Why is DMT so rare in comparison to other psychedelics?

[Chillest-]

Just curious as it is so easy to synthesise. I have many friends in my circle who can get access to Lucy, all kinds of mushrooms and 2cb but never come across DMT.

I've done changa once and it was incredible, ever since I've been waiting for the opportunity to be able to try my hand at making it. Now I understand that it is a pretty simple process I'm just curious as to why DMT is not more readily available on the street.

 

[Exitwound]

Because probably DMT is less of a party drug than LSD, shrooms or 2CB. It's more of a medicine than recreational substance, hence less interest from the regular high seekers.

 

[Nydex]

Keep in mind you're not "making" DMT, you're simply extracting it. Chemical synthesis of DMT is a whole different level of challenge compared to pulling it out of plants.

 

[Jamie01]

DMT is probly less rare than 2cb around here. Not that 2cb is rare these days.

 

[Voidmatrix]

As a friend of mine likes to say, there's no such thing as a recreational DMT trip. He's joking of course, but DMT and other similar molecules relative to experience can get real. Most people aren't trying to really soul search, but touch and have glimpse of transcendental states, and have a good time. Not look at shadow in the most intense way possible. Unlike many other psychedelics, DMT is a crap shoot, especially over time, you don't know what you're going to get.

One love

 

[Jamie01]

Honestly I think many ppl in harm reduction will attest that despite how much DMT use there may be at festivals etc..it’s more LSD and shrooms etc that is really getting people. I would put oral DMT in that category as well but most people don’t ever do that. Vaped DMT is just too short to send as many ppl into a crisis the way a 12 hour acid trip can. On top of that it just seems like everyone is smoking DMT pens, while socializing and dancing with a beer in the other hand. So many people I meat at raves etc tell me that they’re favourite thing to do is hit a DMT while dancing.

It really is a good option for recreational use though IMO, when the dose is controlled and kept low enough. Its probly the best psychedelic for a person to begin with as well. When people say they don’t feel ready for DMT they really mean they aren’t ready for a high dose tryptamine. It’s just so easy to inhale too much but it’s also really easy to just chill and vape a few mg.

 

[Pemulis]

It really is a good option for recreational use though IMO, when the dose is controlled and kept low enough. Its probly the best psychedelic for a person to begin with as well. When people say they don’t feel ready for DMT they really mean they aren’t ready for a high dose tryptamine. It’s just so easy to inhale too much but it’s also really easy to just chill and vape a few mg.

I think you are spot on here. I would recommend a low dose (emphasis on low!) as an introduction to psychedelics. Unlike being potentially strapped in for hours with shrooms etc.

Festivals and the like aren't the circles I really move in (perhaps I should get out more) but I can see the appeal of a low dose hit of vaped DMT in that context could be quite efficacious to one's enjoyment. On here, I think we tend to think in terms of exploring hyperspace and whatnot (me included) but I can absolutely understand the appeal of this rather different set and setting.

This isn't to underestimate the potential power of the medicine of course. Anything approaching a breakthrough dose shouldn't be taken lightly and I cannot imagine doing that at a music festival would be a good idea. I'm grateful that I discovered DMT in middle age, not when I was in my '20s and would have taken it at a party or something if it had been offered to me.

 

[yatyas314]

I could not imagine doing it at a festival, In fact I have ever only done it with 1 person on 2 occasions, every other time its been SOLO.

 

[Jamie01]

It’s hard to imagine what people mean when they say “music festival”…esp if you have never been or only been to the mainstream junk like coachella. It’s a bit different from the more underground electronic music/psychedelic events that happen outdoors/in the woods, geared towards tripping with visionary art temples. It’s very way as well to slip away into the forest etc at these events. They have staff onsite usually trained specifically to deal with people who are having bad trips. It’s probly a better venue for tripping than some people realize and that’s where you often find the others.

 

[Pemulis]

It’s hard to imagine what people mean when they say “music festival”…esp if you have never been or only been to the mainstream junk like coachella. It’s a bit different from the more underground electronic music/psychedelic events that happen outdoors/in the woods, geared towards tripping with visionary art temples. It’s very way as well to slip away into the forest etc at these events. They have staff onsite usually trained specifically to deal with people who are having bad trips. It’s probly a better venue for tripping than some people realize and that’s where you often find the others.

Fair point @Jamie01. I wasn't aware those sorts of events existed. Sounds great though

 

[fireandice]

As a friend of mine likes to say, there's no such thing as a recreational DMT trip. He's joking of course, but DMT and other similar molecules relative to experience can get real. Most people aren't trying to really soul search, but touch and have glimpse of transcendental states, and have a good time. Not look at shadow in the most intense way possible. Unlike many other psychedelics, DMT is a crap shoot, especially over time, you don't know what you're going to get.

One love

From my experience. It is always some type of encouragement or a lesson involved in a DMT trip.

 

[The Sofa Traveler]

In my opinion there are several reasons for DMT being less available on the market than other psychedelics like shrooms or LSD. Even if the extraction process remains accessible to non chemists, in a "kitchen lab" approach, it's only "easily" done in small scales. Most of kitchen-extractors will do it in small amounts for their own use, not to push it on the market. Also, as other members mentioned, and from my own experience too, it's definitely not the most appropriate psychedelic drug for festivals. Ok, at small doses delivered by vape pens it might be nice for dancing but it's anyway not a very socializing molecule, especially the higher the dose. A higher DMT dose in festivals might quickly become an overwhelming and not so enjoyable experience. To me it's a molecule that reveals optimally at home and alone. I think classic psychedelics like shrooms or LSD remain a better option in this kind of context, especially for their socializing aspect (if the dose is kept reasonable of course ).

 

[Jamie01]

I can tell you from experience in harm reduction it is really is LSD, shrooms and other long lasting psychedelics that people tend to run into issues with even when DMT has a heavy presence at festivals. It’s just a fact that DMT is a very popular festival drug. By the time a person freaks out and even could comprehend going to a sanctuary zone or medical tent with DMT it’s usually over and the person is grounding. On the other hand I have spent an entire night trying to take care of people totally loosing it on LSD, shrooms etc. it’s traumatic for everyone involved to witness and I have seen it come to the point where the police are involved ready to arrest people who can’t be contained. It just almost never happens on DMT unless it’s part of some crazy combo but people will get reckless no matter what you do. The appropriate use of psychedelics at festivals is lower doses in general imo and keep the deeper trips less public.

 

[The Sofa Traveler]

I can tell you from experience in harm reduction it is really is LSD, shrooms and other long lasting psychedelics that people tend to run into issues with even when DMT has a heavy presence at festivals. It’s just a fact that DMT is a very popular festival drug. By the time a person freaks out and even could comprehend going to a sanctuary zone or medical tent with DMT it’s usually over and the person is grounding. On the other hand I have spent an entire night trying to take care of people totally loosing it on LSD, shrooms etc. it’s traumatic for everyone involved to witness and I have seen it come to the point where the police are involved ready to arrest people who can’t be contained. It just almost never happens on DMT unless it’s part of some crazy combo but people will get reckless no matter what you do. The appropriate use of psychedelics at festivals is lower doses in general imo and keep the deeper trips less public.

DMT being a popular festival drug is probably only true in recent years, especially since vape pens democratization. DMT in festivals 10-15 years ago barely was a thing, at least in Europe. Before that era you could sometimes smell the odour of changa but definitely not commonly and mostly in trance parties/festivals.
Actually my point wasn't about harm reduction when I was saying DMT isn't much a party suitable drug, just that the effects starting from a certain dose aren't much compatible with socialization and tend to weak legs, which could make one want to sit down rather than dancing. Not even talking of breakthrough dose, which would not fit in party environment. From harm reduction perspective, you're right, clearly DMT has a safer profile, in festivals but also in general. I barely heard people saying they have had a bad trip on DMT. It's probably due to the shortness of effects when smoked/vaporized. Oral DMT could be another beast in this perspective though. Bad trips with shrooms and LSD also occur out of festivals and it can even be worse as people would not be taken care from harm reduction teams.

 

[blig-blug]

Even if the extraction process remains accessible to non chemists, in a "kitchen lab" approach, it's only "easily" done in small scales

I'm not sure this influences its commercial availability. Large-scale extractions may be difficult, but DMT synthesis is much easier than other widely available substances (such as LSD), and possible without watched precursors. So the limit can't be in the supply side if that's not a major issue for LSD.

 

[dreamer042]

A certain website dedicated to small scale personal use with a very strong culture of You Should Never Sell DMT may have some influence on why it doesn't hit the open market as much as other substances.

 

[The Sofa Traveler]

I'm not sure this influences its commercial availability. Large-scale extractions may be difficult, but DMT synthesis is much easier than other widely available substances (such as LSD), and possible without watched precursors. So the limit can't be in the supply side if that's not a major issue for LSD.

Yes, but who are the regular users who would buy expensive synthetic DMT when it's so easy to extract for your own use from plants for much cheaper ? With LSD, no choice other than relying on a brave and experienced chemist, it's quite impossible for an average user to make LSD at home for its personal use. Not much competition on the market with "kitchen-lab LSD makers".

 

[blig-blug]

Yes, but who are the regular users who would buy expensive synthetic DMT when it's so easy to extract for your own use from plants for much cheaper ?

Everyone who is currently buying vape pens of unknown origin (could be synthetic, who knows). Currently it seems to be a majority of users, particularly for young people. And still, DMT use is way less frequent than many other psychedelics. So again, I question that the reason is on the supply side, and some online browsing will show that (unfortunately) there are many people, likely a majority by number, who would rather pay for an expensive and doubtful (but conveniently packaged) product than extract their own.

So I think the limiting factors are likely those related to the DMT experience itself, and not on the supply side.

 

[Jamie01]

There is synth DMT here. A lot of it apparently. There is no mimosa in Canada anymore and DMT pens are heavily marketed. It’s been prominent here in the EDM scene since at least 2014 but Canada has been ahead of the game for a while with legal weed and drugs in general decriminalized in areas(recently reversed…it’s complicated). Times sure have changed.

 

[The Sofa Traveler]

Everyone who is currently buying vape pens of unknown origin (could be synthetic, who knows). Currently it seems to be a majority of users, particularly for young people. And still, DMT use is way less frequent than many other psychedelics. So again, I question that the reason is on the supply side, and some online browsing will show that (unfortunately) there are many people, likely a majority by number, who would rather pay for an expensive and doubtful (but conveniently packaged) product than extract their own.

So I think the limiting factors are likely those related to the DMT experience itself, and not on the supply side.

Yes, I mentioned both in my previous post, the supply chain/market and also (to me, above all) the specific effects of DMT, which I don't find that much suitable or enjoyable in festival/parties context. It can be fun, ok, but it doesn't beat LSD or shrooms in this context. Bad trips may occur with them as Jamie said, ok, but not all festival-goers or ravers have a bad trip either. Most of them have good experience with shrooms or LSD and most of the time better than the one that could be provided by DMT vape pen, especially on the socializing aspect. I'm a party man, I brought my DMT e-cigs several times in parties/festivals but it definitely doesn't provide the same experience as having shrooms or LSD with friends in this kind of context. Nowadays I don't take my DMT e-cigs anymore when I'm partying, even for dancing I still prefer shrooms or LSD, no need to puff every 10 minutes to keep the vibe.
Also, as you said, sometime people buy these expensive vape pens which sometimes are crappy devices with very poor delivery and quick coil clogs, which could make people buy/try it once by curiosity and because they heard about it, but would not go this route twice. I guess those who definitely fall in love with DMT will in a way or another find the path to extract it themself, while LSD lovers still will need to rely on brave and experienced chemists and buy it on the market.