Translated from our German original by AI. The German text was researched, written, and edited by the Psychedelia Foundation team and remains the authoritative version.
A study published in 2026 in the journal Psychedelics challenges a widespread narrative about the origin of the 5-MeO-DMT practice derived from the Sonoran Desert toad. The authors conclude that there is no reliable historical or ethnographic evidence that the shamanic use of the psychoactive secretion of Incilius alvarius (syn. Bufo alvarius) represents an old tradition of the Comcáac (Seri) in Sonora.
5-MeO-DMT occurs both in several South American plants and in the skin secretion of the Sonoran Desert toad. Indigenous snuff preparations made from 5-MeO-DMT-containing plants are historically documented in parts of the Caribbean and South America. For a traditional use of the toad secretion by the Comcáac, by contrast, the authors found no corresponding historical documentation.
Instead, the study reconstructs how today’s narrative came about. According to this account, 5-MeO-DMT in the form of toad secretion was first brought into Comcáac territory in 2011. In the years that followed, this developed into the portrayal of an “ancestral” or “sacred” medicine. An important role was played by the Fundación OTA.C. and by the author and 5-MeO-DMT activist Octavio Rettig Hinojosa. His claim to be reviving an old Comcáac practice subsequently spread widely through books, documentaries, and international psychedelic networks.
The researchers call this process “ancestralization”: the retroactive framing of relatively recent practices as ancient tradition, lending them cultural authority and authenticity. The authors see parallels to developments in the global spread of ayahuasca, where indigenous origin narratives and notions of authenticity likewise play an important role.
According to the study, the problem is not limited to the historical question. The narrative of “ancestral toad medicine” has also contributed to worldwide demand for the secretion, increasing extractive pressure on the wild species Incilius alvarius. The authors note that the toad is currently still listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, but consider this classification possibly outdated in view of potential regional population declines, increasing harvesting, and other ecological pressures. A reassessment of its conservation status is being prepared.
The study therefore argues for stricter historical scrutiny of psychedelic origin narratives and for a clear distinction between actually documented traditions and modern ritual developments. At the same time, it calls for more responsible handling of the toad secretion and greater attention to species conservation. The use of synthetically produced 5-MeO-DMT is discussed as an obvious way to avoid harvesting pressure on the animals.
The study is not directed against 5-MeO-DMT or indigenous cultural self-determination. Its criticism targets the blending of historical record, modern ritual practice, and commercial marketing, and the ecological consequences that demand legitimized as “ancestral” can have for an animal-derived raw material.
