Toad lickers in national parks urged to look elsewhere for enlightenment
The US Government has an unusual request – please don’t lick psychedelic toads.
The US National Park Service has issued a warning to visitors to refrain from licking the large Sonoran Desert toad as they try to reach a state of hallucinogenic enlightenment from a ‘‘potent toxin’’ that the amphibians naturally secrete.
The toads, also known as Colorado River toads, ‘‘have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin’’, the service advises. ‘‘It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth.’’
Bufotenin, a white milky substance also known as 5-MeODMT, is a natural psychedelic that the toads secrete, according to Drug Science, an international scientific research group. It can be snorted, inhaled or smoked, and induces a short but intense psychedelic experience lasting about 30 minutes, with hallucinogenic effects that are ‘‘significantly stronger’’ than those induced by the primary psychoactive molecule found in the similar substance ayahuasca.
Drug Science said it was a ‘‘popular myth’’ that people could get high by licking toads. In fact, it could be dangerous, causing poisonings and even fatalities in humans.
Prominent figures including former boxing champion Mike Tyson, comedian Chelsea Handler and US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden have publicly discussed 5-MeO-DMT therapy or toad venom rituals.
British scientist James Rucker, a psychiatrist at King’s College London who carries out clinical research trials, said he welcomed the warning to people ‘‘looking for a cheap psychedelic experience’’.
Rucker said the bufotenin chemical and other naturally occurring drugs had potential benefits for people suffering from depression and alcoholism. However, they could also induce panic, paranoia and severe anxiety, as well as bringing up buried feelings that could be hard to process and manage without professional support.