Examination of Recreational and Spiritual Peyote Use Among American Indian Youth

American Indian youth who use alcohol or marijuana in the past 30 days are more likely to use peyote, whether for spiritual or recreational purposes, though the link is stronger for recreational use. Youth who report higher religiosity and stronger cultural identity are more likely to use peyote spiritually but not recreationally. Grade, sex, and religious affiliation did not predict either type of peyote use. The findings come from a secondary analysis of survey data from 3,861 American Indian youth and suggest that prevention and treatment models should distinguish spiritual from recreational hallucinogen use in this population.

Study at a glance

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Some American Indians legally use hallucinogenic substances as part of religious and spiritual ceremonies. Research to date has either failed to differentiate spiritual versus recreational use or has categorized hallucinogen use in an "other drug" or "illegal drug" category. This approach could contribute to ineffectual models of prevention and treatment intervention and limit understanding of hallucinogen use in American Indian cultures. METHOD: This study is a secondary data analysis of an ongoing epidemiologic and etiologic investigation of substance use among American Indian youth (N = 3,861). Two Firth logistic regression models were run with (a) spiritual peyote use and (b) recreational peyote use as the dependent variables, and grade, sex, 30-day alcohol use, 30-day marijuana use, religiosity, religious affiliation, and cultural identity as predictors, as well as a grade by sex interaction term. RESULTS: Grade, sex, religious affiliation, and the interaction term did not predict either recreational or spiritual peyote use. Thirty-day alcohol and marijuana use predicted both spiritual and recreational peyote use, but the effects were stronger for predicting recreational use. Religiosity and cultural identity predicted spiritual but not recreational use, such that American Indian youth who identified as more religious and identified more strongly with their culture were more likely to report using peyote for spiritual purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that current self-reported use of alcohol and/or marijuana by American Indian youth indicates an increased likelihood of using peyote. In addition, use of Firth logistic regression models proved feasible for analyzing rare events like peyote use.