The National Park Service has put out a PSA pleading with nature-goers to stop licking toads in the wild to get high off their gland-secreted psychedelic substance, 5-MeO-DMT. As tasty as it might look, one should refrain from licking the Sonoran desert toad. The NPS used Facebook to warn passer-by to use caution around the Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado river toad.
The Colorado River toad, usually found in parts of California, Arizona and New Mexico, is one of North America’s tallest at 7 inches. It’s also known to make a call described by the NPS as a “weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second.” The toxin released by the amphibian can make humans sick if they touch the toad or put one in the mouth.
Read More: Can Faith Overpower Science? An Experiment Reveals Shocking Outcome
Why National Park Service Plead To Nature-Goers?
The National Park Service warned in a recent Facebook post that toad licking is quite dangerous. “These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin. It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth,” the service advised. The Amphibian has a prominent parotid gland that secrete a potent toxin which is located just behind the toad’s eyes.
“As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking.” Poison control also indicates that “not only is this illegal (5-MEO-DMT is a DEA schedule I drug), it’s also quite dangerous.”
Read More: Top 10 Animals With Longest Life Cycle
What Can Lead To The Person Who Licks The Toad?
“Licking or swallowing can lead to numbness of the mouth and throat as well as severe and life-threatening effects on the heart as a result of the digoxin-like compounds and catecholamines described above,” the agency warns. “These effects include irregular rhythm of the heart, heart block, reduced blood pressure and cardiac arrest.”
Despite all of this, numerous celebrities — including boxer Mike Tyson — and others can’t get enough of tripping on toad venom. “I realized I had purpose in life,” Victoria Barbera, who created toad-milking psychedelic “Bufo therapy,” told The Post of its effects. According to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, the toxins emitted the toad may be enough to kill a fully grown dog.
Read More: Scientists Seek Netizens’ Help To Identify Mysterious Holes On The Seabed Of Atlantic
