Psychoactive Plants: Tobacco, Peyote, Kava, and Other Plants

Tobacco

Nicotine, the major alkaloid in tobacco, is the most addictive drug in widespread use

A New World habit

The major tobacco plant grown in the world today is Nicotiana tabacum, a member of
the nightshade family, Solanaceae

Nicotine is synthesized in the roots and translocated to the leaves

Archeological evidence indicates that tobacco was the first narcotic used in South America

Tribes throughout the continent used the leaves by chewing, by smoking, as snuff
(through the nose), or by drinking infusions

Columbus and his men encountered natives smoking tobacco when they landed on Cuba in
1492; it was taken back to Spain and soon thousands were addicted to the smoking habit

Tobacco was introduced into France and England soon after

Plantations were then established in the colony of Virginia, and in 1629 more than one-
half million pounds of tobacco leaves were shipped to England

Eventually, tobacco became a major commodity in the colonies with large plantations
established in Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas

Cultivation practices

Seedlings are raised in seed beds and then transplanted to the fields (see fig. 20.6a); as
the leaves mature they are harvested and taken for curing (see fig. 20.6b)

The curing process involves fermentation and drying during which the characteristic
aroma and flavors of tobacco develop and the leaves turn yellow-brown

The leaves are sorted, graded, and aged further, and then they are cut, blended, and
flavored to produce mixtures for cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and chewing tobacco

Although there were prototypes during the Mayan and Aztec eras, the modern cigarette
made its appearance in Europe after the Crimean War

Development of the cigarette manufacturing machine in 1881 produced a ready-made

inexpensive tobacco product for the masses
 After World War II, cigarette smoking dominated all forms of tobacco use in the U.S.

Per capita cigarette consumption in the U.S. reached a peak in 1963 at 42%; the number
of smokers today has declined to 25%, but the number of cigarettes smoked each day
has increased

Worldwide, there are approximately 1.1 billion smokers who consume 5 trillion
cigarettes per year

Health risks

Until relatively recently, tobacco use was thought to be beneficial rather than harmful

By the 1950s, evidence was mounting that cigarette smoking was harmful, and the
Surgeon Generals report of 1964 stated that cigarette smoking was linked to lung
cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other diseases

It is now recognized that 85% of the lung cancer in men and 75% in women is due to
cigarette smoking; 30% of all cancer deaths can be linked to smoking

Each year, 120,000 deaths due to coronary heart disease are attributed to smoking, and
smokers have double the risk of developing heart disease

Pregnant women who smoke have a greater incidence of low-birthweight babies and
higher rates of premature and stillborn births

The risk of developing emphysema is 4 to 25 times greater for smokers than for nonsmokers

Secondary smoke is also harmful; children of smokers have an increased risk of

respiratory disorders and reduced lung function; in adults, passive smoking is a cause of
lung cancer

Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of more than 2000 chemicals plus extremely fine
particulates; included in the mixture are nicotine, tars, carbon monoxide, hydrogen
cyanide, aromatic hydrocarbons, and other hazardous substances (see table 20.1)

The alkaloid nicotine is addictive in any form of tobacco; it is a stimulant to the central
nervous system, it is a poison in its pure form, and it is converted to carcinogenic
products in the body

Tars, which are organic substances produced during the burning of tobacco leaves, are
known carcinogens

Poisonous gases found in cigarette smoke include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide,
and formaldehyde; carbon monoxide has been shown to be associated with coronary
heart disease and the retardation of fetal growth
Peyote (see fig. 20.7)

The use of peyote as a hallucinogen in religious rituals dates back at least 3000 years in
Mexico

Mescal buttons

Mescal buttons are the sliced, dried crowns of the peyote plant, Lophophora williamsii,
a cactus native to Mexico and southwestern Texas

Peyote contains some 30 alkaloids, with mescaline the most active hallucinogen

Mescaline is similar in structure to a neurotransmitter and has its main effect on the
central nervous system; the effects of mescaline alone differ from the action of
consuming the whole mescal button, where the alkaloids may interact synergistically

Intoxication induced by peyote may consist of strikingly brilliant visions; it may also
produce unpleasant visual hallucinations accompanied by anxiety

Intoxication is often accompanied by physical effects including nausea, tremors, chills,

and vomiting

Native American Church

Origins of the Native American Church can be traced to the 1870s, when Kiowa and
Comanche Indians learned of peyote from tribes in Mexico and brought the plant back
with them to Oklahoma (then Indian Territory)

A new cult developed and spread; it included Christianity, peyote rituals, and elements
from the cultures of various tribes

Native Americans formally incorporated their movement into the Native American
Church in 1918, but much opposition to peyote use existed

A Supreme Court ruling gave members of the Native American Church the right to use
peyote as a sacrament, but a more recent ruling upheld Oregons right to outlaw peyote
even for religious use
Kava: the Drug of Choice in the Pacific

Kava (Piper methysticum) is a small shrub in the Piperaceae, the pepper family; it is in the
same genus as black pepper

Kava roots are used to prepare an intoxicating beverage that has been consumed for
thousands of years by peoples throughout the islands of the South Pacific; in Hawaii, kava is
known as awa

The beverage is a depressant; a small quantity makes people relaxed and friendly, and,
unlike alcohol, it does not impair alertness

It is a powerful soporific, however, and too large a quantity produces a deep dreamless sleep

Preparation of the beverage

Kava has had social, ceremonial, and sacred uses; it has been used in meetings to settle
disputes as well as in sacred healing ceremonies

Traditional preparation involved the chewing of small pieces of root to break down the
fibers followed by mixing the chewed wads with water and then straining off and
consuming the liquid

Today, the root is finely ground and then mixed with water or put in a blender with
water, and the mixture is then coarsely strained; kava powder is also available

Active components in kava

The active ingredients are kava lactones; 10 have been identified, but 6 seem to be
important

Different strains of kava (82 varieties have been described in the South Pacific) have
different proportions of these compounds, and the ratio of these lactones is what
produces the effects of the beverage

Kava also has a long history of use as a medicinal plant and has been used primarily as
a tranquilizing elixir that produces relaxation and sleep

It has also been employed as a muscle relaxant, and it has been used in Germany as an
anti-anxiety drug

In recent years there has been an increased demand for kava extracts, and it is currently
one of the top-selling herbal remedies in the U.S.

Today there is considerable concern about reports of liver toxicity among people using
this herbal remedy
Lesser Known Psychoactive Plants

Morning glories

Certain members of the morning glory family were regarded as powerful medicines
among the Aztecs; these morning glories continue to be used by tribes in present-day
Mexico

The seeds of these species contain D-lysergic acid similar to, but far milder than, the
potent hallucinogen LSD

Known as ololiuqui among the Aztecs, it was used in divination as well as religious and
magical rituals; the shaman would consume a drink prepared from the seeds and, in the
hallucinogenic state that followed, would divine the cause of a persons illness

Nutmeg

Nutmeg has a long history as a culinary spice, but it has also been used as a
hallucinogen

It was known to practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine in India as the narcotic fruit

Because the active principle is volatile, the reaction to nutmeg is unpredictable, but side
effects usually include headache, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and irregular heartbeat

Caffeine and caffeine-like alkaloids

Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world

Table 20.2 lists a number of psychoactive plants

This lecture outline was prepared mainly from Plants and Society, by Levetin and McMahon, 2003 (3rd edition), and
may contain phrases or entire sentences taken verbatim from that source.