Bufo alvarius: a potent hallucinogen of animal origin.
Journal of ethnopharmacology January 1, 1994 A T Weil, W Davis 125 citations
Anthropologists have long hypothesized that ancient Mesoamericans used the toad Bufo marinus as a ritual intoxicant, based on iconographic and mythological representations and speculative ethnographic reports. The authors reject B. marinus due to its venom's toxicity. Instead, they propose the Sonoran desert toad, Bufo alvarius, as a more likely candidate because it secretes large amounts of the potent hallucinogen 5-MeO-DMT. Experiments show that B. alvarius venom, though toxic when eaten, can be safely smoked and is powerfully psychoactive by that route. This is the first documentation of a hallucinogenic agent from the animal kingdom, providing clear evidence of a psychoactive toad possibly used by Precolumbian peoples.