Smoking Toads

Initially appeared on doktorko.com 10/9/2005.

In the course of my extensive Web-crawling, i've sometimes come across the term "toad-licking."  Rotating on Toxicology last month and reading about a wide variety of poisons and recreational drugs, i decided that there was no better time to find out what the whole brouhaha was all about and Googled it. 

The recreational use of amphibians actually dates back to the time of the early Greeks.  In fact, there is much literature and quite a few edifices in Central and Southern America devoted to toads themselves which seems to suggest that the people who lived in these places used them extensively for both religious and recreational purposes.

The toad in question is Bufo alvarius - also known as the Colorado River Toad - which is native to the southwestern United States.  This toad secretes a variety of different chemicals via its parotid gland, not the least of which are Bufotoxins (supposedly cardioactive poisons) and the serotonin-like chemicals Bufotenine and 5-Methyl-O-Dimetheyltryptamine (5-Me-O-DMT for short).  The actual hallucinogenic component is the 5-Me-O-DMT.  Bufotoxins and Bufotenine have many different and interesting effects, but hallucinations are not among them.

The concept of "toad-licking" is really a myth.  Apparently, back in the 1960s some potheads got wind of the ages-old recreational use of toads and started popularizing the concept of licking these hapless animals.  Whether or not anyone actually got high or became frankly psychedelic (or even psychotic) from licking toad skin is unclear.  At any rate, there is so much bad stuff on the toad's skin (the other chemicals mentioned above as well as god-knows-what) that you are apt to get sick and even die from running your tingling taste buds over it.  More importantly, 5-Me-O-DMT is orally inactive, as it is metabolized by the liver and degraded by MAO.

The proper way to use Bufo alvarius is to milk the secretions from its parotid glands, let the liquid dry out, gather the crystals produced, and smoke them with a pipe (almost like shabu, i suppose).  The onset of action is reportedly very quick (ranging from instantaneous to fifteen minutes), and the effect can last for up to half an hour.  A variety of sympathetic nervous system effects are produced as well as the much sought-after parade of hallucinations - which is claimed by some to rival that produced by LSD.  The full range of effects and dose-responses can be found here.

As mentioned, Bufo alvarius is the only toad that is known to produce 5-Me-O-DMT.  Can this wonderful chemical be extracted from the common palakang kokak?  It might be, but honestly - i have absolutely no interest in finding out.  Kayo na lang.

Legal Stuff: DMT, which sounds like and is chemically similar to 5-Me-O-DMT, is considered an illegal substance in the USA.  In addition, possession of Bufo alvarius is considered a misdemeanor in California.

Disclaimer: This article in no way condones the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes.  All information contained herein is intended for educational purposes only.