Sonoran Desert Toad are found across Western America and excrete psychoactive toxins. Photo / Jasper Nance; Flickr
Sonoran Desert Toad are found across Western America and excrete psychoactive toxins. Photo / Jasper Nance; Flickr
US park authorities have told tourists to leave the toads alone, after a spate of incidents involving visitors licking Sonoran desert toads.
The potent toad emits a toxin which can lead to hallucinogenic experiences when ingested. This has led to visitors ‘licking toads’ around western America, with dire consequences.
In a public service announcement the National Park Service has warned against visitors poisoning themselves on America’s largest toad.
“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,” warned the NPS.
Misidentification and misunderstanding of the toxic creatures has led to visitors poisoning themselves and others.
The toxin is supposed to ward off predators and is potent enough to kill a dog if ingested, but this strategy has made them a magnet for wayward tourists.
The Sonora Desert, Arizona. Photo / Robert Murray, Unsplash
“Humans have exploited this harmful toxin as a psychedelic,” says the Conservation Society of California which has several of the animals in its zoos.
The psychoactive substance in the toad, named bufotenin, is a Schedule I drug according to America’s DEA, making it illegal to buy, possess or sell. The fact that it is naturally occurring in national parks makes this difficult to enforce.
While it is associated with hallucinations and euphoria, serious side effects include nausea, seizures and even death.
The Park Service would rather visitors stop licking the toads.
“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,” asks the NPS.
While licking toads is not particularly good for the toads, it is their hallucinogenic properties which have created a black market for the amphibians, threatening them in the wild. Some are killed and their skin sold for bufoteinin.
Due to this the toad is considered “endangered” in California and “threatened” in New Mexico.
The Park Services’ warning comes after a spike in interest in the drug. Earlier this year the New York Times reported that demand for toad psychedelics was “booming” following high profile celebrity interest. In March, Mike Tyson spoke about his experiences on the drug in an interview on the Joe Rogan podcast.
