Examination of Recreational and Spiritual Peyote Use Among American Indian Youth

INTRODUCTION: Some American Indians (AI) legally use hallucinogenic substances as part of religious and spiritual ceremonies (American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 1994). Typically ingestion of the peyote cactus, which contains the hallucinogen mescaline is used in all-night ceremonies in the Native American Church. However, the research to date has either failed to differentiate spiritual versus recreational use or has categorized hallucinogen use in an “other drug” or “illegal drug,” category alongside substances such as cocaine, Ecstasy, and methamphetamine. This approach could contribute to ineffectual models of prevention and intervention and limit a nuanced understanding of hallucinogen use in AI cultures.

There is emerging evidence to suggest that spirituality/religiosity and cultural identity may play a key role in AI hallucinogen use. Considering the effects of hallucinogens, which include a reported alteration of perception, increased suggestibility, and intensification of emotions, it is plausible that people who are likely to engage in recreational vs spiritual use of peyote may differ by sex (which has different prevalence rates across substances), and current alcohol and marijuana use.

METHODS: This study is a secondary data analysis of an ongoing epidemiologic and etiologic investigation of substance use among American Indian youth (N = 3861; M_age = 14.8). Two Firth Logistic Regression models were run with 1) spiritual peyote use and 2) recreational peyote use as the dependent variables, and sex, 30-day alcohol use, 30-day marijuana use, religiosity, and cultural identity as predictors. Firth logistic regressions use a penalized likelihood approach that is appropriate for highly unbalanced dichotomous dependent variables.

RESULTS: Sex did not predict either recreational or spiritual peyote use. 30-day alcohol and marijuana use predicted both spiritual and recreational peyote use, but the effects were stronger for predicting recreational use. Religiosity and cultural identity predicted spiritual but not recreational use, such that AI youth who identified as more religious and identified more strongly with their culture were more likely to report using peyote for spiritual purposes.

DISCUSSION: The current study examined predictors of peyote use among spiritual and recreational users. Our results suggest that current use of alcohol and/or marijuana indicates risk for using peyote. However, clinicians should assess for other factors including religiosity and cultural identity that may provide context for clients’ substance use behaviors and provide guidance for how to proceed with treatment. Future studies should evaluate the positive and negative consequences that result from peyote use both for spiritual and recreational purposes.