Bufo Alvarius: the Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert

Last updated
Bufo Alvarius: the Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert
Bufo Alvarius, The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonora Desert cover.jpeg
AuthorAlbert Most (Ken Nelson)
IllustratorGail Patterson
LanguageEnglish
Subject Sonoran Desert toad; 5-MeO-DMT; Psychedelic drugs
PublisherVenom Press
Publication date
1984
Publication place Denton, Texas, United States
OCLC 79477238

Bufo Alvarius: the Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert is an underground pamphlet written by Albert Most (real name Ken Nelson), illustrated by Gail Patterson, and published by Venom Press in 1984. [1] [2] It described how to extract the venom of the Sonoran Desert toad (formerly Bufo alvarius, now Incilius alvarius), which contains the serotonergic psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT, and administer the venom to produce hallucinogenic effects. [1] The pamphlet was responsible for the start of the recreational use of the toad venom and of 5-MeO-DMT. [1] [3] [2] [4] Subsequently, Andrew Weil and Wade Davis, in part citing the pamphlet, described the psychoactive effects of the toad in the scientific literature in 1992. [2] [5] In addition, they described the finding as the first instance of a psychedelic from an animal source to be discovered. [2] Following the publication of the pamphlet, recreational use of the toads was encountered by the late 1980s and became a media sensation. [6]

Contents

The pamphlet was originally published pseudonymously. [1] [7] Journalist Hamilton Morris described becoming obsessed with identifying the author of the pamphlet. [7] Morris came upon a man named Alfred Savinelli, who claimed to be the author, and published this in his documentary series Hamilton's Pharmacopeia in 2017. [1] Savinelli as the author, however, ultimately proved to be incorrect. [1] The real author, Ken Nelson, subsequently contacted Morris and proved his identity. [1] In 2020, a new episode of Hamilton's Pharmacopeia revealed Nelson as the true author, and Morris apologized for the mistake. [7] Nelson passed away due to Parkinson's disease in 2019 prior to the airing. [7] In 2021, with Nelson's permission, Morris published a revised and expanded edition of the pamphlet that included a chemical synthesis for 5-MeO-DMT. [1] The inclusion of the synthesis of 5-MeO-DMT was prompted by concerns about endangerment and reduction of the toad population. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Villa, Robert A. (29 December 2023). "Toad in the road: Biocultural history and conservation challenges of the Sonoran Desert Toad" (PDF). Journal of Psychedelic Studies. 7 (S1): 68–79. doi: 10.1556/2054.2023.00269 . ISSN   2559-9283 . Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Weil AT, Davis W (January 1994). "Bufo alvarius: a potent hallucinogen of animal origin" (PDF). J Ethnopharmacol. 41 (1–2): 1–8. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(94)90051-5. PMID   8170151.
  3. ↑ Siebert, Amanda (8 January 2021). "Hamilton Morris On Mistakes, 5-MeO-DMT And Preserving Psychedelic Toads". Forbes. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Ermakova AO, Dunbar F, Rucker J, Johnson MW (March 2022). "A narrative synthesis of research with 5-MeO-DMT". J Psychopharmacol. 36 (3): 273–294. doi:10.1177/02698811211050543. PMC   8902691 . PMID   34666554.
  5. ↑ Davis, Wade; Weil, Andrew T. (1992). "Identity of a New World Psychoactive Toad". Ancient Mesoamerica. 3 (1): 51–59. doi:10.1017/S0956536100002297. ISSN   0956-5361.
  6. ↑ Lyttle T (May 1993). "Misuse and legend in the "toad licking" phenomenon". Int J Addict. 28 (6): 521–538. doi:10.3109/10826089309039645. PMID   8486435.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Rodrigue, Daniel (13 April 2021). "A Vice Show Led to Identifying the Denton Creators of a Guide to Hallucinogenic Toad Venom". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2025.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.