Bufo alvarius: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 00:37, 22 May 2026

Animal Medicine, Phantastica

Bufo alvarius

Sonoran Desert Toad, Colorado River Toad

Bufo alvarius is the only toad whose parotid-gland venom contains 5-MeO-DMT in psychoactively significant quantities. (The cane toad, Bufo marinus, has bufotenine and cardiotoxic bufosteroids instead.) Native to the Sonoran Desert. The dried venom ("toad smoke") is one of the most powerful entheogens known, onset in seconds, full peak in ~5 min, baseline restored within 15.

Experience

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Titration strategies

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Effects

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References

Summary

Classes

Animal Medicine, Phantastica

Common uses

Visionary0

Pharmacy

Preparations

Parotid-gland venom expressed onto a glass plate, dried into a shellac-like resin, vaporized and inhaled

Pharmacology

Routes

Inhalation (vaporized)

Onset

Seconds

Duration

~15 min

Legal status

5-MeO-DMT is Schedule I in US (since 2011); the toad itself is protected in several southwestern states

Purported mechanism

5-MeO-DMT is a potent 5-HT1A agonist (greater than 5-HT2A). Distinct from N,N-DMT in producing a more unitive, less visual, often ego-dissolving experience.

“Pendell's corner

I wasn't looking forward to this. I'm not looking forward to this. I was tired. "Again?" I thought, "another ally?" I've never been big on the dating scene, but meeting an ally isn't even like dating, it's like dating with a trial marriage. You have to give yourself over to it.

— Dale Pendell, Pharmako/Gnosis, p. 217

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | duration = ~15 min
 | mechanism = 5-MeO-DMT is a potent 5-HT1A agonist (greater than 5-HT2A). Distinct from N,N-DMT in producing a more unitive, less visual, often ego-dissolving experience.
-| intro = ''Bufo alvarius'' is the only toad whose parotid-gland venom contains 5-MeO-DMT in psychoactively significant quantities. (The cane toad, ''Bufo marinus'', has bufotenine and cardiotoxic bufosteroids instead.) Native to the Sonoran Desert. The dried venom ("toad smoke") is one of the most powerful entheogens known — onset in seconds, full peak in ~5 min, baseline restored within 15.
+| intro = ''Bufo alvarius'' is the only toad whose parotid-gland venom contains 5-MeO-DMT in psychoactively significant quantities. (The cane toad, ''Bufo marinus'', has bufotenine and cardiotoxic bufosteroids instead.) Native to the Sonoran Desert. The dried venom ("toad smoke") is one of the most powerful entheogens known, onset in seconds, full peak in ~5 min, baseline restored within 15.
 | legal = 5-MeO-DMT is Schedule I in US (since 2011); the toad itself is protected in several southwestern states
 | seealso = [[5-MeO-DMT]], [[DMT]], [[Anadenanthera]]
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 {{PendellsCorner
-| quote  = The Sonoran Desert toad &mdash; ''Incilius alvarius'', formerly ''Bufo'' &mdash; is one of the few animals whose chemistry has been pressed into psychedelic use. The dried gland yields 5-MeO-DMT; the smoke yields the shortest journey. The toad gives, and the population pays &mdash; the recent fashion is doing the species no favors.
+| quote  = I wasn't looking forward to this. I'm not looking forward to this. I was tired. "Again?" I thought, "another ally?" I've never been big on the dating scene, but meeting an ally isn't even like dating, it's like dating with a trial marriage. You have to give yourself over to it.
 | volume = Gnosis
-| voice  = curated paraphrase &mdash; replace with verbatim passage
+| page   = 217
 }}
 [[Category:Phantastica]]
-[[Category:Plant Medicines]]
+[[Category:Plants]]
 [[Category:Medicines]]
 [[Category:Tryptamines]]
 [[Category:Classical Psychedelics (Serotonergic)]]
 [[Category:Psychedelics]]