Substance type: tryptamine (indole alkaloid) Empirical formula: C12H16N2
Other Names: Dimethyltryptamin, dimethyltryptamine, 3-(2- [dimethylamino]ethyl)-indol, N,N-dimethyl-trypt- amine, N,N-DMT, nigerin, nigerina, nigerine (1946) Pure DMT has been described as an aphrodisiac and psychedelic in various cultures. It is also pres- ent in many traditional aphrodisiacs: acacia, aya- huasca, cumala, epená, cowitch, zanthoxylum, mimosa pudica, some soma plants, and toad secretions.
R. H. F. Manske first created DMT as a syn- thetic substance in a laboratory in 1931. Psychi- atric experiments were performed with it in the 1950s. The psychiatric model at the time resulted in its being classified as a “psychotic” drug and a trigger for “dimethyltryptamine psychosis” (Sai- Halasz et al. 1958). Great astonishment ensued soon thereafter when DMT was found to be a natural substance present in a plant (Anadenan- thera pereginea, cf. epená). A manmade mol- ecule from the laboratory existing as a natural product?! Scientists were even more astounded when DMT was discovered to be a natural sub- stance in the human body. “DMT is everywhere!” announced chemist Alexander T. Shulgin (cf. love drugs).
Effects: The psychedelics N,N-DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, and bufotenine produce effects that are short in duration. They are not orally effective in an iso- lated form (as a salt or a base) because the MAO enzyme breaks them down before they can pass through the blood-brain barrier (cf. ayahuasca, β-carboline). They reveal their awesome effects only when injected by syringe (Strassman et al. 1994), snorted, or smoked. When N,N-DMT or 5-MeO-DMT is injected intravenously, the effects last some forty-five minutes; when the substance is smoked or snorted, the effects last only ten minutes. Subjectively, however, those few minutes may seem to span centuries. People who have had experiences with DMT unanimously agree that it is easily the most powerful psychedelic known (cf. McKenna 1992, Meyer 1992). Only “a few seconds after taking it, DMT acts like the trumpets of Jeri- cho upon the gates of perception” (Kraemer 1995, 98). DMT experiences can be so extraordinarily alien that most subjects find it extremely difficult or even impossible to describe them in words. In the literature, contacts with strange beings (aliens, fairies, mechanical elves) are described (Bigwood and Ott 1977, Leary 1966, McKenna 1992, Meyer 1992).
When pure DMT is smoked or vaporized and inhaled, the effective dosage is around 20 mg (although amounts as high as 100 mg are some- times smoked). The dosage for ayahuasca and ayahuasca analogs ranges from 50 to 100 mg. When DMT is injected, the typical dose is 1 mg/kg of body weight.
DMT is also produced in the human nervous system, where it appears to serve an important function as a neurotransmitter. Neurobiologists are as yet uncertain about the role DMT might play in the nervous system. Hyperventilating causes the concentration of DMT in the lungs to increase. One physician has reported that the release of endogenous DMT is highest at the moment of death.
It is our assumption that this chemical messenger is responsible for the supreme shamanistic ecstasy, for enlightenment, and for the merging into the “clear light of death.” In experiments in which DMT was administered to a group of prac- ticing Buddhists, the subjects reported having experiences and visions that were compatible to Buddhist teachings in both their content and imagery.
Commentary: Many people who have had DMT experiences have reported an aphrodisiac effect, which ceased as the drug’s effects diminished. In addition to the psy- chedelic experience, a pleasant erotic feeling may spread throughout the body. Like LSD and other synthetic or natural entheogens, DMT works only as an incidental aphrodisiac; the aphrodisiac effect is only one part of the spectrum of experience. The depth and intensity of the experience depend on the strength of the smoke inhaled. A few superfi- cial puffs have only a mild effect on consciousness. Intensive inhalation, on the other hand, can cata- pult the user into new cosmic dimensions. Warning: DMT is not a recreational drug! It should be taken only in a quiet, safe place and with the accompaniment of an experienced guide. During an intense DMT experience it is common to lose control over motor functions for several minutes, and in some cases to develop enormous physical strength that could lead to self-inflicted bodily harm. To attempt a DMT experience with- out supervision is not only foolhardy and self- destructive, but also stupid.
Sources: DMT occurs as a free base, an HCL, and a fuma- rate. Although the fumarate crystallizes out easily, it contains only 60 percent of the pure substance. DMT is classified as a Schedule 1 drug in the United States and is a “narcotic drug in which trafficking is not allowed” in Germany as well as in Switzerland (Körner 1994, 38B). However, in the United States, since a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2006, freedom of religion exceptions have been made for very specific religious services using a DMT decoction.