7 Examples of Native American Drugs

I decided to have a little fun with today’s posts. Up until now I’ve tried to focus on Native American history and various aspects of their culture. However, before Europeans showed up and ended their traditional ways of life, the Native Americans seem to have concocted a number of non-Western way to have a great time. The following list details a number of the powerful drugs that various tribes used regularly or for special rituals. This goes without saying, but don’t try any of these at home (even number #7). Enjoy.

7. Tobacco

Tobacco has been cultivated in North America since around 1000 BC and carries a number of meanings for various native tribes. For Eastern tribes, tobacco was a highly tradable commodity and was carried in pouches by many native tribesmen. It was also used in many different ceremonies and was smoked out of a piece pipe to seal a bargain between two tribes or traders. Some even believed that the smoke expelled from a pipe would carry the smoker’s prayers up to the spirits.

6. Peyote

Probably the most well-known of the native drugs, Peyote has appeared time and again in pop culture. Flowering in southern Texas and Mexico between March and May, this little cactus is world renown for its psychoactive properties. Archaeologists believe peyote use began thousands of years ago and gradually spread from Mexico to the SW United States where the Apache adopted its use. They in turn spread it to the Comanche and Kiowa. This drug was apparently so powerful that many tribes saw it as a portal into the world of the Gods. While traditionally used in ceremonies, peyote saw a spike in popularity during the Native American Church movement in the 1800’s. Today peyote is an illegal substance, but can still be bought illegally or found on reservations.

5. Coca Leaf

The coca leaf is a major South American cash crop and was central to the lives of the Inca and their Andean descendants. The leafs can be used in a number of ways, but the most common is to get buzz. The leafs are packed into a small bag and are inserted like chewing tobacco. It supposedly numbs the mouth which is apparently a desirable sensation since it is still popular today. Not a very powerful drug, the leaves can also be made into a tea which is meant to increase mood and overall health.

4. Psilocybin

Magic Mushrooms. College kids have simply picked up on what Native Americans have been doing for thousands of years. These mushrooms can be found all over the world and contain some very heavy psychedelic drugs. The Meso-Americans were very fond of these little guys and archaeologists have found depictions of mushrooms on a number of dwellings and tombs. Use was fairly wide-spread until the arrival of Spanish Catholic missionaries who outlawed the mushrooms (the missionaries believed that the mushrooms gave the natives the ability to commune with the devil). Try as they might, the Catholics were unable to eradicate the mushrooms and they are still in wide use today.

3. Heavenly Blue Morning Glory

This is a weird one. It’s not the flower, but the seeds that were used as hallucinogens. The indigenous people of Mexico are said to have used the seeds to make some sort of drink. What’s odd is that no one is quite sure what this drink may have done or consisted of. Modern day drug enthusiasts have managed to use the seeds to make tea, but from what I read this generally just makes you violently ill. Since the seeds can lead to hallucinations, the only real question is how the ancient natives of Mexico managed to create this drink without becoming as ill as their modern-day counterparts.

2. Salvia Divinorum

Salvia isn’t just the stuff that was sold at head shops for a few months before it made a bunch of fifteen year olds go crazy. This plant grows in Mexico (apparently everything in Mexico’s mountains can make you trip your face off) and was used by shamans to induce visions and to create a dissociative effect on the sick. Oddly enough, after the Catholics showed up many began to say that salvia was the plant incarnation of the Virgin Mary. Not sure how my childhood priest would address that belief, but it is a definitely an interesting way natives adopted Christianity into their original belief systems.

1. Ayahuasca

This is the only drug on this list that was a discovery for me. This is a brew made by throwing a ton of DMT loaded plants into a pot and cooking them down with a special type of vine found in the Amazon. The plants alone won’t affect you much, but when the vine is added the concoction becomes a favorite of Amazonian shamans and healers. The brew is a powerful hallucinogenic and is seen as a way to commune with the spirits of the plant world. Not very common, this drink does not leave South America often and is not for the weak of mind or stomach. Tours to Brazil and surrounding countries for ‘ayahuasca retreats’ are becoming more and more popular, but be careful, for every shaman there are thirty shams and sitting all night in the jungle waiting for enlightenment and only getting vomit doesn’t sound super rewarding.

Thanks for reading what is easily this sites most popular list. I hope you enjoyed. If you are interested in other Native American topics feel free to check out 8 Native American Tribes (Pt. 1), 8 Native American Tribes (Pt 2), 7 Incredible Native American Rituals, 9 Historical Native American Figures and 9 Obscure Native American Mythological Figures.

If you are looking for other topics try out 9 Strange Yokai from Japanese Folklore, 8 Examples of Social Predators, 8 Insane Instances of Art Vandalism, 7 Dangerous Plants or check out our Archives for access to all of our content.

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