Bufotenine Research Paper

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Licking the toad? A phrase most have heard before but did you know that licking the toad referenced the hallucinogenic effect certain toads had once a person literately licked it. The cause of the hallucinogenic symptoms is bufotenine. This paper will define what bufotenine is, the history behind bufotenine, signs and symptoms of bufotenine use, and bufotenine addiction treatment. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, bufotenine (bufotenin) , is a tryptamine related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. This hallucinogenic serotonin analog is found in frog or toad skins, mushrooms, higher plants, and mammals specifically in the brains, plasma, and urine in schizophrenics. It is used as a tool in central nervous studies …show more content…

According to Miller (2002), the Vikings were believed to have access to Amanita mushrooms, which contain bufotenine, and may be linked to their famed Berserker rage (p. 60). In the 1960's, young people in Austrila had taken to toad licking due to a newspaper report jokingly stating that toad slime was hallucinogenic. This resulted in making cane toad an illegal substance under the Drug Misuse Act. Since the government banned it, this encouraged more people to try it and the practice spread to the United States. After a few people became violently ill, the United States banned bufotenine in 1967 (Gahlinger, P. M., 2004). According to Schultes (1969), Native Americans made a strong hallucinogenic snuff, known as cohoba, made from the beans Anadenanthera peregrina. This was used by shamans to transcend this realm and into the other. Albert Most, who was a proponent of recreational use of Bufo alvarius venom, wrote The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert , which detailed how to extract and smoke the secretions (Gossop, 2013, p. 16). Aphrodisiacs (Rockhard and Love Stone) and herbal supplements (Chan Su) caused men and women to die from a heart attack. These products contained dried, toxic secretions of cane toads. This resulted in the FDA to ban the sell of Chan Su, Rockhard, and Love Stone (Cartwright …show more content…

The abuse rate is a determinate factor in how the drug is scheduled. A Schedule 1 drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and the potential to create severe psychological and/or physical dependence. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote (Drug Enforcement Administration). According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Controlled Substances, Bufotenine, DEA number 7433, has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug (2016) . According to Miller (2002), toad venom can be harvested, dried, and smoking. Death can occur if a person swallows enough to cause hallucinations. Smoking toad venom can cause you to pass out upon inhale, increase in heart rate, intense emotional experiences, altered consciousness and hallucinations ( visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory) (p. 61). According to Addiction Library, bufotenin users may seem as if they are in an alternate universe. Many Bufotenin users experience a strong spiritual

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