I have access to the Encyclopedia Britannica and wondered what info they had on dmt. This is what it says:
DMT, abbreviation of Dimethyltryptamine, powerful, naturally occurring hallucinogenic compound structurally related to the drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). DMT blocks the action of serotonin (a transmitter of nerve impulses) in brain tissue. It is inactive when taken by mouth and produces effects only when injected, sniffed, or smoked. The hallucinatory action begins about five minutes after administration by injection and lasts for about an hour. Naturally formed DMT has been found in the body fluids of persons suffering from schizophrenia. It also has been synthesized chemically. DMT is contained in cohoba, the hallucinogenic snuff made from the seeds of Piptadenia peregrina and used by the Indians of Trinidad and the Llanos in northern South America at the time of early Spanish explorations.
Then I went on to look for ayahuasca and saw there was no article on ayahuasca alone but that it was part of an article called Drug Cult. Here is what it said regarding ayahuasca:
Another substance used in South America, especially in the Amazon basin, is a drink called ayahuasca, caapi, or yajé, which is produced from the stem bark of the vines Banisteriopsis caapi and B. inebrians. Indians who use it claim that its virtues include healing powers and the power to induce clairvoyance, among others. This drink has been certified by investigators to produce remarkable effects, often involving the sensation of flying. The effects are thought to be attributable to the action of harmine, a very stable indole (structurally related to LSD) that is the active principle in the plant.
This makes me think that we still have lots of work to do!
DMT, abbreviation of Dimethyltryptamine, powerful, naturally occurring hallucinogenic compound structurally related to the drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). DMT blocks the action of serotonin (a transmitter of nerve impulses) in brain tissue. It is inactive when taken by mouth and produces effects only when injected, sniffed, or smoked. The hallucinatory action begins about five minutes after administration by injection and lasts for about an hour. Naturally formed DMT has been found in the body fluids of persons suffering from schizophrenia. It also has been synthesized chemically. DMT is contained in cohoba, the hallucinogenic snuff made from the seeds of Piptadenia peregrina and used by the Indians of Trinidad and the Llanos in northern South America at the time of early Spanish explorations.
Then I went on to look for ayahuasca and saw there was no article on ayahuasca alone but that it was part of an article called Drug Cult. Here is what it said regarding ayahuasca:
Another substance used in South America, especially in the Amazon basin, is a drink called ayahuasca, caapi, or yajé, which is produced from the stem bark of the vines Banisteriopsis caapi and B. inebrians. Indians who use it claim that its virtues include healing powers and the power to induce clairvoyance, among others. This drink has been certified by investigators to produce remarkable effects, often involving the sensation of flying. The effects are thought to be attributable to the action of harmine, a very stable indole (structurally related to LSD) that is the active principle in the plant.
This makes me think that we still have lots of work to do!