VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 2 SUMMER SOLSTICE 2004 THE ENEMA PROJECT: TAKING IT PAST THE LIMIT? by JUSTIN CASE, FUNGAL, and R. STUART Widely-held mores and other societal constraints can cause In the early 1980s, Dutch botanist PETERA.G.M. DESMET avenues of scientific inquiry to be neglected or deliberately published an article on intoxicating enema rituals in theJour- avoided. This creates opportunities for researchers who nal ofEthnopharmacology (DESMET1983), and later compiled boldly go where few have wanted to go before. We recently a book on the subject titled Ritual Enemas and Snuffs in the explored one such area: namely, assessing the efficacy of the Americas (DESMET1985). Despite containing a wealth offas- retention enema as a means for visionary drug administration. cinating tidbits, the book didn't provide much data regard- ing the effectiveness of enemas or the mechanics of absorp- Our primary focus was on Trichocereus cacti. Did the scant tion. The possibility of dried and ground peyote being ad- indications of mescaline-containing cacti taken via enema ministered rectally as an aqueous suspension was reported hold any merit? Could cactus-based enemas have been by DESMET,who described a bone affixed to a deer bladder, employed as an effective route of administration by non- suggesting that the use of such enemas could have preceded technological cultures? Would such enemas afford any ad- the Spanish invasion. But it is really only certain that peyote vantage to people who had trouble orally consuming cactus? enema administration has occurred in the U.S. in modern times. Nevertheless, DESMETtheorized that mescaline would Little has been written on the topic of visionary plant ad- make a reasonable candidate for enema administration: ministration via enema, despite its clear antiquity. Nearly 90 years ago,USDA botanist WILLIAMEDWINSAFFORDpub- The solubilityprofileofmescaline (MERCK 1983) and the lished a piece on the snuffs derived from Anadenanthera sp. reported good absorption ofthis hallucinogen after oral seeds (SAFFORD1916). In that work, he mentions French sci- ingestion (CHARALAMPOUSet al. 1966) suggeststhat sub- entist CHARLESMARIEDELACONDAMlNE'S1749description stantial absorption can be possible after rectal applica- of the Omagua-an Amazonian Indian tribe-using rubber tion. This is a theoretical viewwhich still awaits experi- mental confirmation, for in the only rectal experiment syringes to ritually administer similar substances preceding known to me, 200 mg of mescaline in a suppository "the repasts of ceremony." He also mentions that extracts caused nothing but adubious mydriasis (MOLLER 1935). believed to have been made from these same seeds were used as enemas by other people. This route was described as be- Anthropologist WESTONLA BARREbelieved that a Chavin ing less powerful than when the material was used as a snuff. ceramic relic represented a San Pedro enema (LA BARRE 1989). A number of stirrup bottles are known which show An anecdotal account of peyote enema use among the clear depictions of San Pedro (SHARON2001). In her book Huichol was presented in PETERFURST'sHallucinogens and The Mochica: A Culture of Peru, art historian ELIZABETH Culture (1976). However, in an early issue of The Entheogen BENSONpresents a scene (shown below) from a Moche ce- Review, editor JIMDEKoRNE suggested that this anorrialous ramic relief that has been interpreted as portraying a stirrup account might have represented a Huichol informant pull- vessel being used to administer an enema (BENSON1972). ing the leg of a gullible anthropologist (DEKoRNE 1995). THE ENTHEOGEN REVIEW, POB 19820, SACRAMENTO, CA 95819-0820, USA 41 VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 2 SUMMER SOLSTICE 2004 RALPH E. CANE(1988) also mentions that enema adminis- More than you need to know? tration may be depicted in Moche ceramics, referencing a book by archeologist FEDERICOKAUFFMANN-DOIG(1979), but that book apparently refers to the same scene described by BENSON(1972). ROUT'S NOT __... DESMET(1983; 1985) clearly detailed the use of enemas in pre-Columbian societies. Indigenous tribes of the New World employed the rectal route of administration for some psy- choactive drugs used as religious inebriants, recreational in- toxicants, and medical treatments. The Maya left ceramic artifacts documenting the ritual use of enemas that may have contained alcohol, tobacco, and flowering plants such as a water lily. As our evaluation was concerned with visionary drugs taken as an enema, we will not concern ourselves further with nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, or any of the medicinal substances C-2 The Cultivation & Propagation of Cacti - $13 that are better known for their rectal applications. C-1 OA Cactus Chemistry by Species - $20 Curiously, once we had our project underway and began dis- cussing our research with other people, the most common D-1 Cultivation of Desmanthus by Case & Trout - $11 response was some variation on a short look of addled horror, followed by a rapid change of topics. LIMITED TIME OFFER: Just Doing Our Job the entertaining video about Australia's As it turned out, it appears as though (in some circles), en- War on Drugs by Aussie film-maker Neil Pike - $22 ema administration is currently practiced on occasions as a Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to be informed of route of administration in modern times. However, this prac- the publication of our forthcoming work: San Pedro (Trichocer- tice is generally kept out of sight. One individual remarked: eus pachanol) and related species. 302 pages; over 850 "Isn't that rather intimate? I mean why would you want to photos & color cover. write about that? Everybody knows it works. Lots of us have Preview a work in progress: "Trout's Notes on Some other Suc- done it that way." A surprising number of friends expressed culents," chapter 5 in the forthcoming third edition of Sacred similar comments. Cacti. Download this and other PDF with 72 dpi resolution color images from http://trout.yage.net!sc)TNinfo.htm. Such remarks left us perplexed for two reasons. First, enema administration was considered by some to be an "intimate" Prices include postage within the U.S. Foreign orders please inquire for shipping costs. Note that some items are limited. act. And second, these otherwise intelligent, thoughtful, ar- We will gladly hold any item for 14 days to await payment ticulate, and moderately liberal people were not only not talk- if you send us an e-mail request to do so. Payment by check, ing about something that they actually did themselves, but cash, or money order payable to Trout's Notes. California apparently they did not want other people talking about it residents please add 7.25% sales tax. either. This was not due to their fear of revealing a secret prac- tice, but apparently to avoid discussing something "un- seemly." One reporter of good effects even prefaced his In- TROUT'S NOTES ternet post by apologizing for discussing such an "unsavory" POB 12 (Dep t, ER) subject. In Australia, enemas are a well-known route of in- Boonville, CA 95415, USA gestion for many substances, but reporting on such use is trout@yage,net + www.troutsnotes.com similarly considered beneath what is acceptable for public discussion-it is quietly reserved for those with taste aver- sions, weak stomachs, or delicate constitutions. 42 THE ENTHEOGEN REVIEW, POB 19820, SACRAMENTO, CA 95819-0820, USA VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 2 SUMMER SOLSTICE 2004 Of course, there were still the "normal" open-minded people (like one might encounter at BURNINGMAN), whose response when we mentioned our research project was generally some variant of,"Wow, cool!" PREPARATION The first and third brews were prepared the same way, as described below. The second brew was cooked-up by some- one else and we lack precise preparation details. The plant material was chopped into a salsa-like consistency and an excess of water was added. It was brought to boiling then reduced to a simmer for 2-3 hours. The solution was allowed to cool. A colander was used to rapidly drain off whatever liquid would pour through it, and this liquid was then fil- tered through a winemaker's straining bag. The pulp was not squeezed at this point. This process was repeated two addi- tional times. A final, fourth simmer at a lower temperature overnight was used to exhaust the marc. In the morning it was filtered with the winemaker's straining bag, and this time the pulp was squeezed. Each of the solutions was separately reduced in volume over gentle heat, without boiling, until they reached consistency of a light oil.' At this point the solutions were combined and the volume was further reduced to what we projected our dose would be: approxi- mately 130 ml. We used this preparation method in order to remain within the parameters reported for most traditional societies' ap- proaches to cactus extraction for direct consumption. Our own normal approach would have been to use less liquid, and to include citric acid in order to more efficiently extract the material. ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURE We used prepackaged enema bottles manufactured by FLEET (and similar brands). These held around 130 ml and could be easily emptied and rinsed before filling with our solution. With our first evaluations, we found that unless a small bit of air was permitted to remain in the bottle, it was impos- sible to squeeze out the last bit of solution without remov- ing the bottle and adding some air. Hence, we used 120 ml as our dose for all subsequent evaluations. Before adminis- tration, we made an effort to ensure our bowels were empty. We took turns administering the enemas to each other. Due to the thickness of the liquid, this sometimes took up to ten minutes. Following complete administration of the dose, we lay on our stomachs for the next 2-3 hours, after which we expelled the remainder.