CharacterizationofMysticalExperiencesOccasionedby5MeODMTContainingToadVenomand

ComparisonwithPriorPsilocybinStudies

Presenter:JosephP.Barsuglia,Ph.D.a
AlanK.Davis,Ph.D.a,b,RobertPalmer,B.S.a,

RafaelLancelotta,B.A.a,MarleyWindhamHerman,B.S.c,
KristelPeterson,MSW ,MartinPolanco,M.D.a,RobertM.Grant,M.D.,M.P.He,RolandGriffiths,Ph.D.f
d

a
CrossroadsTreatmentCenter,Rosarito,Mexico
b
UniversityofMichigan,DepartmentofPsychiatry,AnnArbor,MI,USA
c
YaleSchoolofMedicine,NewHaven,CT,USA
d
CaliforniaInstituteofIntegralStudies,SanFrancisco
e
GladstoneInstitutes,UniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco
f
JohnsHopkinsUniversitySchoolofMedicine,DepartmentsofPsychiatryandNeurosciences

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Background:
5MeODMTisapotenttryptaminefoundinhighconcentrationsinthevenomoftheColoradoRiver
Toad.Practicalexperiencesuggeststhatvaporized5MeODMTmayinducemysticalexperiencesthat
arerelativelybrief,yethavecomparableorgreaterintensitythanthoseinducedbypsilocybin.
Quantitativeevaluationsof5MeODMTinducedmysticalexperienceshavenotyetbeenpublished.

Methods:
Studyparticipantswerepatients(n=44,61%male,M age
=34.6yrs.)fromaclinicinMexicothatutilizes
5MeODMTaspartofaddictionandpsychospiritualclinicaltreatmentprotocols.Allpatientsreceived
vaporizedorganic/toadsource5MeODMTatthemedianeffectivedose(50mgrawweight,estimated
5MeODMTcontent=57mg,Metzner,2013).AllpatientscompletedtheStatesofConsciousness
Questionnaire(SOCQ)24hoursfollowingtreatment.TheSOCQcontainsallitemsoftheMystical
ExperienceQuestionnaire(MEQ30)(Barrettetal.,2015Griffithsetal.,2006).

Results:
ThemeanendorsementontheMEQ30following5MeODMTwas75.5percent(sd=16.5)ofthe
maximumpossibletotalscore,suggestiveofmysticaltypeexperiencesinthesample.Amajorityof
patients(61.4%)hadacompletemysticalexperience(> 60%ofthemaximumpossiblescoreonall
MEQ30subscales:mystical,positivemood,space/time,ineffability).Overall,theMEQ30exhibited
excellentinternalconsistency(=.96).SeveralSOCQitemsnotcontainedintheMEQ30werealso
endorsedasstrongorextremebytwothirdsormoreofthesampleandincluded:experiencing
overflowingenergyandradiant/goldenlight,andfeelinguniversalorinfinitelove,closenesswithguides,
andahyperrealsenseofconsciousness(7566%ofsample).

Significance:
Themysticalexperienceoccasionedbythe5MeODMTcontainingtoadvenomwasconsistentwith
MEQ30ratingswithmoderatetohighpsilocybindoses(2030mg/70kg)administeredinpriorresearch
(Barrett,Johnson,&Griffiths,2015).Theshortdurationofactionof5MeODMTmaybeadvantageous
forclinicalandpsychospiritualinterventions.