The Peyote Files With Dr. Martin Terry:

A documentary series co-directed by Bia Labate and Nicholas Spiers

Produced by the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines

This three-part web series joins Dr. Bia Labate on an eye-opening road trip through West Texas to meet Dr. Martin Terry, one of the world’s leading experts on Lophophora williamsii (peyote). This series represents a testament to Martin’s tireless conservation efforts and a call to action to recognize and respect the right to exist of this extraordinary cactus, before it’s too late.

The Peyote Files (episode 1: Peyote Territory)

In episode one (Peyote Territory) Bia and Martin trek through peyote’s natural habitat and discuss its unusual morphology, psychoactive nature, history of human interest, and Martin’s irrepressible zeal for all things cacti. Martin’s rigorously scientific understanding of peyote’s evolutionary context challenges the mystical assumptions often underpinning the role of its psychoactive properties.

The Peyote Files (episode 2: Peyote Threats)

Episode 2: Returning from the desert to Alpine, Texas, Martin shows Bia the collection of peyote cacti he nurtures and studies in his fortified greenhouse—following strict DEA regulations—and explains the current threats to peyote populations (currently listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List), such as the destruction of peyote’s habitat and the pressures of overharvesting.

The Peyote Files (episode 3: Peyote Conservation)

Episode 3: Martin outlines the research and action he is carrying out, along with the Cactus Conservation Institute, to mitigate the threats faced by peyote, including spreading awareness of sustainable harvesting techniques, the impact of frequent, repeat harvesting, and the urgency of cultivation.

For more information on Peyote, see also:

Peyote: History, Traditions, Politics, and Conservation

Reflections on the Expansion and Legality of Peyote in Mexico

Oakland’s Premiere The Peyote Files Documentary

Peyote Harvesting Guidelines

A Word in Edgewise About the Sustainability of Peyote

Native American Statement Regarding Decriminalization of Peyote

Let’s Talk About Hikuri: A Peyote Conservation Project by the Wixárika

Mrs. Amada Cardenas: Keeper of the Peyote Gardens

Blessings of Life and Peyote with Debi Roan

The Encounter That Introduced Peyote to Western Science

Peyote in the United States: Prisoner of War as the War Wanes

Peyote: Plant Medicine for the Body, Mind and Soul

Psychedelic Lizard Kings and the Other: Culture, Race and the Frontiers of Peyote

Racist Thinking Still Shapes How We Understand Peyote Drinking

How My Elder’s Sacred Peyote is Disappearing

Mescaline Scribe

Heroines of Mescaline

A Century of Mescaline

Open Letter to the Psychedelic Movement Regarding Peyote in Policy Efforts and How to be an Ally to Indigenous Peoples of North America

Could Synthetic Mescaline Protect Declining Peyote Populations?

Is Peyote the same as mescaline?: A Cultural History