Peyote As Earth Medicine: Examining How Narratives Shape Experiences With Psychedelics Using Photo-Ethnography

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Abstract

Narrative criminology highlights the importance of personal narratives for both explaining past behaviors (i.e., accounting for wrongdoing) and shaping future decisions for crime and drug use. Using this perspective, we examine how people’s narratives about psychedelics shape their experiences with these drugs. Specifically, we rely on data from a photo-ethnography and photo-elicitation interviews with people who use peyote in religious ceremonies to better understand how their narratives about peyote shapes their experiences with it. We find that participants define peyote as an “Earth medicine” that helps with healing (physical, spiritual, and psychological) and thus should be respected. This narrative of peyote shapes how and when they use it (e.g., with intention and not recreationally), distances from other drugs (which are harmful), and directs their physiological experiences. Findings suggest that narratives of drugs are just as important as personal narratives in guiding behavior.

Authors

• Heith Copes, University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Jared Ragland, Utah State University

• Peter Hendricks, University of Alabama at Birmingham