Mescaline the skills necessary to handle them safely. Special regulations restricting their availability, possession, storage or use may apply." The peyote cacti and other mescaline-containing plants such as San Pedro are illegal in Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory, whilst in other states such as Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, they are legal for ornamental and gardening purposes. In Canada, France, The Netherlands and Germany, mescaline in raw form and dried mescaline-containing cacti are considered an illegal drug. However, anyone may grow and use peyote, or "Lophophora williamsii", as well as "Echinopsis pachanoi" and "Echinopsis peruviana" without restriction, as
Mescaline additional metabolism via methylation, and mescaline's hallucinogenic properties stem from its structural similarities with these two neurotransmitters. In plants, this compound may be the end-product of a pathway utilizing catecholamines as a method of stress response, similar to how animals may release compounds such as cortisol when stressed. The "in vivo" function of catecholamines has not been investigated, but they may function as antioxidants, as developmental signals, and as integral cell wall components that resist degradation from pathogens. The deactivation of catecholamines via methylation produces alkaloids such as mescaline.<ref name="10.1016/j.plantsci.2006.10.013"></ref> Mescaline acts similarly to other psychedelic agents. It binds to