Abstract
5-MeO-DMT is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius). Emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothesis. Data was obtained from 20 individuals (Mage = 38.9, ± 10.7; male = 55%, Caucasian = 85%) who were administered 5-MeO-DMT as part of a psychospiritual retreat program in Mexico. All participants received 50 mg of inhaled vaporized toad bufotoxin which contains 5-MeO-DMT and completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) approximately 4–6 h after their session. Administration of 5-MeO-DMT occasioned strong mystical experiences (MEQ30 Overall Mintensity = 4.17, ± 0.64, range 0–5) and the majority (n = 15, 75%) had “a complete mystical experience” (≥60% on all MEQ30 subscales). Compared to a prior laboratory-based psilocybin study, there were no differences in the intensity of mystical effects between 5-MeO-DMT and a high dose (30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin, but the intensity of mystical effects was significantly higher in the 5-MeO-DMT sample compared to moderate/high dose (20 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin (MEQ30 Total Score: p = 0.02, d = 0.81). Administration of vaporized 5-MeO-DMT reliably occasioned complete mystical experiences in 75% of individuals and was similar in intensity to high dose psilocybin administered in a laboratory setting. The short duration of action may be advantageous for clinical interventions and for studying mystical-type experiences.
Highlights
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychoactive indolealkylamine (Yu, 2008; Szabo et al, 2014) that is present in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River toad (Bufo alvarius) (Weil and Davis, 1994; Lyttle et al, 1996), numerous plant species (Smith, 1977; Ott, 2001; Shulgin and Shulgin, 2002), and can be synthetically produced (Hoshino and Shimodaira, 1936)
The second aim was to compare the intensity of mystical experiences occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT in the present study with that recorded in a prior laboratory-based psilocybin study (Griffiths et al, 2011)
Item means for each subscale were consistent with the rating of a “strong” mystical experience: mystical, 3.96 ± 0.92; positive mood, 4.43 ± 0.58; transcendence of time and space, 4.28 ± 0.69; ineffability, 4.43 ± 0.63; and the MEQ30 total score, 4.17 ± 0.64
Summary
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychoactive indolealkylamine (Yu, 2008; Szabo et al, 2014) that is present in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River toad (Bufo alvarius) (Weil and Davis, 1994; Lyttle et al, 1996), numerous plant species (Smith, 1977; Ott, 2001; Shulgin and Shulgin, 2002), and can be synthetically produced (Hoshino and Shimodaira, 1936). Mystical experiences occasioned by psilocybin are a primary predictor of therapeutic outcomes in patients with substance use disorders (Garcia-Romeu et al, 2014; Bogenschutz et al, 2015) and depression/anxiety (Cowen, 2016; Griffiths et al, 2016). The first aim was to examine the intensity of mystical experiences following administration of 5-MeO-DMT (in the form of vaporized bufotoxin) to participants in a residential psychospiritual retreat We hypothesized that these participants would rate the intensity of mystical effects as moderate-to-strong, similar to the prior findings for 5-MeO-DMT users in a survey study (Davis et al, 2018; Davis et al, in press). We hypothesized that the intensity of mystical experiences would be similar to that reported by individuals administered high-dose psilocybin and greater than that reported by individuals administered a moderate/high dose of psilocybin
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