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.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
June 30,
2005
Received in revised form:
May 11,
2005
Received:
January 6,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
