Volume 6, Issue 7, page 10

FREDERIC HAND
dicted motions of up to a dozen cars at intersections with complete accuracy.

At home, I ate two more buttons to ^ake up
for what I vomited at the apartment, and felt
no more nausea. I continued to try different
perceptions, as before. I turned the lights
out and tried to experience visions or hallucinations. I failed.

Three days later, I ate four tops. I stayed
home thruout. The effects were similar to those
of the second trial, but I did not get as nauseated. This time, I devoted attention to differences of consciousness with and without
peyote. I found peyote produces two distinctive effects.

First, peyote increases all perceptions to
maximum within the physiological limits of the
individual. The maximum is constant so the
stimulation varied inversely with the acuteness
of the individual's perception in everyday
life. Peyote makes an individual as conscious
as possible.

Second, peyote puts an individual completely in "present time". "Being in present time"
means: I am here, now doing this, perceiving
this, experiencing this, thinking this. When
something starts to happen, I perceive it.
When something stops happening, I do not perceive it, but I remember it happened. I can
feel unpleasant, "negative" emotions, but I do
not have to suppress, excuse, regret, or worry
about them. Since emotions in present time are
appropriate, there are fewer unpleasant emotions. Peyote increases perceptions. It does
nothing for sensations. I made rough tests
under peyote and found no improvement. While
studying Scientology, I heard much of "present
time", and thought I understood it. Since the
third time I ate peyote I do understand it and
know I formerly did not. I think an adequate
reason for eating peyote is that it puts one
in present time.

Peyote does not produce euphoria. Euphoria
is a compulsive, giddy, or goofy unstable state
of gigglesome"Wheel" such as sometimes produced by alcohol, oxygen, marijuana, sex, and
religion. A few persons have complained to me
they don't like peyote because it doesn't produce euphoria.

Peyote (Lophophora Williamsii), a plant of
the cactus family, grows near the Rio Grande.
Use of peyote is legal and it can be bought
cheaply by mail. The main drug in it is mescaline, yet mescaline produces an effect different from peyote, costs about 200 times as much,
and is restricted by the Federal Food and Drug
Commission.

The top (button) of a peyote plant is lobed
and green, spineless, and has fuzzy spots like
potato eyes. These are buds and grow new tops.
The root is carrot-like, conical, has rootlets
and thin rough bark . Size ranges from about 2
to 6 inches in diameter for the button.

Peyote is easy to grow in most soils with
reasonably warm weather. It grows from seed,
the root, or the whole plant. It grows slowly.
Cold weather and frost kill it. It can be grown
in flowerpots, takes no special care, and makes
a beautiful flowering plant.

Traditionally, one peels the top or top and
root, washes it, and eats it raw. )bps can be
dried without much loss of potency, but the
process may fail and produce a tarry substance
of weak potency. A musician in Houston has
powdered peyote, dried and capsule d it, selling the capsules for 10