It’s become a toad-al nightmare out west.
The National Park Service put out a public service announcement asking people to stop licking toads in the wild to get high on 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic substance made by glands in toads.
But licking a toad to get a “ribbeting buzz,” which was once made fun of on “Family Guy,” is dangerous for your health, especially if you lick a Sonoran desert toad, also known as a Colorado River toad. The NPS warned about this in a recent Facebook post.
“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.
“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 says, “Not only is this illegal (5-MEO-DMT is a DEA Schedule I drug), but it’s also very dangerous.”
“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 this, many celebrities, including boxer Mike Tyson, and others, enjoy getting high 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.
The Colorado River toad lives in parts of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. At 7 inches, it is one of the tallest animals in North America. The NPS says that it also makes a call that is “weak, low-pitched, and lasts less than a second.”
