Mescaline: A Long Strange Trip

Mike Jay
Written By Entheogenesis Australis

Mike Jay

Mescaline was the original psychedelic: the term was coined by Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond after Huxley's first trip in 1953. But it had already played many roles throughout history and around the globe. Since the 1890s its hallucinogenic properties had been described in detail by western scientists, artists and philosophers; and the cacti from which it was derived, peyote and huachuma (San Pedro), had been used in indigenous American cultures for millennia. Mike Jay surveys mescaline's epic journey, and its impact across modernity from psychology to art, medicine to counterculture.

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Mike Jay (UK)
Mike Jay (UK)

Mike Jay is an author and historian who has written widely on the history of science and medicine, particularly on the mind, consciousness and psychoactive drugs. His books include High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture (2010), Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic (2019), and Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind (2023).

Entheogenesis Australis

Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) is a charity using education to help grow the Australian ethnobotanical community and their gardens. We encourage knowledge-sharing on botanical research, conservation, medicinal plants, arts, and culture.

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The Art of Mescaline