Characteristics and Effects of DMT (N, N-Dimethyltryptamine) a Psychedelic Drug Essay

N, N-DimethyltryptamineDMT, or N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, is perhaps known as the most intense of all psychedelic drugs. It takes the user on a trip to a spiritual, alien realm far away from reality. Being such a complex drug, one would think that the chemical makeup of the molecule would also be extremely complex. However, DMT is a relatively simple compound, the molecular formula being C12H16N2. It is amazing that the molecular formula of this complicated drug is as simple as three of the elements that are crucial to life. A member of the tryptamine family, DMT is commonly found in various plant species, as well as in trace amounts in rabbits, rats, and even humans. Richard Helmuth Fredrick Manske, a Canadian chemist, first artificially produced DMT in 1931. He then placed the drug in a corner of the lab where it sat collecting dust for many years. There was little interest in psychedelic experiences until decades later, after World War II. The first sample of DMT found naturally was in 1946 by Spanish researcher Gonalves in a South American tree used for psychedelic snuffs. However, it was found that Gonalves molecular formula had an extra oxygen, and that his sample must have been impure. In 1955, M. S. Fish, N. M. Johnson, and E. C. Horning published the first paper in English detailing DMTs presence in another snuff-producing tree. Hungarian chemist and psychiatrist Stephen Szra synthesized his own DMT in the lab for the purpose of ingesting it himself for experimental reasons. He attempted to take the drug orally, and increased the dose to a full gram, hundreds of thousands times more than an active dose of LSD, when he realized that oral ingestion was not creating any effect. This led to the discovery that there is an enzyme in the stomach that breaks down oral DMT quickly after being swallowed. South Americans had in fact figured this out thousands of years ago. After his experience,...

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