5-MeO-DMT

Post Date: April 19, 2022

Last Updated: March 2, 2023

5-MeO-DMT (“5”) is a psychedelic of the tryptamine class that occurs naturally in many plants and animals. It can be extracted or produced synthetically.
Synthetic 5 can range in consistency, color, and purity, and may be obtained in different chemical forms that have slightly different properties.
5 is famously found in a toxin produced by the Sonoran Desert (“Colorado River”) toad, Bufo Alvarius. The Bufo also produces bufotenin alongside 5, which has its own psychoactive profile to an unclear extent.
Bufo-harvested 5-MeO-DMT is generally crystalline, flake-like, and clear to golden brown in color, but may also contain other organic compounds or adulterants resulting from the collection, or “milking,” of the toad.
Interest in 5 has led to an increase in Bufo capture and milking, sometimes in inhumane or unsustainable ways.
While 5-MeO-DMT does occur naturally in other plants and animals, it’s often in concentrations that are too low to be psychoactive.

The 5 experience is unique and cannot be directly compared to any other drug, including DMT. Its effects are not similar to those of other psychedelics like LSD or mushrooms.
When vaporized or smoked, 5 has a very rapid onset. The experience is overwhelming and often results in complete ego dissolution. Some describe it as a merging with the infinite, an explosion (or implosion) of consciousness that connects them with eternal Love or the Divine.
Many people report powerful states of ecstatic union, oceanic bliss, “kundalini activation,” “samadhi” or full immersion into the “mysterium tremendum.”
Others may feel as if they are physically dying, or they may be overcome by extreme fear or terror and attempt to resist the experience.

Threshold doses of 5-MeO-DMT are between 1-5 mg of synthetic or clean extracts. A significant “moderate” dose can range from 6-12 mg. Higher doses range from 13-20+ mg.
Bufo extract requires a higher dose due to the lower volume of 5 it contains, about 15%.
A moderate to heavy dose of bufo extract is considered to be somewhere in the 60-100 mg range. Note that bufo extract also contains up to 80% bufotenine (5-HO-DMT) along with a wide array of other unknown and unstudied organic alkaloids.
The effects of 5-MeO-DMT are cumulative. Immediate follow-up doses can be taken by ingesting ⅔ of the prior dose until the maximum “full release” effect is achieved. (More than one “full release” dose is rarely required or desired.)
Most people inhale the freebase (oil) form of 5-MeO-DMT from a heated glass pipe or vape pen. It can also be mixed with mullein, mint, or cannabis and smoked. The HCL (salt) form, although rarer, can be insufflated (snorted). 5 is also sometimes injected intramuscularly.

5-MeO-DMT can induce challenging effects and aftereffects in some individuals, including spontaneous “reactivations” of the experience.
5 can produce significant psychological distress in some people or under some circumstances, particularly if used carelessly or in an unsafe environment.
The casual use of 5-MeO-DMT has led to several preventable deaths, usually from people asphyxiating on vomit when using alone. 5’s intense out-of-body experience can result in a person physically moving around without conscious control.
Combining 5-MeO-DMT with other drugs, particularly stimulants (even one after the other), has resulted in deaths as well. Even on its own 5-MeO-DMT (and particularly the bufo extract) has occasionally caused seizures in some people.
WARNING: 5-MeO-DMT should never be combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). MAOIs can be found naturally in plants like harmine, harmaline, and Syrian rue, or in prescription antidepressant medications. MAOI is also a critical ingredient in ayahuasca. This combination can cause serious adverse reactions including death.

It is very important to have a sober “sitter” with you, or a highly skilled practitioner or guide who is familiar with the substance and how to effectively care for someone undergoing its profound effects.
5 is one of the few substances rated as +4 on the Shulgin rating scale, which refers to a rare transcendental state. This substance is profoundly powerful and should be approached with extreme discretion only.

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