Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic

A definitive history of mescaline that explores its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to Western modernity Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-twentieth century through Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, after which the word “psychedelic” was coined to describe it.

Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: the earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples.