Mescaline of the genus "Echinopsis" are technically controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, they are commonly sold publicly as ornamental plants. In the United Kingdom, mescaline in purified powder form is a Class A drug. However, dried cactus can be bought and sold legally. Mescaline is considered a schedule 9 substance in Australia under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). A schedule 9 substance is classified as "Substances with a high potential for causing harm at low exposure and which require special precautions during manufacture, handling or use. These poisons should be available only to specialised or authorised users who have
Hallucinogenic plants in Chinese herbals English herbal, pharmacopoeia, or materia medica. This word compounds "ben" "(plant) root/stem; basis, origin; foundation; book" and "cao" "grass; herb; straw". Although "bencao" is sometimes misinterpreted as "roots and herbs", the approximate meaning is "[pharmaceutics whose] basis ["ben"] [is] herbs ["cao"]" (Unschuld 1986: 14). These works deal with drugs of all origins, mainly vegetable but also mineral, animal, and even the human body. The Chinese botanist, academic, and researcher Hui-lin Li (1911-2002) wrote seminal articles about the history and use of hallucinogenic plants in China. Li cites a story in Li Shizhen's 1596 magnum opus "Bencao gangmu" as the first