DMT

Trevor Peterson
DMT is also known as Dimethyltryptamine. DMT is found naturally in
the Amazon forests in South America. It can also be made in a lab.. Usually
DMT is in a white powder form and is smoked. Another way that people will
take DMT is in the form of a liquid called Ayahuasca. This drug is used for
many purposes in the Amazonian culture. It is often used for emotional
healing.
DMT was first synthesized in 1931 by Richard Manske. Its
hallucinogenic effects were not discovered until 1956 by Stephen Szra. He
was a Hungarian chemist and psychiatrist. Szra could not get LSD or
mescaline so he synthesized his own DMT, after reading about its presence
in the plants in South America, in the hope that it would give a
hallucinogenic effect. After several oral ingestions that had no effect, Szra
realized that something in the gastrointestinal system was probably
inhibiting the psychedelic effects from being presented. Szra was the first
person to recognize the psychedelic properties of DMT. Szra would later
escape Hungary then immigrated to the United States where he worked at
the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He was the Director
of Preclinical Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse for many
years until his retirement in 1991. Soon after the discovery of its psychedelic
effects, it was introduced into the underground drug world. It made its way

into the U.S. and was eventually made illegal in 1966. In 1970, Congress
passed the Scheduling Laws that made it nearly impossible to do any
research on DMT. This halted scientific investigation into the compound in
the United States until Rick Strassmans FDA-approved clinical trials at the
University of New Mexico from in 1990. Researchers found DMT in human
blood in 1965. In 1972 it was found in the human brain tissue. Once the
pathways by which the human body made DMT were discovered, DMT had
become the first endogenous human psychedelic. Which means it was the
first psychedelic drug to be found in the brain naturally.
The powder form of DMT is usually a white or yellowish powder. It is
smoked out of a pipe. The effects of DMT last 5-30 minutes when smoked.
Many people have given their accounts of what it is like after you smoke
DMT. It is often described as being overwhelmed with visual imagery. There is
almost always reported seeing changing illusions of geometric shapes.
People who smoke it also see many colors. When smoked in a dark room
users dont get as much of a visual experience, but in very bright
atmospheres users feel overwhelmed. It is recommended to use DMT in a
dimly lit area. Large doses of DMT can result in a loss of consciousness. At
low doses of DMT, thinking is easy. Higher doses can cause confusion and
short term memory loss. Another effect described by users is losing sense of
self or self-awareness. Users also report having a distorted sense of time.
Some users feel as though they are taken to another place, planet, or
universe. Sometimes when heavy doses are ingested by new users, the user

may think they are dying because of the extreme confusion caused by the
drug.
The liquid form called Ayahuasca is very different from the powder
form. DMT is found naturally in many different plants in the West Indies and
South America. These plants include: Acacia maidenii, Acacia obtusifolia
Acacia phlebophylla: Acacia simplicifolia, Anadenanthera
peregrine,Desmanthus illinoensis, Diplopterys cabreana, Meliocope
leptococca, Evodia leptococca, Mimosa tenuiflora, Phalaris aquatic, Phalaris
aquatic, Phalaris arundinacea, Pilocarpus organensis, Psychotria
carthaginensis, Psychotria viridis, Virola calophylla, Virola rufula, and Virola
theiodora. Ayahuasca is made by grinding up plants that contain DMT and
making it into a brew or a tea. It is used in religious ceremonies in South
America. They have been doing this for centuries. The trip on Ayahuasca will
last 2-5 hours, significantly longer than smoking DMT. How much you drink
will determine how long the trip lasts.
The recommended dosage of DMT is 40-50 mg. This dosage is said to
give the user the perfect amount of psychedelic stimulation. Any more than
that can cause the user to have a very unpleasant experience, also called a
bad trip. If less than 40 is taken, the effects might not be enough to have the
full experience. 25-40mg will result in the user having physical stimulation,
and minimal psychedelic stimulation. Less than 25mg usually only results in
the user having slight physical stimulation.

DMT is a very powerful hallucinogen. Its acute effects include increased

heart rate, and agitation. Long term effects of DMT are unknown. The long
term effects are unknown because clinical long term studies have not been
conducted. However there is said to be no way to develop a tolerance for the
drug. Taking the drug orally through Ayahuasca has been said to cause
psychological problems after years of use for religious purposes, but this
cannot be confirmed nor denied because of the lack of supporting evidence
of the claim.
DMT is illegal in the U.S. except for religious purposes. Several
Brazilian churches have permission to import DMT for their religious
ceremonies. DMT in powder form is a schedule 1 drug in the U.S. The liquid
Ayahuasca form of DMT is not technically classified as illegal however. DMT is
used in South American religious ceremonies. It is used to alter ones state of
consciousness so that they perceive things differently and are able to enter a
transcendental state. This state allows them to connect with themselves
and others deeper. They are able to solve inner issues. It allows people to
reconnect with themselves.
DMT effects users differently depending on the doses. Low doses gives
the user a feeling of numbness. It also causes confusion, vomiting, etc. With
higher doses comes more extreme effects. Hallucinations, memory loss, and
panic. If used with large amounts of alcohol, it could cause respiratory
problems that could result in death. These extremely bad trips are not
often reported with DMT. Studies in South America on the mental health

effects of DMT use over a 6 month period show that DMT can do many
positives for mental health. They studied 23 different individuals and
monitored their mental health over a 6 month period of time using
Ayahuasca. Over the period all users had a decrease in psychiatric problems.
They also noted users had more confident and optimistic attitudes. Another
thing found in the test subjects was a reduced amount of physical pain. They
also noted that most people had a shift towards being more independent.
The more frequent a user was in contact with Ayahuasca, the more
independent behaviors they showed.
This powerful hallucinogen has also been used to treat several mental
illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder and several others. It has
also been used to help people with substance abuse issues. This does not
make sense to me because DMT is also a drug. DMT is used to help people
cope with depression and anxiety. It is criticized heavily for being used as an
antidepressant because of the fact that it is a hallucinogen. Studies on its
ability to be used as an antidepressant show that although it is difficult to
see and understand how it helps, it does have some therapeutic value to
those who use it.
The amazon has attracted a lot of attention for tourism for the use of
Ayahuasca. Many Americans and Europeans make the trip down to the
amazon rainforests and experiment with DMT while they are there for a
spiritual vacation. It is said that it is like a mental vacation that can be
used to get away from all daily struggles and stresses for a brief time period.

Many of these resorts are located on the coasts of Brazil. They are
protected by the federal law in Brazil. At these resorts, people can sign up for
workshops that range from 8-17 days long. The first 2 days of these
workshops typically consist of decompression, where they relax and get
comfortable with their surroundings. After the first 2 days, people will take
part in Ayahuasca ceremonies every other day. These ceremonies are lead by
shaman who are very experienced. It is not recommended to take Ayahuasca
without an experienced shaman. These ceremonies are meant to make the
user feel very uncomfortable in order to achieve self-realizations, and to help
users sort out their daily problems and life struggles. This process is very
uncomfortable for most people at first because they are not used to looking
at things through this new perspective that is induced by the DMT.

Citations:
Hirshfeld-Flores, Alissa. "DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctors Revolutionary Research Into the Biology of NearDeath and Mystical Experiences." American Journal of Psychiatry AJP 159.8 (2002): 1448-449. Web.
Andritzky, W. (1989). "Sociopsychotherapeutic functions of ayahuasca healing in
Amazonia." J Psychoactive Drugs 21(1): 77-89.
Anderson, B. T. (2012). "Ayahuasca as Antidepressant? Psychedelics and Styles of
Reasoning in Psychiatry." Anthropology of Consciousness23(1): 44-59.

Baker, J. R. (2005). "Psychedelic Sacraments." J Psychoactive Drugs37(2): 179-187.

Barbosa, P. C., et al. (2009). "A six-month prospective evaluation of personality traits,
psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in ayahuasca-naive subjects." J Psychoactive
Drugs 41(3): 205-212.