Before you start a psychedelic venture or adventure, keep in mind that there are many psychedelic gimmicks that have long preceded the current “shroom boom.” As Alan Watts is purported to have said, “Anybody who tells you that he has some way of leading you to spiritual enlightenment is like somebody who picks your pocket and sells you your own watch.”
The emergence of e-psychonauts and online purveyors of entheogenic products has created controversies and misconceptions. When it comes to marketing and online drug sales, fact can be difficult to separate from fiction.
One fascinating example is the Sonoran Desert toad, which is often discussed as an ancient psychedelic. While toads have been revered by ancient cultures, this particular backstory of toad licking was conjured up by purveyors of 5-MEO-DMT. Because of this misinformation, the Sonoran Desert toad has become an unregulated commodity whose populations have been threatened, if not endangered. These toads could be “licked” out of existence. Their venom-derived medicine is brutally extracted while the toad’s environment is also being destroyed by illicit market influences. Conservationists have pleaded with the public regarding the threats to this species.
The future and evolution of psychedelic creatures on the Earth are very uncertain and precarious. Will we allow this amphibian to continue to evolve as a living psychedelic organism? Or will the lineage of psychedelic toads end with our generation?