Template:DMT
From Psychedelic-Traveller
Contents |
[2010] Psychedelic research: DMT
- written by Daksinamurti
- read this article in French
The Tukano people of the Vaupés region of Colombia say that the first people came from the sky in a serpent canoe, and father sun had promised them a magical drink that would connect them with the radiant powers of the heavens. While the men were in the "House of the Waters" attempting to make this drink, the first woman went into the forest to give birth. She came back with a boy radiating golden light, whose body she rubbed with leaves.
This luminous boy-child was the vine, and each of the men cut off a piece of this living being that became his piece of the vine lineage. In a variation of this myth from the Desana (from the same region), the serpent canoe came from the Milky Way, bringing a man, a woman, and three plants for the people - cassava, coca and caapi. They also regarded it as a gift from the Sun, a kind of container for the yellow-gold light of the Sun, that provided for the first people the rules on how to live and how to speak. (Metzner 2006)
N,N-Dimethyltryptamin C12H16N2
Is a hallucinogenic tryptamin-alkaloid which you can find in many plants, animals (like toads and almost every mammal) and even in the human body. DMT is considered to be one of the strongest hallucinogenics known to mankind. It can be smoked, injected or taken oral in combination with monoamine oxidase inhibitors. DMT is not active orally unless it is combined with MAOI (for example harmaline in Ayahuasca) because the human organism metabolizes DMT too fast to be effective.
Traces of DMT can be found in the brain, lungs, blood and other parts of the human system. Theories say that DMT may play a role in the visual effects of dreaming, near-death experiences, religious visions and other mystical states ( J.C. Callaway, Dr. Rick Strassman).
- A standard dose for smoked DMT (normally smoked in a pipe) is between 15–60 mg.
- The effects last only a short time, usually 5 to 15 minutes.
Compared to other psychedlics like LSD or Psylocibin the human body doesn’t build up a tolerance to DMT, which means that it is always as intense as taken the first time even if you consume it again after a short while. Normally Synthetic Alkaloid DMT is clear to white, crystalline solid, but can be found in different colours which can result from the plant where it was extracted from or because of impurety. A laboratory synthesis of DMT was first re-synthesized by Canadian chemist Richard Manske in 1931.
DMT is the only psychedelic tryptamine that has approval for human studies via the FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration), the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and other Health agencies of the US Government. It has been a subject of studies in Albuqueque, New Mexico (Dr. Rick Strassman, DMT: The Spirit Molecule:).
Other DMT plants
DMT occurs naturally in many species of plants often in conjunction with its close chemical relatives 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin (5-OH-DMT) the list of plants is still growing since many are just being discovered.
- Two DMT rich plants of the US and parts of Europe is the Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and Harding grass (Phalaris aquatica).
- Australia and Africa have several indigenous plants such as various DMT-rich species of Acacia.
- Mimosa tenuiflora is an entheogen from Brazil known as Jurema and its root bark has been recently shown to contain DMT.
- DMT is also found as a minor alkaloid in the beans of Anadenanthera peregrina and Anadenanthera colubrina used to make Yopo and Vilca snuff in which bufotenin is the main active alkaloid.
Ayahuasca
DMT is used in many indigenous healing rituals and is the main active ingrediance for Ayahuasca. The use of this drink is a South American phenomenon. It is used by indigenous people and religious groups from the Andeans to the Pacific Coast of Columbia and Ecuador. The main center of the usage is the Amazon forest of Bazil and Peru where more then 70 tribes are known to consume the DMT containing drink.
The term Ayahuasca originates from the Peruvian Quechua- language and means as much as
- "Liana of spirits" or "vine of souls /vine with a soul".
Ayahuasca is consists out of two important plants: the various parts of the Ayahuasca-liana (Banisteriopsis caapi-the MOAI source, harmaline-containing plant) and the chacruna bush (Psychotria viridis- the source of DMT) or alternatively chagropanga (Diplopterys cabrerana) which depends on the region. Additionally there are also other plants and organic substances which can differ from tribe to tribe. The mixture is cooked for a couple of days and the brown brew tastes bitter.
The effects can last from a couple of hours up to a whole night and can vary from mildly stimulating to extremly visionary. Some people have "out of body" experiences after the usage of DMT and Ayahuasca. One effect of Ayahuasca (as result of the MOAI) is that it can make people vomit and get diarrhea. It is also called ‘la purga’, as it purges the body through this physical effect, and purifies the mind through the meaningful psychological experiences or visions. Many can feel refreshed and reborn after an Ayahuasca experience.
The usage of the brew could be a couple of thousand years old and in many myths Ayahuasca is decribed as the mother of other plants whichs origin is sacred.
Shamans use the magic drink to travel between the worlds and to heal people or find out the reasons of an illness. After the consumtion the Shaman gets in a state of trance where he can see the disease, make telephatic contact, can see the future, travel to different places etc. Before the treatment takes place there is often a cleansing ritual and after the ceremony the patient has to follow certain rules, taboos and diets so that the healing can take place.
Through special songs the Shaman gives a description of what is happening during his visions. Usually he has to travel to an upperword to get a helping spirit which can often have the form of an animal. With this spirit he goes to the underworld and fights the disease or its cause. For the healing the Shaman plays a very important role and is the one who takes the drink, but sometimes also the patients and bystanders consume the brew.
Another important instrument of the Shaman or Healer (curandero) is the chapada- a bunch of leaves, which is used like a percussion instrument. Tobacco also belongs in that ritual - it is used for cleansing and is blown over the patient and the drink to attract positive energies.
This plant medicine has influenced indigenous cultures in many ways, including their cosmologies, relationship to the environment and esthetic values. The indigenous art and social structures are also influenced by Ayahuasca. For example the geometrical patterns (Quene) from the Ayahuasca visions are decorated on various objects such as pottery and embroidery of the Peruvian Shipibu-Conibu tribe. All healthy members of the tribe are considered to have these geomagnetical patterns which the Shaman can see. Outsiders of the tribe are supposed to have none and sick people have damaged patterns. Through the healing process the Shaman "repairs" these patterns of his patient so that he can be "full member of the tribe" again.
In Brazil there are several religions where Ayahuasca is taken by all participants.
Drinking Ayahuasca and singing together takes them into a healing and inspiring kind of trance. Most of these syncretic Ayahuasca churches (like Santo Daime, Barquinha, União do Vegetal) are a fusion of traditional Indian, afro-brazilian (Umbanda) and Christian believes and rituals. These religious groups are also found in North America and Europe where they often have to carry out legal battels to be able to perform their way of worship which also includes the consumtion of Ayahuasca.
As an example U.S. pharmaceutical corporation member Loren Miller was granted a patent on the Ayahuasca liana in 1986 because he claimed to be the discoverer of this plant. In 1999 Ayahuasca was recognised as intellectual property of indigenous cultures and the patent was cancelled.In 2001 it was recognised as a patent again which caused many protests as an example for the exploitation of indigenous cultures.
- Ayahuasca and DMT are slowly gaining interest from Western society. Academic researchers, Psychotherapists and other scientists show an increased interest.
- Western people are also experimenting with reed canary grass, or Phalaris arundinacea of the Poaceae family, which is potent enough to make an ayahuasca analogue.
- Many people interested in the substance either do it by themselvs without any guidance, travel to South America or fly in a "Shaman" in order to have an experience with DMT.
Many villages offer sessions for interested people and have found a new source of making money. While some villages don’t have anymore practising Shamans and have to travel far to receive their traditional healing other irresponsible "healers" simply rip off people to make money. The healing aspect is mostly not in the focus of such tourists - it was replaced by the western urge for "selfrealisation". Although there are also Westerners who have become disciplines of practicing Shamans and use their power for the benefit of others. It’s very important to keep an open eye on this issue and also be sensitive enough not to destroy or corrupt the traditions since for many Indians this form of treatment is the only one they know.
