National Park Service Asks Visitors To Stop Licking Toads

The National Park Service warns that licking toads can make people sick and asks visitors to its facilities to refrain from licking them. The warning included a night-vision photo of a toad with glowing eyes and the declaration “Glory to the Hypnotist!!!”, a reference to the animated television series. Futurama.

The National Park Service posted a warning on its official Twitter account last week, saying, “The Sonoran Desert Toad (Bufo alvarius) is one of the largest toads found in North America, measuring nearly 7 inches (18 cm). ” he pointed out. Also known as the Colorado River toad, the toad has a self-defense mechanism that causes the amphibian to secrete a toxic substance when disturbed. The secretions contain the compound 5-MeO-DMT, a tryptamine-class hallucinogen that is also found in some plants.

“For banana slugs, unfamiliar mushrooms, big toads with midnight glowing eyes, and most anything you encounter in a national park, avoid licking them.” Written by the National Park Service on Twitter.

The psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT is similar to the drugs DMT and bufotenin. All three compounds have been used as entheogens in spiritual ceremonies by indigenous cultures in South America. considered threatened. According to the list By the State Game and Fish Department.

The drug is taken from the toad’s glands, which secrete a toxic substance when the toad is attacked or disturbed by a predator. Once dried, this material can be snorted, smoked, or vaporized to consume the 5-MeO-DMT it contains.

don’t lick the toad

Licking toads to get high is common in pop culture. But the National Park Service warned in its post that toad secretions can be toxic.

“These toads have prominent parotid glands that secrete a powerful toxin,” officials added in a post on Twitter. “You can get sick if you handle frogs or put poison in your mouth.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lists 5-MeO-DMT as a Schedule 1 drug with no medical value and high abuse liability. However, researchers are studying the compound to determine whether it may be therapeutically beneficial for people with various mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.Johns Hopkins University Dr. Alan K. Davis, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Medicine’s Behavioral Research Unit, pointed out that 5-MeO-DMT has unique properties, including its rapid action and short duration of psychedelic effects. . to other psychedelics.

“Studies have shown that psychedelics administered alongside psychotherapy can benefit people with depression and anxiety. , requires 7-8 hours per session.” Davis said In the 2019 release from Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Because 5-MeO-DMT is short-acting, lasting about 30-90 minutes, it is much easier to use as an adjunct to treatment, as current treatments typically require 60-90 minute sessions. is.”

The use of 5-MeO-DMT outside clinical settings has been popularized by luminaries who have exposed drug experimentation, including comedian Chelsea Handler, boxing legend and cannabis entrepreneur Mike Tyson. Hunter Biden, son of President Joseph Biden, said last year that he used 5-MeO-DMT seven years ago to treat an addiction.

British scientist James Rucker, a psychiatrist at King’s College London, said this week he welcomed warnings from the National Park Service, saying people were licking toads in Asia and elsewhere outside the United States. pointed out that there was

“I’m sure the toads would be happy to have their dignity and autonomy preserved.” Rucker said Washington Post“Toad wants to be left alone. We should respect that.”