Is Peyote legal in Canada?
Also known as: lophophora williamsii, mescal buttons
- Legal status
- Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is expressly EXEMPTED from control: the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act schedules the alkaloid mescaline but the entry reads "Mescaline... and any salt thereof, but not peyote (lophophora)", so the living cactus is lawful while isolated mescaline is a Schedule III substance.
- Consequences if caught
- Possessing or selling the peyote cactus itself is not a CDSA offence because the plant is carved out of the mescaline entry; extracting or trafficking isolated mescaline is a Schedule III offence.
- If prescribed or medical
- Mescaline has no approved medical use; the peyote cactus, being outside the schedule, is not a prescription-controlled item.
- Documentation
- CDSA Schedule III, item 17 lists mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxybenzeneethanamine) and its salts with the explicit exclusion "but not peyote (lophophora)".
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Court records
We have not yet assessed whether court records are publicly available for this jurisdiction.
Other substances confirmed in Canada
Same substance, other countries
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