Peyote Is Disappearing (and the Law Designed to Protect It Is Part of Why) | Leonardo Mercado, The Peyote Lorax ~ ATTMind 209

Leonardo Mercado, known as The Peyote Lorax, joins me for Episode 209 to talk about the ecological and legal crisis threatening peyote, the sacred cactus at the center of Native American Church ceremonies.

We get into peyote's collapse in its only natural range, the contradictions inside the federal exemption that governs who can legally possess and cultivate it, and the Seed to Ceremony conservation project Leo is building through Morningstar Conservancy in Arizona.

🌀 Episode Show Notes and other Relevant Links

• 🏜️The Morningstar Conservancy: https://morningstarconservancy.org/
• The Peyote Lorax's website: https://thepeyotelorax.com/
• Check Out Leo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeyotelorax/
• Buy some art from Leo: https://morningstarconservancy.org/shop

FULL TOPICS BREAKDOWN BELOW

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Episode Breakdown

• (00:00) Opening
• (03:45) Interview begins
• (04:51) Peyote as a desert food, not a psychedelic
• (11:02) The teepee ceremony and the fire chief
• (15:08) Leo's early vision quest and the capsule story
• (26:20) Where peyote grows and why that matters
• (29:40) How peyote's wild population collapsed
• (34:08) The Native American Church and the legal exemption
• (38:34) Why peyote still isn't listed as endangered
• (46:35) The peyote carve-out in decrim bills and why it backfires
• (52:13) Ad Break: Amentara
• (54:57) The federal exemption as an exertion of dominance
• (1:02:51) The 25% Indian blood rule and who gets left out
• (1:09:28) Patreon Thanks
• (1:11:36) Would full decriminalization help or hurt wild populations?
• (1:15:42) What realistic legislative change would look like
• (1:23:39) The Peyote Lorax: how Morningstar Conservancy began
• (1:29:49) The Seed to Ceremony program
• (1:33:21) How you can support peyote conservation
• (1:44:41) Outro