Heffter Research Institute
Encyclopedia
The Heffter Research Institute was incorporated in New Mexico
in 1993 as a non-profit organization to support and promote investigation into the medical uses of psychedelic
hallucinogens. It is named after the German
chemist
and pharmacologist Arthur Heffter
, who in 1897 discovered that mescaline
was the active principle in the peyote
cactus, used in rituals by Natives in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, and currently used as a sacrament by the Native American Church
. The institute primarily funds academic and clinical scientists and as of the end of 2005 had funded approximately $1.4 million in research. Founding president of the Heffter Research Institute is David E. Nichols
.
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in 1993 as a non-profit organization to support and promote investigation into the medical uses of psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
hallucinogens. It is named after the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and pharmacologist Arthur Heffter
Arthur Heffter
Arthur Carl Wilhelm Heffter was a German pharmacologist and chemist. He was the first chairman of the German Society of Pharmacologists, and was largely responsible for the first Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology...
, who in 1897 discovered that mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
was the active principle in the peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
cactus, used in rituals by Natives in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, and currently used as a sacrament by the Native American Church
Native American Church
Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
. The institute primarily funds academic and clinical scientists and as of the end of 2005 had funded approximately $1.4 million in research. Founding president of the Heffter Research Institute is David E. Nichols
David E. Nichols
David E. Nichols is an American pharmacologist and medicinal chemist.Presently the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology at Purdue University, Nichols has worked in the field of psychoactive drugs since 1969...
.