The Sonoran Desert toad is a large, nocturnal amphibian of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Older papers call it Bufo alvarius; current research uses Incilius alvarius (Luccioni et al., 2025). It is famous for one molecule: a 2025 study describes it as the only animal known to secrete 5-MeO-DMT as a chemical defence, and found it in every toad sampled but not in other toads living alongside them, on similar diets (Luccioni et al., 2025). How the toad comes to have it is unknown.
The secretion is a mixture, not one compound. A 2022 review lists heart-active toxins called bufadienolides, adrenaline, serotonin, bufotenine and related compounds (Reckweg et al., 2022). Its defining compound is not the N,N-DMT of most DMT research. Dogs that mouth these toads can be poisoned.
The toad’s fame is recent. Reviews trace it to a 1984 booklet and find no conclusive evidence of earlier Indigenous psychoactive use (Ermakova et al., 2022). A 2023 paper raises concerns about poaching, the toads’ welfare and invented stories of ancient use (Villa, 2023). In Canada, neither 5-MeO-DMT nor bufotenine is named in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and Health Canada says the sale of 5-MeO-DMT falls under the Food and Drugs Act (Health Infobase). This is not legal advice.
Sources
- Luccioni et al., 2025, PLOS One: diet and chemical defenses of the Sonoran Desert toad
- Reckweg et al., 2022, Journal of Neurochemistry: clinical pharmacology of 5-MeO-DMT
- Villa, 2023, Journal of Psychedelic Studies: biocultural history and conservation
- Ermakova et al., 2022, Journal of Psychopharmacology: narrative synthesis of 5-MeO-DMT research
Last checked .