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Clinical Trial
. 2005 Oct 15;58(8):624-31.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.06.038.

Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans

John H Halpern  1 , Andrea R Sherwood, James I Hudson, Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, Harrison G Pope Jr
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Psychological and cognitive effects of long-term peyote use among Native Americans

John H Halpern et al. Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Hallucinogens are widely used, both by drug abusers and by peoples of traditional cultures who ingest these substances for religious or healing purposes. However, the long-term residual psychological and cognitive effects of hallucinogens remain poorly understood.

Methods: We recruited three groups of Navajo Native Americans, age 18-45: 1) 61 Native American Church members who regularly ingested peyote, a hallucinogen-containing cactus; 2) 36 individuals with past alcohol dependence, but currently sober at least 2 months; and 3) 79 individuals reporting minimal use of peyote, alcohol, or other substances. We administered a screening interview, the Rand Mental Health Inventory (RMHI), and ten standard neuropsychological tests of memory and attentional/executive functions.

Results: Compared to Navajos with minimal substance use, the peyote group showed no significant deficits on the RMHI or any neuropsychological measures, whereas the former alcoholic group showed significant deficits (p < .05) on every scale of the RMHI and on two neuropsychological measures. Within the peyote group, total lifetime peyote use was not significantly associated with neuropsychological performance.

Conclusions: We found no evidence of psychological or cognitive deficits among Native Americans using peyote regularly in a religious setting. It should be recognized, however, that these findings may not generalize to illicit hallucinogen users.

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