Selling the Priceless Mushroom: A History of Psilocybin Mushroom Trade in the Sierra Mazateca (Oaxaca)

Abstract

This article shows, from historical and ethnographic perspectives, how the city of Huautla de Jiménez in the Sierra Mazateca (Oaxaca, Mexico) became an emblematic place for the trade of psilocybin mushrooms. Sales to foreigners started to take place in the Sierra Mazateca during the 1950s, stimulated by botanical expeditions and by the collapse in coffee prices, the main commercial crop in the area. The subsequent ban on psilocybin mushrooms curbed their trade and limited scientific research. However, police operations were unable to stop consumers who visited Huautla to experience the effect of the mushrooms, generating a modest tourist industry in the city. This paper analyzes how the idea that the mushrooms are ‘priceless’ produces an ambiguity that allows foreigners and residents of the Sierra Mazateca to negotiate the exchange value of an illegal and, at the same time, sacred product.