Fabricated Ancestrality: The Sonoran Desert Toad, Psychedelic Globalization, and the Ecological Politics of 5-MeO-DMT

A potent psychedelic compound, 5-MeO-DMT, occurs naturally in several South American plants and in the venom of the Sonoran Desert toad Incilius alvarius. Although plant-based snuffs containing the compound have documented Indigenous use in the Caribbean and South America, recent claims that toad-derived 5-MeO-DMT is part of Comcáac (Seri) ancestral tradition lack historical and ethnographic support. The article introduces the concept of ancestralization, a process by which recent practices are reframed as ancient to gain cultural authority and legitimacy. This fabricated ancestrality has spread through ritual adaptation, media, and global retreat economies, increasing demand for toad secretions and ecological pressure on Incilius alvarius. The analysis calls for historical rigor, ethical accountability, and conservation-informed practices.

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Abstract

5-methoxy- N,N -dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a potent, short-acting psychedelic compound found in several South American plant species and in the glandular secretions of Incilius alvarius, a toad native to the Sonoran Desert. While plant-based snuff preparations containing 5-MeO-DMT have documented use in Indigenous Caribbean and South American contexts, recent claims that toad-derived 5-MeO-DMT forms part of Comcáac (Seri) ancestral tradition have gained global traction despite lacking historical and ethnographic support. Drawing on historical scholarship and contemporary ethnographic field accounts, this article examines how such claims emerged in specific regional contexts and circulated within transnational psychedelic networks. It argues that the contemporary framing of “ancestral toad medicine” exemplifies ancestralization: a process through which recent practices are reframed as ancient to establish cultural authority and legitimacy within the psychedelic field. The resulting fabricated ancestrality has circulated through ritual adaptation, media dissemination, and global retreat economies, contributing to rising demand for toad secretions and increased ecological pressures on Incilius alvarius . Tracing the narrative’s diffusion from Sonora to urban and international settings, and situating it alongside anthropological debates on authenticity and indigeneity in ayahuasca globalization, the analysis highlights the ecological politics embedded in contemporary psychedelic movements. In doing so, it foregrounds the ecological consequences of fabricated ancestrality and calls for historical rigor, intellectual honesty about what is documented and what is newly constructed, and ethical accountability in how toad-derived 5-MeO-DMT is represented, particularly where contemporary practices contribute to extractive pressures on a living species. • Introduces ancestralization and fabricated ancestrality as concepts for analyzing 5-MeO-DMT globalization • Reviews traditional plant-based 5-MeO-DMT use across South America and the Caribbean • Examines claims of ancestral toad secretion use among the Comcáac (Seri) • Traces the ecological politics of fabricated ancestrality and rising demand for toad secretions • Calls for historical rigor, ethical accountability, and conservation-informed 5-MeO-DMT practices