5-MeO-DMT: A primer on a potent psychedelic
Is 5 Meo DMT Legal In Australia. 5-MeO-DMT is a unique and compelling member of the modern psychedelic pharmacopoeia. Spectacular and succinct an experience, 5-MeO-DMT has broken into popular culture as a shooting star psychedelic. Famous for its origins from the venom of the Sonoran Desert toad, 5-MeO-DMT is finding its way into the lab, dinner table conversations, and international retreat centres. The rise in exposure has led to the outing of malpractice by several underground guides as well as a growing awareness of unsustainable toad ‘farming’ practices. Scientifically a scramble to get 5-MeO-DMT into the lab has begun, with both for-profit ventures and not-for profit benefit organisations paving the path for a variety of delivery methods. This multi-part series seeks to separate history from hype, science from scandal and potential from myth.
What is 5-MeO-DMT?
5-Methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychoactive compound capable of inducing powerful psychedelic states. 5-MeO-DMT has been shown to have potential for therapeutic use in the treatment of mood disorders and to enhance wellbeing (Lima da Cruz R.V et al., 2018).
5-MeO-DMT belongs to the tryptamine family – a group of psychoactive compounds including neurotransmitters and psychedelics. Tryptamine neurotransmitters include serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) and melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine). Tryptamine psychedelics include psilocybin (O-phosophory-4HO-DMT), bufotenine (5-HO-DMT) and DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine). Is 5 Meo DMT Legal In Australia
5-MeO-DMT is found naturally within the venom of the Colorado River Toad (of the Sonoran Desert) – otherwise known as Bufo Alvarius, as well as several plant species and, can also be synthetically manufactured (Barsuglia et al., 2018).
Historical context and history of use
5-MeO-DMT was first synthesised in 1936 by Canadian chemist Richard Manske. It wasn’t until 1956 that naturally occurring 5-MeO-DMT was found in the plant species Dictyoloma incanesce, then later in Anadenanthera Peregina, otherwise known as yopo seeds – where it was isolated and used in South American snuffs (tobacco). Then in 1965 5-MeO-DMT was discovered in venom of the Bufo Alvarius toad.
Weil (1994) speculates that Meso Amerindian shamans and some Native Americans (Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert, 2021) knew about Bufo Alvarius before it being discovered by western consciousness explorers; however, no conclusive evidence of Meso Amerindian shamanic use exists. Up until the 1980s, the psychedelic community was almost unaware of 5-MeO-DMT in Bufo Alvarius toads. Then in 1983, the environmental activist and psychedelic researcher Ken Nelson first self-experimented with naturally occurring 5-MeO-DMT.
His curiosity led him to Arizona, and he became the first known person from the west to experience smoking the venom of Bufo Alvarius (Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert, 2021). He later released an infamous pamphlet titled Bufo Alvarius: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert. Under the guise of Ken’s pseudo name Albert Most, this pamphlet was a practical how-to guide on identifying Bufo Alvarius, collecting and smoking its venom, along with a detailed description of the 5-MeO-DMT synthesis. Additionally, Ken’s discovery of Bufo Alvarius is described as being “completely absorbed in a complex chemical event, characterized by an overload of thoughts and perceptions, brief collapse of the ego, and a loss of the space-time continuum (Morris, H., 2021)”. Currently, 5-MeO-DMT is a scheduled I drug in the US and remains illegal in Australia. Is 5 Meo DMT Legal In Australia