| If you follow
popular culture, you probably already know that frog and toad licking has been promoted as
the latest underground "high," but you may not know that licks can kill in this
case. "I believe their venom is
cardioactive. Dogs that catch and bite on them have died from it. Don't know of any human
deaths. You've got to squeeze them to get venom out. The venom comes from a gland, the
parotid, behind the ears. Some people call it milk. Squeezing the venom out could be very
dangerous," said Bob Wallace of Mind Spring Books in California. His book store
specializes in American books related to hallucinogenic and psychedelic drugs.
"I don't know where the idea of licking them came
from. Beavis and Butthead said something about it, and a couple of years ago there was the
California couple caught with a bunch of these toads," he continued. "Actually,
licking them can be pretty dangerous."
The species getting tongue baths in California is Bufo
alvarius, but there is at least one other species, this one found in Florida, Bufo
marinus. Marinus is featured in popular mystery novels by Carl Hiaasen. In
his novels, an ex-governor turned wildman living in the Everglades who calls himself
"Skink" is an habitual toad licker.
Just what's in this toad venom?
"One of the major chemical classes of the
psychedelic drugs are the tryptamines. These include psilocybin (the active compound in
"magic mushrooms") and DMT, di-methyl-tryptamine, the active compound in
"ayahuasca", a South American hallucinogenic brew. Psilocybin actually becomes
psilocin in the body, which is 4-hydroxy-DMT.
"I mentioned 5-methoxy-DMT in toad venoms, and
bufotenine, which is 5-hydroxy-tryptamine. Simple tryptamine itself is one of the
essential amino acids, closely related to tryptophan.
Seroronin, the well-known neurotransmitter, is just
4-hydroxy-tryptamine.
Licking these amphibians is dangerous, smoking the
venom is terrifying.
"It is safer to smoke the
venom. The venom is typically a gooey liquid that you let dry. Then you put 20 mg. on some
carrier and take one single inhalation. It is much more intense than mushrooms or LSD. You
forget your body totally, not aware of anything. You get totally swept up in it. Most
people describe it as merging with God, becoming one. It is not particularly pleasant. In
fact, it tends to be terrifying, something like being strapped to the bottom of a jet
taking off from an aircraft carrier. It is a very strong, overwhelming experience,"
Wallace said.
"Really, when you get down to it, it is a
terrifying experience for the normal person."
Besides that, the western toad is in a serious
population decline, and the Florida toad probably will be if not already. Not only could
handling them kill you, it could kill the toads and further endanger them. For that reason
alone, toad licking is a bad thing.
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