Peyote is most commonly consumed by chewing dried cactus buttons or brewing them into a tea. The small, spineless cactus grows close to the ground in the deserts of northern Mexico and southern Texas, and its crown is sliced off at ground level to produce disc-shaped “buttons” that are dried and then eaten, brewed, or ground into powder. A typical psychoactive dose involves 3 to 6 dried buttons, weighing roughly 10 to 20 grams total and delivering 200 to 400 mg of mescaline, the plant’s primary active compound.
Harvesting and Preparing the Buttons
Peyote buttons are harvested by cutting the crown of the cactus at ground level, parallel to the soil surface. When done correctly, this technique leaves the root intact so the plant can slowly regenerate. Licensed distributors registered with the DEA typically follow this method. However, some harvesters cut too deep into the underground stem or pull up entire plants by the root, which destroys the cactus entirely. Because peyote grows extremely slowly, taking over a decade to reach maturity, improper harvesting has become a serious conservation concern.
Once harvested, the green crowns are sliced into thin discs and dried, either in sunlight or with low heat. Dried buttons are hard, brown, and shriveled. In this form they can be stored for long periods without losing potency. The mescaline concentration in dried peyote ranges from about 1% to 6% by weight, with an average single button containing roughly 45 mg of mescaline.
Chewing Dried Buttons
The most straightforward method is simply chewing and swallowing dried buttons. This is also the oldest approach, used in Indigenous ceremonies for thousands of years. The buttons are tough and leathery, and peyote is notorious for its intensely bitter, acrid taste. Most people find the flavor deeply unpleasant, which is why alternative preparation methods exist. Chewing the buttons thoroughly before swallowing helps release the mescaline and may speed absorption, but the bitterness makes this difficult for many people.
Brewing Peyote Tea
The second most common method is steeping dried or fresh buttons in hot water to make an infusion, often called peyote tea. The buttons are typically broken into small pieces or ground before being added to the water. The resulting liquid is strained and drunk. While the tea is still very bitter, it can be somewhat easier to get down than chewing raw cactus material. Some people mix the tea with fruit juice to mask the taste. Brewing also allows the user to sip gradually rather than consuming the full dose at once.
Powder and Capsules
A more modern approach involves grinding dried buttons into a fine powder. This powder can be mixed into drinks, blended with fruit juice or gelatin, or packed into gelatin capsules. Capsules largely bypass the taste problem and make dosing more precise, since the powder can be weighed. This method has been specifically documented as a strategy for reducing the nausea and vomiting that peyote commonly causes. Mixing the powder with food or flavored liquids serves the same purpose.
Nausea and the Taste Problem
Nausea and vomiting are so common with peyote that many traditional ceremonial contexts treat purging as a normal, even expected, part of the experience rather than a side effect to avoid. The combination of intensely bitter alkaloids and the fibrous plant material itself is hard on the stomach. Vomiting often occurs within the first hour or two after ingestion.
The various workarounds, including capsules, fruit juice mixtures, and tea straining, are all attempts to reduce this effect. Straining the tea removes some of the plant fiber, which may help. Capsules delay contact between the bitter compounds and the mouth and throat, though they don’t necessarily prevent stomach upset once they dissolve. None of these methods eliminate nausea entirely for most people.
Typical Dose and Timeline
A standard psychoactive dose is 3 to 6 dried buttons, delivering roughly 200 to 400 mg of mescaline. Fewer than 3 buttons generally produces milder effects, while more than 6 intensifies the experience considerably. Because mescaline concentration varies from plant to plant (anywhere from 1% to 6% of dried weight), the strength of any given button is somewhat unpredictable.
Effects typically begin 30 to 90 minutes after ingestion, depending on stomach contents and the form consumed. Tea and powder tend to come on somewhat faster than whole chewed buttons. The peak usually lasts several hours, and the full experience can stretch 8 to 12 hours from start to finish. This extended duration is one reason peyote ceremonies traditionally run through the entire night.
Ceremonial Use in the Native American Church
For members of the Native American Church (NAC), peyote is not a recreational substance. It is a religious sacrament consumed during all-night prayer ceremonies that have been practiced in their modern form since the late 1800s, building on Indigenous traditions thousands of years older. In this context, peyote is viewed as medicine for healing, not as a drug. Buttons are typically chewed or brewed during the ceremony under the guidance of a ceremonial leader.
Research on long-term NAC members who use peyote strictly in ceremonial settings has found no evidence of negative cognitive or psychological consequences from this practice. This finding applies to adults; the same has not been studied in youth.
Legal Status in the United States
Peyote is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, making it illegal to possess, grow, or distribute in most circumstances. However, a DEA regulation specifically exempts the use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church. Members using peyote in this context do not need to register with the DEA, though anyone who manufactures or distributes peyote to the NAC must hold an annual registration.
The Department of Justice has interpreted this exemption broadly enough to cover other religions where peyote use is genuinely central to established beliefs and rituals, though it has noted that, as a practical matter, no other group currently meets that standard. The exemption cannot be limited to American Indians alone, as restricting it by race would likely violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Outside of these narrow religious exemptions, possessing peyote remains a federal crime, and most states follow the same framework.