5-MeO-DMT

Other Names Dimethyl-5-methoxytryptamine, 5-methoxy-DMT, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine, 0-methylbufotenine, 3- [2-(dimethylamino)ethyl] -5-methoxy- indole, toad foam Substance type: tryptamine (indole alkaloid) 5-MeO-DMT was first discovered in Dictyoloma incanescens DC. and later was isolated from Anadenanthera peregrina as well. It occurs in a very large number of plants, often in association with N,N-DMT (see the table on pages 853-854). Its effects are somewhat more potent than those of N,N-DMT. When the two are administered simultaneously, 5-MeO-DMT more quickly occupies the specific receptors. 5-MeO-DMT is a natural neurotransmitter in the human nervous system. When 5-MeO-DMT (10 to 20 mg) is smoked or vaporized and inhaled, the effects are almost immediately apparent, are incredibly extreme, and last about ten minutes. Many people report having shamanic experiences with this substance as well as experiencing states of enlightenment and the clear light of nirvana (Metzner 1988). The Colorado River toad (Bufo alvarius) is native to the area around Tucson, Arizona. These toads spend nine months of the year underground, buried in the mud that keeps them protected from the burning desert sun. The toads emerge from their hiding places with the first rains and begin their courtship (Smith 1982,97-100). They remain visible for only three months. Like all toads, Bufo alvarius develops mucous secretions in two glands that are located on the neck The secretions of the Colorado River toad, however, do not contain bufotoxine, the toxic substance that is found in the secretions of most other toads. Instead, the dried mass contains 15% 5-MeO-DMT (Erspamer et al. 1965, 1967). The native tribes that lived in the North American Southwest made fetishes of this Bufo alvarius. However, it was only in recent times that the toad's cultural importance and its psychedelic use were discovered, or more likely rediscovered (cf. Davis and Weil 1992). The toad is "milked" by being held firmly without being crushed. Both glands are then massaged gently until a fat stream of the secretion squirts out. The secretion is caught on a piece of glass, where it is allowed to dry and crystallize. The yellowish crystalline mass then can be scraped off, mixed with different herbs (such as damiana [Turnera diffusa] ), and smoked. The toad, which is released unharmed, is quickly able to replenish the loss in its secretions. When taken orally, Bufo alvarius secretions are apparently toxic, whereas they are not poisonous when smoked (Wei! and Davis 1994). Davis and Weil have suggested that the dried secretions of Bufo alvarius were traded to Mexico in preColumbian times and that the priests and shamans there smoked or used it in some other manner (Davis and Weil1992; cf. balche', bufotenine). In Arizona, there is now a Church of the Toad of Light, which uses the secretions of Bufo alvarius as a sacrament (Most 1984; Ott 1993,396*).

Commercial Forms and Regulations Pure 5-MeO-DMT is available from chemical suppliers. While the substance is not explicitly mentioned in the narcotics laws, the fact that it could be interpreted as a DMT analog may result in problems with the law. Literature See also the entries for bufotenine. Davis, Wade, and Andrew T. Wei!. 1992. Identity of a New World psychoactive toad. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:51-59. Erspamer, v., T. Vitali, M. Roseghini, and J. M. Cei. 1965. 5-methoxy and 5-hydroxyindolalkylamines in the skin of Bufo alvarius. Experientia 21:504. ---.1967. 5-methoxy- and 5-hydroxyindoles in the skin of Bufo alvarius. Biochemical Pharmacology 16:1149-64. Metzner, Ralph. 1988. Hallucinogens in contemporary North American shamanic practice. In Proceedings ofthe Fourth International Conference on the Study of Shamanism and Alternate Modes ofHealing (Independent Scholars of Asia), 170-75. Most, A. 1984. Bufo alvarius: The psychedelic toad of the Sonoran Desert. Denton, Texas: Venom Press. Witsch, Christian. 1993. Die Krbtenmutter. In Naturverehrung und Heilkunst, ed. C. R~itsch, 125-28. Sudergellersen: Bruno Martin. Smith, Robert 1. 1982. Venomous animals ofArizona. Bulletin 8245. Tucson: The University of Arizona. Weil, Andrew T., and Wade Davis. 1994. Bufo alvarius: A potent hallucinogen of animal origin. Journal ofEthnopharmacology 41: 1-8.