Only three people in Texas are licensed to grow and sell peyote, a sacrament of the Native American Church.
In the 1970s, the state licensed as many as 27 "peyoteros." But now it's down to a handful like Mauro Morales, who is not Native American.
"It's a business," he tells Reuters. "It's the only income I got."
According to the state, the three growers sold 1.6 million peyote buttons in 2006 for a total of $463,000.
That's lower than mid-1990s peaks of around 2.3 million buttons, Reuters said.
Peyote, a hallucinogenic, is considered an illegal substance. Only members of federally recognized tribes who are part of the Native American Church can possess and use the drug.
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