Forget mushrooms, is toad venom the new hallucinogenic drug for the rich and famous?

It’s 2022 and we’re decades away from the ’60s, but psychedelics sure have another big day.

The use of psilocybin, as well as other hallucinogenic psychedelic drugs such as LSD, ketamine, MDMA, and ayahuasca, has been making the rounds in affluent and creative circles in the United States for a number of years. But now, as a Town and Country article documents, there’s a new drug in town and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever tried before.

Meet Bufo. Also known as toad venom or 5-MeO-DMT, or DMT for short. Bufo derives from the name of the species of toad from which the substance was extracted, the Bufo Alvarius toad.

You may have heard of people joking about licking toads to get high, but there’s a real reason it’s been joked about in the first place. In fact, this practice has existed since ancient times. Its popularity was rediscovered in the 1960s and then again in the 80s.

This drug is one of the most potent hallucinogens with fans ranging from soccer moms to Hunter Biden, Chelsea Handler and Mike Tyson and many more.

What is toad venom and what is it like smoking?

The Bufo Alvarius toad, also known as the Colorado River or Sonoran desert toad, contains not only 5-MeO-DMT but also bufotenine. DMT is found in other psychedelics and works by binding to the serotonin receptors in the brain. Since serotonin is the chemical responsible for feelings of happiness, DMT consumption has been linked to improvements in mood, sometimes so significantly that it has been touted for its ability to treat depression, addiction, and anxiety.

“It’s dried toad secretion,” explains Dr. Mike Dow Ph.D., Psy.D, to People. The secretions are incinerated and then users inhale its vapors to experience its psychoactive benefits, which many believe are among the most potent in the entire world. “This is probably one of the most understudied psychedelics,” says Dr. dow “There’s a lot of research on psilocybin or mushrooms, ketamine, LSD — there’s not quite as much when it comes to these molecules. But what we do know is that they affect the serotonin receptors.”

“Imagine some pinnacle experience you’ve had in your life where time and all your thinking just sort of flies,” he says. “Imagine multiplying that times a hundred, and something like psychedelics and that Bufo Toad experience, that 20-minute experience that Haack had, maybe made her feel better,” as she says about Christina Haack’s journey with Bufo speaks. “When we think about depression and anxiety, we tend to see a lot of rumination and negative self-talk. Well, all this negative self-talk is in that part of the brain, the default mode network,” he said. “So if you can actually turn off that part of the brain, you can feel one with all things in the universe.”

Alan Davis, a postdoctoral fellow in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, explains more to Johns Hopkins Magazine in an older article. “Not many people have written about it,” he says.

“It’s also hard to find.” He goes on to discuss that its onset is rapid, occurring just 5 minutes after ingestion. “The experience will begin within 10 to 30 seconds and then you will be physically incapacitated for 20 to 30 minutes. That means you want someone who knows what’s going to happen, who’s giving it to you, and who’s there if you have any challenging physiological experiences.”

“More research is needed to truly understand how 5-MeO-DMT works, but as a tryptamine (like psilocybin and LSD) it can induce a sense of unity, euphoria, and ego dissolution,” he adds. “However, it tends to be much more intense and much shorter — around 20 minutes versus four hours for psilocybin — than other psychedelics.”

Benefits and risks of toad venom

There are some studies documenting the benefits of Bufo such as: B. its ability to treat depression and addiction. The National Institutes of Health published a study stating that just one use could be beneficial in treating PTSD, depression and anxiety while offering the promise of overall life satisfaction. Additionally, another study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that bufo had beneficial effects associated with a long-lasting sense of life satisfaction.

Mike Tyson is a fan. “I ‘died’ on my first trip,” Mike Tyson told The Post, discussing his psychedelic trip with Bufo. “In my travels I have seen that death is beautiful.”

Kidd Dynamite is another fan: “The toad taught me that I won’t be here forever. There’s an expiration date,” he says.

However, it may not be for everyone.

Chelsea Handler thought she would die after being hit. “The scariest thing,” the comedian said during her Evolution special for HBO Max, “I couldn’t move … And I was like, ‘Oh, oh, oh, you’re going to die today.’

The feeling of being born again and being able to start from scratch, well, there may be other, safer ways to achieve that, like shrooms or LSD. There are instances when the users may become unresponsive or even feel convulsions or vomiting. It’s not something you want to do at a party. Additionally, there are concerns from conservationists that Bufo alvarius toad species are being driven to near extinction, so in that case you might be better off seeking out the synthetic versions of DMT.

Have you tried toad poison? How was your experience?

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