Care sheet 06 of 06
Mescaline in Peruvian torch, and the law on growing it
What laboratories have measured in Peruvian torch, why one plant tells you little about the next, and the law in the Netherlands, UK, Germany and US.
Updated
Peruvian torch can contain mescaline, but the measured amounts vary so widely that the name on a label says almost nothing about a particular plant: one 1977 analysis found a lot, earlier and later work found little or none in some samples, and the best comparative study ranked San Pedro from Peru above the Peruvian torch. Legally, the living cactus is not named in the drug laws of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom or the United States, while mescaline itself is controlled everywhere covered here. Germany is the exception that turns on intent.
This page reports measurements and legal texts. It gives no preparation, extraction or dosing information, and nothing here is legal advice. We checked the legal sources on 10 October 2026.
What has been measured
Mescaline is an alkaloid found in several columnar cacti of the Andes and in the Mexican peyote. For the Peruvian torch, the published record is short and inconsistent.
| Study | Material | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Agurell, 1969, as cited by Pardanani et al. | Trichocereus peruvianus | reported tyramine, 3-methoxytyramine and two unidentified alkaloids |
| Pardanani et al., 1977 | a T. peruvianus sold commercially in the United States | crystalline mescaline hydrochloride at a yield of 0.82%, plus related compounds |
| Ogunbodede et al., 2010 | 14 taxa and cultivars of the San Pedro group, one method | 0.053% to 4.7% of dry weight; highest in E. pachanoi from Peru |
The 1977 team reinvestigated the species because related cacti were known to contain mescaline, and concluded that their plant had a mescaline content "equal or superior to peyote". In their 2012 revision, Albesiano and Kiesling read the 2010 comparison differently for this question: the highest concentration was found "in plants identified as Echinopsis pachanoi, and not in those identified as E. peruviana, although mescaline levels showed great variation" (Haseltonia 17). The Wikipedia summary of the species also cites studies that found no mescaline in wild-harvested Peruvian specimens or in plants grown in Europe.
Why the numbers disagree
- Identity. The Peruvian torch and San Pedro grade into each other, and many plants in collections are labelled on appearance. Two studies of "T. peruvianus" may not have analysed the same thing.
- Genetics. Many plants in cultivation are propagated from cuttings, so a whole collection can be one clone, while seed-grown plants differ from each other.
- Conditions. Growing conditions and the part of the stem sampled affect the result, and different laboratories use different methods.
- Folklore. Albesiano and Kiesling note that most claims in the cactus literature about which species is "stronger" appear to be "based on popular behaviors or shamanic communications" rather than analysis.
What this means for a grower is simple: the content of a plant cannot be judged from its name, colour, spines or size. This site does not rank plants by mescaline and does not say how much of any plant would be active. For effects and safety information about mescaline, read the harm reduction material of organisations such as the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (mescaline fact sheet).
The law at a glance
| Country | Living cactus, cuttings, seed | Mescaline | Preparations made from the cactus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | not listed in the Opium Act | List I | List I |
| United Kingdom | not listed | Class A | covered as a "preparation or other product", but see the 2012 ruling |
| Germany | covered only if intended for intoxication | Annex I, BtMG | covered |
| United States (federal) | not named (peyote is) | Schedule I | covered as material containing mescaline |
Netherlands
The Dutch Opium Act lists "mescaline / 3,4,5-trimethoxyfenethylamine" on List I, together with "preparaten die één of meer van de bovengenoemde substanties bevatten": preparations containing those substances (Opiumwet, version in force from 17 September 2026). No cactus appears on List I or List II, although List II does name specific organisms such as psilocybin mushrooms and khat. Buying, owning and growing a Peruvian torch as a plant is therefore legal in the Netherlands, and that is how Dutch-Smart sells its cuttings and seed. Anything prepared from the cactus to contain mescaline falls under List I.
United Kingdom
Mescaline is a Class A drug under Schedule 2, Part I of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and paragraph 5 of that part extends control to "any preparation or other product containing" it (legislation.gov.uk). No cactus is listed, so a Peruvian torch grown as a house or garden plant is not itself a controlled drug under that Act. In R v H [2012] EWCA Crim 525 the Court of Appeal found there was "no legal certainty" whether dried, sliced San Pedro cactus was an unlawful preparation, and stopped that prosecution as an abuse of process (case summary). That ruling concerned one case and is no licence for processing the plant.
Germany
Mescaline is in Annex I of the Narcotics Act. The closing entry of that annex also brings in plants and plant parts containing a listed substance, and "biological materials suitable for their reproduction", such as seeds and cuttings, "wenn ein Missbrauch zu Rauschzwecken vorgesehen ist": when abuse for intoxication is intended (BtMG Anlage I). A Peruvian torch grown as an ornamental falls outside the Act; the same plant, cutting or seed packet falls inside it once intoxication is the purpose. German readers should keep that line in mind when buying.
United States
Federal law lists mescaline and peyote in Schedule I. The mescaline entry covers "any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of" it; the peyote entry names Lophophora williamsii "whether growing or not" (21 CFR 1308.11). Peruvian torch, San Pedro and Bolivian torch are not named; the plant analysed in 1977 had been bought commercially in the United States. Because the mescaline entry covers any material containing it, harvesting or preparing the cactus for consumption risks federal prosecution. State laws differ and we have not reviewed them.
Ordering across borders
The products linked on this site are sold by a Dutch shop under Dutch law, as ornamental plants and seed. Sending living plants or seed to another country can also involve customs and plant health rules, and it is the law at the destination that applies to you. If you live outside the Netherlands, check your own country's rules before ordering.
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