News
Stuart Etengoff
Emergency Medicine News December 20, 2022 DOI: 10.1097/01.eem.0000905596.62007.55 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | News report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | The National Park Service warned visitors against licking the Sonoran Desert toad, whose toxin contains 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin (5-HO-DMT) plus a digoxin-like cardiac glycoside. Reports describe people seeking the toad for a psychedelic high; experienced users report smoking the dried toxin produces psychoactive effects while licking the toad causes sickness, and dogs have reportedly died after eating it. |
Abstract
FigureFigureThe National Park Service released a warning recently urging visitors not to lick the Sonoran Desert toad (Bufonidae alvarius), also known as the Colorado River toad. (NPS Facebook. Oct. 31, 2022; https://bit.ly/3VItjHH.) Apparently, people have been licking it with abandon in search of a psychedelic high. (NBC. Nov. 7, 2022; https://bit.ly/3B14AX2.) But one need not go to Arizona or Colorado to find a toad to lick. The Colorado River toad is for sale at my local pet store in Michigan.FigureThe toad secretes a toxin when threatened, and that toxin contains a digoxin-like cardiac glycoside, 5-MEO-DMT, and Buford (5-HO-DMT). The latter two are what make people seek out the toad; both have psychoactive properties. Experienced users report that smoking the toxin will give a psychoactive effect, but licking the toad will make people quite sick. There are many reports of dogs dying after eating the toad. The toxin is milked from the toad's parotid glands and allowed to dry. Users then heat the substance and inhale it, somewhat like crack cocaine. The legality of owning or possessing it varies by state. (The Third Wave. May 1, 2019; https://bit.ly/3ujX322.) Share this article on Twitter and Facebook. Access the links in EMN by reading this on our website or in our free iPad app, both available at www.EM-News.com. Comments? Write to us at [email protected].