote land and poaching. Lots of grievance and negativity buried under all of this. Their current approach is so counter-productive, in so many ways.

There's a lot of injustice that they've been through that has led to their current position of trying to preserve all of the remaining peyote for Native use. I agree with you that peyote should be legalized for anyone to grow and use. But I see why they are so wary of changing the current status quo. Its good to keep that in mind before passing judgement on them. There's plenty of peyote seeds already available out there anyway for those who are really intent on growing it. Eventually they will have to change their stance on cultivation. Once their supply is robust and secure then I imagine that they will be more open to allowing peyote to be shared with others. I can wait until then. In the meanwhile the focus should be on informing the NAC of how beneficial legal cultivation would be to their cause.

One of their stated reasons is the issue of cultivated peyote pollinating wild flowers and changing the local genetics. This wouldn't be an issue in many cases (e.g. in other states where it is not native), but it would be difficult to prevent if they simply allowed cultivation. The importance of preserving local genetics is just a value judgement.

Opposing cultivation seems illogical given their own situation, but I also wonder what this will effectively mean for them. Is harvesting seeds and scattering them nearby in an ideal habitat considered cultivation? Probably not and even if it was, effectively no one would care. I don't know what germination rates would be like, but anyways.

I have no experience with the reality of the situation (unlike some of you), so I have no idea if this has any actual relevance. I can also legally grow where I live thankfully.

No need to preach empathy & understanding on this. I understand the history, and have some native blood in me, too. Bottom-line is that history is in the past, and none of us can change it; and if this group sticks to their current path, they will have no peyote in the future. The pathway to their religious future starts with their approach today, they need to face up to their own responsibility on this. Then, the rest of us need to pitch in to help.

I’m ready, are they?

Cultivation of peyote in commerce has been ongoing for around 180 years in Europe and 160 in the USA without changing peyote's genetics outside of a few deliberate hybrids. The pollen needs to be physically transferred by small bees or a paintbrush and is not spread by the wind so it is a stretch to think inactive Lophophora species pollen will somehow escape and get into wild populations.
Planting Mexican seeds in the wild in Texas or introducing Mexican plants is another story as northern peyotes are self-fertile due to being almost clones with each other and those from farther south require cross pollination due to having much greater genetic diversity (and antiquity). As far as I am aware only the NAC has the intention to use those seeds for cultivation and replanting (no conservationist would engage in that as it violates a very basic rule for reintroductions) so what is said in this resolution contains some bits that sound like gaslighting.
This is a potential problem arising from Mexican peyote being sold through the distributors and there being no way to know the actual provenance of the seeds collected by peyote consumers and sent to their seed repository. Notice also in this missive there was a call to open up the border so more peyote from Mexico can fill the shortfalls. Mexico has its own peyote peoples (plural) and they are already voicing concerns about peyote in Mexico being challenged by habitat destruction and overharvesting.
Cultivation is a proven tool for countering species loss. Nothing is complex about this subject except for voicing opinions concerning other people's religion. That becomes complex very quickly and it is necessary to take a step back as only the people involved have the ability (and the legal right) to do anything truly meaningful. If the NAC is going to cultivate it has to be their decision and not a directive coming from other people.
Attacking religious freedom as a means of defending religious freedom is disturbing though. Especially as the attack successfully included San Pedro in the Santa Cruz decrim resolution.

A very long time ago (I stopped being willing to eat peyote more than thirty years ago) I was told by the peyote it would disappear from accessibility someday if people did not care about it having a life. It needs to be able to flower and drop seeds to exist, not simply to exist for use as a sacrament. If the first need is taken care of the second one will be too.
Peyote is not threatened with extinction. It is threatened with extirpation which is simply localized extinction. Peyote will always exist in places that people can't get to or do not know about; just in smaller numbers. What is actually threatened is not the peyote species but peyote users having an adequate supply. I believe there is plenty of peyote for the people who are alive now but in another generation or so there will be voices increasingly asking WTF.

Just like climate change…people know what’s coming, they know what to do, but refuse to change. One day our stupidity will take care of it all, and the universe will be better off without us.

That part is confusing. Its hard to understand why Santa Cruz would have included San Pedro. I re-read the statement linked at the top of this thread. There is nothing in the National Congress of American Indians Resolution that would indicate that they are coming after San Pedro. Their interest seems to be singularly focused on peyote.

Its a shame that there are obstacles in place blocking the free access of all people to grow and use peyote. I believe that everyone should have that right.

My point is that I understand the hesitancy of many in the Native American community to change the current laws governing peyote in the USA. They have fought long and hard to win the legal protections that currently exist. Opening up access for more people to consume peyote will have an impact on the situation in Texas. The species is already in decline. Poaching is already a problem. I understand the fear around creating greater demand.

As it says in the Resolution:
"the legalization and decriminalization of Peyote consumption beyond the already hundreds of thousands of members of the Native American Church will create a demand and market for Peyote that further threatens the existing wild population".

We all know that if peyote is legalized in the USA not everyone who consumes it will grow their own. Some of that demand will be met by cultivation. But some of the peyote will be poached from the wild. That is what they are worried about and I understand their concern.

Who do you think granted the NAC peyote protection?

The Native American community?

Not!

The Non-Native, American Congress, President, and Courts!

Many non-natives want the NAC, a subset of all Native Americans btw, to have sufficient sacramental supply. We can argue about loss/conversion of peyote habitat, poaching, governmental restrictions, inattention to supply/demand, and grievance/history, as this very slow-growing species declines toward unsustainable supply. Or, we can develop alternatives that eventually lead to sustainable supply.

However, no progress will be made by natives taking this selfish, specious, and hypocritical approach.

If the natives were able to solve this problem on their own, there would be no problem to solve. But, they can not do so. At some point they will have to face this reality. Hopefully, that point will occur before it reaches the point of no return.

Cooperation, not selfishness, is the path forward.

Is there anything we can do to support re-seeding of Peyote in the wild, since that seems to be the main concern?

Cultivation is great and can provide a buffer for the wild crop, but it seems like the main issue is the preservation of wild Peyote lands.

The whole peyote supply chain is a legal cluster-fuck, compounded by typical agriculture vs habitat tensions, population growth, and climate change.

It is unlikely to be solved by simply planting seed in the current environment.

But Keeper Trout can best answer this, especially wrt to the plant’s biology/propagation and habitat needs. Perhaps he could give us a summary of what he thinks would be a good/workable approach to finding a solution.




[For those who don’t know that much about sacred cacti conservation, Keeper Trout is one of the foremost US experts in this area, among other things of importance.]

I've heard that Peyote can propagate both by root cutting and by top plant (it'll grow another root from a cutting of its aerial part). Which is pretty cool.

Plants can be far more reliably established than starting with wild planted seeds. Even broadcasting cactus seeds has a surprising success rate, albeit low, in what little study has been done on this subject.
Crowns can be cut and rooted while the subterranean stem puts out new pups, clusters can easily be divided, or grafting can be used to amplify numbers of crowns. It is no different than any moderately easy to grow cactus species.
However, a question comes up as to where would a person do this? Peyote largely grows on private land. If a person does not own the land there is no reliability of future security for it. Unauthorized harvests by distributors and their employees will also continue to be a threat even on private land.
Greenhouse production or cultivation under shade cloth outdoors seems obvious as an answer (bearing in mind growing millions of plants requires a lot of space whether in the ground or under glass) but as a Westerner it is an easy thought compared to someone who wants only wild plants planted by Nature and not involving humans.
It is a tricky business for anyone to think they have adequate wisdom to suggest how other people approach their religion.
This one is really between peyote people and peyote.
We've made lots of suggestions over the years, and a couple of philanthropists have created a funding structure for NAC groups wanting to take self control over their own future but the rest is up to the consumers of peyote.
I know for a fact peyote grows where it 1) can't be accessed and 2) where it is not well known to be growing. So extinction is not in the cards. Loss of an available and adequate supply is a more likely end point.
I wish the peyote plant and peyote consumers the best of all futures. Their future really is in their hands right now.

The CSA has always had a clear provision for people to grow peyote for the people with that legal right to consume peyote. There is however no legal restriction on who that person is that limits them to being an NAC member. The pinch point is being approved by DEA for a "manufacturing license".
Cultivation can be done in any state other than Texas as the Texas Health and Safety Code regards the seeds to be illegal. It only respects peyote growing naturally and unharvested in the ground or harvested peyote intended for consumption by someone with at least 1/4 blood quota and an NAC member. It looks promising that the ICPI may succeed in being allowed to cultivate in Texas (all other attempts have failed) but this is still in mid development.

Expanding the restrictions on decrim nature's city initiatives and attacking San Pedro in the process actually concerns me more than does the desire to control peyote. The latter is going to sort itself out over time but the harm being done to the perception of a plant that is largely off the radar and is still 100% legal to grow as an ornamental in the USA could prove to have lasting impact on a few levels.