Toxicology of 5-MeO-DMT

[Jim Beem]

Last toxicology post, promise. 5-MeO-DMT is another compound I find very intriguing but like 2-CB has had very little scientific data published about it's safety. I was able to find some reports involving fatal outcomes where people ingested this compound, but half the time it was often taken in conjunction with harmine and harmaline. I also gave this website a look but I don't think it's a reliable source for two main reasons:

1) Users of certain drugs be it psychedelics, THC or alcohol almost always seem to overexaggerate the positive aspects of their drug(s) of choice and seriously downplay the negative aspects of it. At least in my own experience anyway.

2) A lot of the data on here, specifically the nexus wiki page seems to rely on anecdotal reports. Just because one user may have ingested 5-MeO-DMT with harmala alkaloids and had a safe and positive experience doesn't mean others will have the same outcome.

It is for these main reasons I would only like input from legitimate scientific references or people literate in the scientific field (e.g. doctors, nurses, chemists, biologist, etc...). I get that most psychedelic drugs are generally recognised as safe, but with a compound like 5-MeO-DMT, a drug which has a miniscule population of users even a handful of fatal reports does seem a little concerning. Any information about this compounds safety would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, JB.

Edit:

Sorry, one more thing. Is there any difference between 5-MeO-DMT and Bufo alvarius venom? I've heard it contains these cardiac glycosides which I know nothing about and how much they add to the overall toxic load of the experience. Thanks.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Nothing wrong with making a series of well-researched toxicology post/threads... Do check for duplication within the forum first if at all possible. Links to the existing literature are also encouraged and SciHub is your friend if you want to read the papers yourself.


One possible problem with combining 5-MeO with harmala alkaloids is that 5-MeO is also a MAOI. Even with the pure compound by itself it could be considered wise to have a sitter who is competent with CPR, especially for breakthrough doses.

Sorry, one more thing. Is there any difference between 5-MeO-DMT and Bufo alvarius venom? I've heard it contains these cardiac glycosides which I know nothing about and how much they add to the overall toxic load of the experience. Thanks.

The cardiac glycosides don't vaporise; additional bodyload from the venom is more likely to be associated with bufotenine, and possibly 5-MeONMT and N-methylserotonin (norbufotenine). The cardiac glycosides would only be problematic if ingested or absorbed through the eyes, other mucosa, open wounds, etc.

 

[Jim Beem]

Do check for duplication within the forum first if at all possible. Links to the existing literature are also encouraged

Duly noted df0. According to the previous thread, TIHKAL and Erowid, 5-MeO-DMT seems like a significantly more toxic compound relative to other compounds like mescaline, psilocybin and of course N,N-DMT leading to hypoxemia, tachyarrhythmias, cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest at the effective dose. I really do wish this compound had a larger sample size to work with and a lot more scientific literature published, as a means of really gauging the benefit-risk ratio it carries. Because 5-MeO-DMT does hold immense therapeutic value for extinguishing common psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety but the risk of death does really put a damper on its use as a medicine.

Edit:

Studies using rat brain synaptosomes show that 5-MeO-DMT also inhibits 5-HT re-uptake with an IC50 value comparable to other psychostimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine

Might also help explain the increased lethality associated with the combination of 5-MeO-DMT and harmala alkaloids and why this combination should be further advised against.

5-MeO-DMT toxicology links:

- 5-MeO-DMT Concerns - Health & Safety - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus
- Erowid Online Books : "TIHKAL" - #38 5-MEO-DMT
- Erowid 5-MeO-DMT Vault : Fatalities / Deaths
- Psychedelic 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics, Drug Interactions, and Pharmacological Actions

 

[dithyramb]

Does anybody know about the pharmacology, psychoactivityy, side effects of 5 MeO NMT?

 

[Jim Beem]

Does anybody know about the pharmacology, psychoactivityy, side effects of 5 MeO NMT?

Not too sure about the pharmacology of 5-MeO-NMT dithyramb but can I please ask people to remain on topic for the sake of keeping this thread specific to 5-MeO-DMT.

 

[dragonrider]

Many other 5-MeO analogues, like 5-MeO-MiPT, 5-MeO-DPT, or 5-MeO-DALT, are serotonin reuptake inhibitors, so for safety's sake it is not unreasonable to assume that the NMT analogue is one as well.

5-MeO-DMT is a classic hallucinogen, wich is a group of substances that includes most of the psychedelic tryptamines, lysergamides and many phenethylamines, like mescaline.

They all work on roughly the same group of receptors, though some of them have some additional effects that most of the others lack, like LSD for instance, that works on noradrenaline and dopamine receptors as well.

5-MeO-DMT stimulates G protein binding, and apparently much more powerfully than any other tryptamine does.

It also lacks activity, or has very little activity, on some of the receptors that most of the other classic hallucinogens are active on.

I believe it has relatively little activity on 5-ht2a compared to most other psychedelics, but i may be wrong on this one.

 

[dithyramb]

Sure, Jim Beem. Thanks Dragonrider.

 

[Sabnock1990]

With 5-MEO-DMT and Harmalas, my main concern would be 5-MEO's reuptake inhibition, plus the fact that 5-MEO is metabolized by CYP2D6 which Harmalas potently inhibit. Which imo, CYP2D6 inhibition is important to raise awareness about when it comes to 5-MEO because several medications out there, regardless of their main properties, do inhibit CYP2D6, and if you're on a medication that inhibits CYP2D6, even if there's no interactions going on in terms of neurotransmitters like Serotonin reuptake inhibition or MAO-A inhibition, the CYP2D6 inhibition can and will potentiate the dosage of 5-MEO, so the dosage of 5-MEO would need to be significantly reduced, at least by half.