Peyote Arrest
…in Hong Kong, where it’s not technically illegal.
A 61-year-old florist and his middle- aged assistant have been arrested for allegedly promoting the sale of a cactus plant as an alternative to the mind- bending drug ketamine.
The Lophophora williamsii cactus, pictured, is not on Hong Kong’s dangerous drugs list but has for centuries been linked with transcendence practices and psychedelic psychotherapy. It is commonly known as peyote.
Narcotics Bureau officers raided Exland Nursery on Flower Market Road on Sunday afternoon and seized 34 pots of the plant for testing. A label saying “Lophophora Williamsii = Ketamine” was attached to the plants at the nursery.
The lesson is clear – don’t sell peyote in Hong Kong as a substitute for an illegal drug. I would add that this is a good policy in the US too, where peyote is specifically illegal.
The website doesn’t have a picture of the florist or the peyote but for some reason there is this image on the page.
