Anhalonium Lewind

(Peyote)

Pharmacy

anh. AnbaloniUID lewinii. Peyote. Peyotl. Lophophora williamsii. Mescal buttons. N. 0. Cactaceae. Mexico, Rio Grande. Tinctures, extracts, or infusions. Historical dose: Tincture and all potencies.

Clinical

Audio-visual, hallucinations. Brain-fag: Delirium. Delusions. Depersonalization. Depression. Goiter. Headaches. Hearing disorders. Hysteria. Insomnia. Intoxication. Megrim. Mental weakness. Neuralgia. Paraplegia. Senses disordered. Ptosis. Pupils dilated. Schizophrenia. Suicidal tendencies. Vision disorders.

Herbal

The Anhalonium plant from which the mescal buttons are obtained grows in barren and rocky soil in the valley of the Rio Grande. It is used by some Native American tribes in their religious ceremonies. In the ceremonies, the constant beating of tom-toms is an essential feature.

Homeopathic

Anhalonium has been recently tested, and a notable proving was made by Dr. Wier Mitchell. It is a cardiac tonic and respiratory stimulant. It weakens the heart and produces insanity.

The chief feature of the drug's action is the production of colorful visions of overpowering brilliancy, associated with moving shapes of fantastic design, the motion being regulated somewhat in time by music.

It makes "each note upon the piano a center of melody which seems to be surrounded by a halo of color pulsating to the rhythm of the music." Hyperesthesia of all the senses. Acute sensitivity to changes of the weather.

Feeling of cold over the body. General increase in muscular tone. Hypersecretion of the thyroid gland. Hysteria. Allergic persons with hypersensitivity. Loss of sex drive (Sep.). Insomnia. Anxiety and neurosis. Melancholy. Chronic hallucinatory state. Schizophrenia. Impression that the self is double. Suicidal tendencies. Basedow's disease (Goiter).

Mind

Anhalonium is a remedy for brain weakness, audio-visual hallucinations with colored brilliant visions. It causes a form of intoxication accompanied by wonderful visions, remarkably beautiful and varied kaleidoscopic changes, and a sensation of increased physical ability. Visions of monsters and various gruesome forms. Delirium.

Loss of contact with the outside world and escape into a fantasy world. Loss of conception of time. Distrust and resentment. Lazy contentment. Gloomy, sad, dull. Irrational, sudden changes of mood. Egocentric introversion. Noises and touch are perceived through colored vision.

Depersonalization, does not know his identity. Diminution of willpower, apathy, and slow reactions. Passive state. Existential anguish. Impression that objects and his whole body are transparent, sees his own internal organs. Memories exalted.

Ears

Exaggerated reverberation of ordinary sounds. Impressions of sound and visions heightened by any marked stimulation of skin.

Eyes

Pupils dilated. Ptosis. Accommodation impaired. Troubled vision, accommodation, and perception. Visions in all colors. Fantastic visions of surpassing brilliance, moving in designs. Moving scenes, dances, affected by beating time. Natural objects seem more brilliant, shadows deepened, flickering of lights greatly exaggerated.

Face

Disinclined to make the slightest movement, eyelids droop, they scarcely move the lips and jaws in articulating.

Head

Headaches with disturbed vision. Frontal headache with visual zigzags. Occipital headache, with disturbed vision. Persistent ache and tired feeling in the occipital region.

Limbs

Burning sensation of the limbs. A fine tremor in lower limbs.

Lungs

Breathing shallow.

Modalities

Better lying down. Worse on closing eyes. The nausea and faintness were worse on movement. There is great disinclination to move.

Mouth

Great difficulty in talking, partly from paralysis of the tongue, partly from slowness of thought.

Nerves

Motor incoordination. Extreme muscular depression increased patellar reflex. Paraplegia. Neuralgias, trigeminal of the ophthalmic nerve, the maxillary nerve, frontal nerve, and naso-ciliary nerve.

Nose

The air seemed filled with vague perfume. Smell blunted, could not tell whether or not tincture of asafetida was a perfume.

Sleep

Insomnia and hysteria. Drowsiness, followed by consciousness of unusual energy.

Stomach

Nausea, worse on movement, entirely better on lying down.

Vertigo

Faintness. Vertigo, brain tired.

Comments

One prover, Havelock Ellis said, "I first cut up the Peyote buttons into small fragments and poured on boiling water twice; a single infusion is inactive." He noted a distinct slowing of the pulse, slight faintness, and shallow breathing, but there were none of the terrible heart symptoms of the other cacti.

Other symptoms are loss of conception of time, occipital headache, tired feeling in head, nausea. Tremor of muscles increased knee-jerk and loss of power of coordination. Extreme muscular depression, don't want to stir, whole body feels relaxed. Lazy contentment. Fine tremor in lower limbs before the visions, unable to walk without assistance, can with difficulty sit up.

Relations

• Compare: (1) Cann-i - time sense disordered, fantastic visions.
• (2) Gels. - paralysis of accommodation.
• (3) Bell., Stram., Op., Pic-ac., Pip-m., Coff., C.
• (4) Plat. - objects seem small and distant.
• (5) Psor. - better lying down.
• (6) Agave.
• (7) The intoxication of Anhalonium is similar to that of Cannabis Ind. and Oenanthe.

References

Boericke. Clarke.