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| − | <table style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
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| − | <td valign="top" width="50%"><strong>Other Names</strong>
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| − | Dimethyl-5-methoxytryptamine, 5-methoxy-DMT,
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| − | 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine, 0-methylbufotenine,
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| − | 3- [2-(dimethylamino)ethyl] -5-methoxy-
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| − | indole, toad foam
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| − | Substance type: tryptamine (indole alkaloid)
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| − | 5-MeO-DMT was first discovered in Dictyoloma
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| − | incanescens DC. and later was isolated from Anadenanthera
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| − | peregrina as well. It occurs in a very
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| − | large number of plants, often in association with
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| − | N,N-DMT (see the table on pages 853-854). Its
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| − | effects are somewhat more potent than those of
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| − | N,N-DMT. When the two are administered simultaneously,
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| − | 5-MeO-DMT more quickly occupies
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| − | the specific receptors. 5-MeO-DMT is a natural
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| − | neurotransmitter in the human nervous system.
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| − | When 5-MeO-DMT (10 to 20 mg) is smoked or
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| − | vaporized and inhaled, the effects are almost
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| − | immediately apparent, are incredibly extreme, and
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| − | last about ten minutes. Many people report having
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| − | shamanic experiences with this substance as well
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| − | as experiencing states of enlightenment and the
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| − | clear light of nirvana (Metzner 1988).
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| − | The Colorado River toad (Bufo alvarius) is
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| − | native to the area around Tucson, Arizona. These
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| − | toads spend nine months of the year underground,
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| − | buried in the mud that keeps them protected from
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| − | the burning desert sun. The toads emerge from
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| − | their hiding places with the first rains and begin
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| − | their courtship (Smith 1982,97-100). They remain
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| − | visible for only three months. Like all toads, Bufo
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| − | alvarius develops mucous secretions in two glands
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| − | that are located on the neck The secretions of the
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| − | Colorado River toad, however, do not contain
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| − | bufotoxine, the toxic substance that is found in the
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| − | secretions of most other toads. Instead, the dried
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| − | mass contains 15% 5-MeO-DMT (Erspamer et al.
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| − | 1965, 1967).
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| − | The native tribes that lived in the North
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| − | American Southwest made fetishes of this Bufo
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| − | alvarius. However, it was only in recent times that
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| − | the toad's cultural importance and its psychedelic
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| − | use were discovered, or more likely rediscovered
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| − | (cf. Davis and Weil 1992). The toad is "milked" by
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| − | being held firmly without being crushed. Both
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| − | glands are then massaged gently until a fat stream
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| − | of the secretion squirts out. The secretion is
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| − | caught on a piece of glass, where it is allowed to
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| − | dry and crystallize. The yellowish crystalline mass
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| − | then can be scraped off, mixed with different herbs
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| − | (such as damiana [Turnera diffusa] ), and smoked.
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| − | The toad, which is released unharmed, is quickly
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| − | able to replenish the loss in its secretions.
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| − | When taken orally, Bufo alvarius secretions are
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| − | apparently toxic, whereas they are not poisonous
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| − | when smoked (Wei! and Davis 1994). Davis and
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| − | Weil have suggested that the dried secretions of
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| − | Bufo alvarius were traded to Mexico in preColumbian
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| − | times and that the priests and shamans
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| − | there smoked or used it in some other manner
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| − | (Davis and Weil1992; cf. balche', bufotenine).
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| − | In Arizona, there is now a Church of the Toad
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| − | of Light, which uses the secretions of Bufo alvarius
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| − | as a sacrament (Most 1984; Ott 1993,396*).</td>
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| − | <td valign="top" width="53%"><strong>Commercial Forms and Regulations</strong>
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| − | Pure 5-MeO-DMT is available from chemical
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| − | suppliers. While the substance is not explicitly
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| − | mentioned in the narcotics laws, the fact that it
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| − | could be interpreted as a DMT analog may result
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| − | in problems with the law.
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| − | <strong>Literature</strong>
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| − | See also the entries for bufotenine.
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| − | Davis, Wade, and Andrew T. Wei!. 1992. Identity of a
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| − | New World psychoactive toad. Ancient
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| − | Mesoamerica 3:51-59.
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| − | Erspamer, v., T. Vitali, M. Roseghini, and J. M. Cei.
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| − | 1965. 5-methoxy and 5-hydroxyindolalkylamines
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| − | in the skin of Bufo alvarius.
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| − | Experientia 21:504.
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| − | ---.1967. 5-methoxy- and 5-hydroxyindoles in
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| − | the skin of Bufo alvarius. Biochemical
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| − | Pharmacology 16:1149-64.
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| − | Metzner, Ralph. 1988. Hallucinogens in
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| − | contemporary North American shamanic
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| − | practice. In Proceedings ofthe Fourth
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| − | International Conference on the Study of
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| − | Shamanism and Alternate Modes ofHealing
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| − | (Independent Scholars of Asia), 170-75.
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| − | Most, A. 1984. Bufo alvarius: The psychedelic toad of
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| − | the Sonoran Desert. Denton, Texas: Venom Press.
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| − | Witsch, Christian. 1993. Die Krbtenmutter. In
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| − | Naturverehrung und Heilkunst, ed. C. R~itsch,
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| − | 125-28. Sudergellersen: Bruno Martin.
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| − | Smith, Robert 1. 1982. Venomous animals ofArizona.
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| − | Bulletin 8245. Tucson: The University of Arizona.
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| − | Weil, Andrew T., and Wade Davis. 1994. Bufo
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| − | alvarius: A potent hallucinogen of animal origin.
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| − | Journal ofEthnopharmacology 41: 1-8.</td>
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| − | </tr>
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| − | </table>
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| − | [[Category:Drugs]]
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| − | [[Category:Psychedelic]]
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