Native Americans are on their way to being able to legally use and carry peyote for ceremonial purposes.
A bill protecting the religious use of peyote has passed the House of Representatives. Similar legislation is also before the U.S. Senate. Twenty eight states already permit the use of peyote by native people, but without federal approval it remains in legal limbo.
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus that grows in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and in northern Mexico, and has been used by First Nations people for sacramental purposes for at least 10,000 years.
