The San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi, syn. Trichocereus pachanoi) is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains of Peru between 2000–3000 m in altitude. It is also found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador, and it is cultivated in other parts of the world. Uses for it include traditional medicine and traditional veterinary medicine, and it is widely grown as an ornamental cactus. It has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3000 years.

Psychoactive effects, from The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances by Richard Rudgley

The San Pedro cactus is the name given to psychoactive species of the genus Trichocereus (T. pachanoi, T. peruvianus) which comprises about thirty species, mainly found in the Andes. It is a large columnar cactus that grows up to heights of twenty feet and it contains mescaline, as does the well-known peyote cactus. The San Pedro cactus has also been found to have other psychoactive alkaloids. The mescaline seems to be most highly concentrated in the skin, which can be peeled, dried and made into a powder for consumption.

The usual native preparation of the cactus involves boiling slices of the stem for a number of hours and then, once cooled, the resulting liquid is drunk. Sometimes the San Pedro is used in conjunction with other psychoactive plants, such as coca, tobacco, Brugmansia and Anadenanthera. The hallucinogenic properties of its traditional use, including aguacolla, cardo, cuchuma, gigantón, hermoso, huando and, of course, San Pedro.

Like many other of the entheogenic substances used in the aboriginal religions of the Americas, the use of the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus is ancient and its use has been a continuous tradition in Peru for over 3,000 years. The earliest depiction of the cactus is a carving which shows a mythological being holding the San Pedro. It belongs to the Chavín culture (c. 1400-400 BC) and was found in an old temple at Chavín de Huantar in the northern highlands of Peru, and dates about 1300 BC. A particularly surprising discovery was made by a Peruvian archaeologist named Rosa Fung in a pile of ancient refuse at the Chavín site of Las Aldas near Casma; namely what seem to be remnants of cigars made from the cactus. Artistic renderings of it also appear on later Chavín artefacts such as textiles and pottery (ranging from about 700-500 BC). The San Pedro is also a decorative motif of later Peruvian ceramic traditions, such as the Salinar style (c. 400-200 BC), the Nasca urns (c. 100 BC-AD 700). It has also been proposed that a recurrent snail motif in Moche art represents a mescaline-soaked snail which has partaken of the San Pedro. If this is the case then the snail may be added to the list of animals having psychoactive properties.

Not surprisingly, considering their general contempt for native life and particularly the use of psychoactive plants, European missionaries were very negative when reporting the use of the San Pedro. Yet a Spanish missionary, cited by Christian Rätsch, grudgingly admitted the cactus' medicinal value in the midst of a tirade reviling it:

it is a plant with whose aid the devil is able to strengthen the Indians in their idolatry; those who drink its juice lose their senses and are as if dead; they are almost carried away by the drink and dream a thousand unusual things and believe that they are true. The juice is good against burning of the kidneys and, in small amounts, is also good against high fever, hepatitis, and burning in the bladder.

An account of the cactus by a shaman is in radical contrast to this rather contemptuous view:

the drug first ... produces ... drowsiness or a dreamy state and a feeling of lethargy ... a slight dizziness ... then a great 'vision', a clearing of all the faculties ... it produces a light numbness in the body and afterward a tranquillity. And then comes detachment, a type of visual force ... inclusive of all the senses ... including the sixth sense, the telepathic sense of transmitting oneself across time and matter ... like a kind of removal of one's thought to a distant dimension.

The entheogenic status of the cactus remains as strong today as it always was. Not only do its uses in shamanic trances and healing sessions continue but it is also used to combat more recent problems such as alcoholism. The peyote cactus used widely by the North American Indians is also considered a medicine against alcoholism and this parallel is all the more striking as both cacti contain mescaline.

Preparation

The following links may be of interest to those who wish to find out about how San Pedro might be prepared:

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cacti/cacti_preparation5.shtml

http://www.spiritgarden.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2145&sid=eb978625ebbae98375919c976611fb58

Cultivation

Like many other plants, Echinopsis pachanoi can be propagated from cuttings. The result is a genetic clone of the parent plant. For example, the top 15-cm end of a cactus column can be cut off with a knife, then the cutting can be left to dry for about two weeks in the shade, or in a dry place. This is so that the surface of the cut end dries out like paper forming a seal to keep out microorganisms such as mould. The cutting can then be dipped in rooting hormone (optional, but effective) and planted on the surface of or buried to a maximum of 2.5 cm deep in good topsoil mixed with some sand and perlite. The cutting is kept in the shade or indirect sunlight, so that the root system can develop and the cactus does not grow too thinly. After about six months, significant roots will have formed and the cutting can be repotted in the same type of soil.

Log method: a long cactus column can be laid on its side on the ground, and eventually roots will sprout from it and grow into the ground. After time, sprouts will form and cactus columns will grow upward out of it along its length.

Propagation from seed: the seeds are quite easy to germinate and grow. Their main requirements consist of high humidity levels, free-draining soil mix, and enough (but not too much) water, light, and nutrition. There are a number of commonly used methods that satisfy these requirements and the choice of a particular method depends mainly on the scale of the cultivation operation.

For soil, use coarse sharp sand (sieved river sand). Some people also find coir or peat, or mixtures, to be effective. The soil can be sterilized by cooking it in an oven on high for 1–2 hours. Sterilization will be most effective if the sand is moist. If one is available, an autoclave would also be useful at this point. Some people find sterilization to be unnecessary. This may depend on other factors. The soil is placed into trays (which can be sanitized with bleach beforehand if desired) and the seeds planted into it (when the soil has cooled). The seeds should be only just below the surface (i.e. two or three sand grains over them). The trays now need to be kept in a humid environment. This may be achieved by the use of plastic bags, glass plates, or greenhouses, depending on scale. About 25 degrees C. is a good temperature for germinating the seed, with 33 deg. C. during the day as a maximum temperature and 15 deg. C. as a nighttime minimum temperature. Seeds usually germinate within two weeks to a month, but sometimes come up after several months.

The seedlings stay in the humid environment for several months. During this time they must be continually checked for water and nutrient requirements, and fungal pathogens. Ensure the soil stays moist, but not overly wet. Nutrients can be provided with a liquid fertilizer at 1/8 strength whenever growth rate slows down. Fungi can be killed with a sulfur or copper-based fungicide. There have been some reports of seedlings responding negatively to these treatments so be very cautious with the amount used. There is some evidence that garlic is also an effective fungicide. citation needed.

If germinating seeds in cold weather, a heat mat and fluorescent light can be used. These should be set on a timer to mimic normal diurnal temperature cycles for germination but can be left on permanently for faster growth once all the seeds have sprouted. One good method for growing cacti seedlings using this setup is to germinate them in late winter and have them ready to go outside by spring as temperatures and light levels are increasing.

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