The Peyote Effect: From the Inquisition to the War on Drugs

257 Pages·2018·0.796 MB·English

by  Alexander S. Dawson

The Peyote Eff ect
From the Inquisition to the War on Drugs
Alexander S. Dawson
university of california press
The Peyote Eff ect

The Peyote Eff ect
From the Inquisition to the War on Drugs
Alexander S. Dawson
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most
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University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2018 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dawson, Alexander S. (Alexander Scott),
1967- author.
Title: The peyote eff ect : from the Inquisition to the War
on Drugs / Alexander S. Dawson.
Description: Oakland, California : University of
California Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Identifi ers: lccn 2017059947 (print) | lccn 2017061379
(ebook) | isbn 9780520960909 (ebook) |
isbn 9780520285422 (cloth : alk. paper) |
isbn 9780520285439 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: lcsh: Peyote—Law and legislation—United
States. | Peyote—Law and legislation—Mexico. |
Indians of North America—Drug use. | Indians of
North America—Religion. | Indians of North
America—Social life and customs.
Classifi cation: lcc rs165.p44 (ebook) | lcc rs165.p44
d39 2018 (print) | ddc 362.29/308997—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017059947
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Nina, Maia, and Alejandra

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction
1833: The Cholera Epidemic 1
Chapter One
1887: Dr. John Briggs Eats Some Peyote 11
Chapter Two
1899: The Instituto Médico Nacional 23
Chapter Three
1909: Poison 36
Chapter Four
1917: The Ban 44
Chapter Five
1918: The Native American Church 55
Chapter Six
1937: The Goshute Letter 63
Chapter Seven
1957: The Holy Thursday Experiment 73
Chapter Eight
1958: Alfonso Fabila Visits the Sierra Huichola 90
Chapter Nine
1964: Bona Fide 103
Chapter Ten
1971: Peyote Outlawed in Mexico 121
Chapter Eleven
1972: The Exemption 134
Chapter Twelve
2011: Tom Pinkson 154
Conclusion
Race, Space, Time 169
Notes 177
Bibliography 221
Index 241
Acknowledgments
Twenty-fi ve years ago, when I was just learning how to be a scholar, I
was almost pathologically reluctant to ask for help. I am lucky that I
overcame some of that fear by the time I started this project, as this
work is far better than it would have been without the advice and criti-
cism of a wide community of friends and colleagues. During my years
in Vancouver I had the great fortune to benefi t from the kind and criti-
cal words of Jerome Bacconnier, Courtney Booker, Max Cameron, Jeff
Checkel, Susan Cho, Liz Cooper, John Craig, Greg Feldman, Bill French,
Chris Gibson, Gaston Gordillo, John Harriss, Eric Hershberg, Mark
Leier, Jack Little, Tamir Moustafa, Kathleen Millar, Shaylih Muehl-
mann, Gerardo Otero, Elodie Portales-Casamar, Judy Rein, Lisa Sha-
piro, Jen Spear, Dorris Tai, and Ellen Yap. Jon Beasley-Murray, with
whom I have been arguing about peyote, aff ect, race, and history for
more than a decade, has had an incalculable impact on this book. Rox-
anne Panchasi, my longest friend in the SFU history department, pro-
vided critical advice as I was writing the book.
I have also benefi ted enormously from the help and advice of Javier
Barrera, Roteleo Carrillo, Shane Dillingham, Erika Dyck, Andrew Feld-
mar, Higinio González, Luis González-Reimann, Matthew Kent, Bia
Labate, Brooke Larson, Eligio López, Francisco López, Martin Nesvig,
Gabriel Parra, Ricardo Pérez Montfort, Pablo Piccato, Scott Robinson,
Janine Rodiles, Norma Roquet, Richard Yensen, Annie Zapf, and Eric
Zolov. Paul Gootenberg and Isaac Campos have been constant sources
ix