Editing Dimethyltryptamine (section)

==Use==
{{Globalize|section|date=December 2022}}

DMT is produced in many species of plants often in conjunction with its close chemical relatives 5-methoxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine ([[5-MeO-DMT]]) and [[bufotenin]] (5-OH-DMT).<ref name = "ISBN 0789026422"/> DMT-containing plants are commonly used in [[Shamanism#Amazonia|indigenous Amazonian shamanic practices]]. It is usually one of the main active constituents of the drink [[ayahuasca]];<ref name="RivierLindgren1972">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rivier L, Lindgren JE |title='Ayahuasca,' the South American hallucinogenic drink: An ethnobotanical and chemical investigation |journal=Economic Botany |volume=26 |issue=2 |year=1972 |pages=101–129 |issn=0013-0001 |doi=10.1007/BF02860772 |s2cid=34669901}}</ref><ref name="McKennaTowers1984"/> however, ayahuasca is sometimes brewed with plants that do not produce DMT. It occurs as the primary psychoactive [[alkaloid]] in several plants including ''[[Mimosa tenuiflora]]'', ''[[Diplopterys cabrerana]]'', and ''[[Psychotria viridis]]''. DMT is found as a minor alkaloid in [[hallucinogenic snuff]]s made from ''[[Virola]]'' bark resin in which 5-MeO-DMT is the main active alkaloid.<ref name = "ISBN 0789026422"/> DMT is also found as a minor alkaloid in bark, pods, and beans of ''[[Anadenanthera peregrina]]'' and ''[[Anadenanthera colubrina]]'' used to make [[Yopo]] and [[Anadenanthera colubrina|Vilca]] snuff, in which bufotenin is the main active alkaloid.<ref name="ISBN 0789026422">{{cite book |title=Anadenanthera: Visionary Plant Of Ancient South America |url=https://archive.org/details/anadenantheravis00torr_088 |url-access=limited | vauthors = Torres CM, Repke DB |year=2006 |publisher=Haworth Herbal |location=Binghamton, NY |isbn=978-0-7890-2642-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/anadenantheravis00torr_088/page/n126 107]–122}}</ref><ref name="pmid11718320">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ott J | title = Pharmañopo-psychonautics: human intranasal, sublingual, intrarectal, pulmonary and oral pharmacology of bufotenine | journal = Journal of Psychoactive Drugs | volume = 33 | issue = 3 | pages = 273–281 | year = 2001 | pmid = 11718320 | doi = 10.1080/02791072.2001.10400574 | s2cid = 5877023 | url = http://files.shroomery.org/attachments/8588382-pharmanopo_J_Ott_2001_J_Psych_Drug.pdf | access-date = 2010-11-16 | archive-date = 2011-07-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110726003945/http://files.shroomery.org/attachments/8588382-pharmanopo_J_Ott_2001_J_Psych_Drug.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Psilocin]] and [[psilocybin]], the main psychoactive compounds in [[psilocybin mushroom]]s, are structurally similar to DMT.

The psychotropic effects of DMT were first studied scientifically by the Hungarian chemist and psychologist [[Stephen Szára]], who performed research with volunteers in the mid-1950s. Szára, who later worked for the United States [[National Institutes of Health]], researched DMT after his order to acquire [[LSD]] from the Swiss company [[Sandoz Laboratories]] was rejected on the grounds that the powerful psychotropic could be dangerous in the hands of a [[Hungarian People's Republic|communist country]].<ref name="strassman">{{cite book|title=DMT: The Spirit Molecule. A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences|vauthors=Strassman RJ|publisher=Park Street|year=2001|isbn=978-0-89281-927-0|location=Rochester, VT|author-link=Rick Strassman|url=https://archive.org/details/dmtspiritmolecul00rick}} ({{cite web|url=http://rickstrassman.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=60|title=Chapter summaries|access-date=27 February 2012|archive-date=16 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516020600/https://www.rickstrassman.com/index.php?id=61&itemid=60&option=com_content&view=article|url-status=live}})</ref>

DMT is generally not active orally unless it is combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor such as a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A (RIMA), for example, [[harmaline]].<ref name="McKennaTowers1984"/> Without a MAOI, the body quickly metabolizes orally administered DMT, and it therefore has no hallucinogenic effect unless the dose exceeds the body's monoamine oxidase's metabolic capacity. Other means of consumption such as vaporizing, injecting, or [[Insufflation (medicine)|insufflating]] the drug can produce powerful hallucinations for a short time (usually less than half an hour), as the DMT reaches the brain before it can be metabolized by the body's natural monoamine oxidase. Taking an MAOI prior to vaporizing or injecting DMT prolongs and enhances the effects.<ref name="DMT_Erowid">{{cite web |title=Erowid DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) Vault |url=http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609072438/https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt.shtml |archive-date=9 June 2022 |access-date=20 September 2012 |publisher=Erowid.org}}</ref>

===Routes of administration===
====Inhalation====
[[File:N,N-DMT Freebase and Vape cartridge.jpg|thumb|[[Free base]] DMT extracted from ''[[Mimosa hostilis]]'' root bark (left); vape cartridge made with freebase DMT extract (right)]]

A standard dose for vaporized DMT is 20–60&nbsp;milligrams, depending highly on the efficiency of vaporization as well as body weight and personal variation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_dose.shtml|title=DMT Dosage|website=[[Erowid]]|access-date=25 June 2018|archive-date=25 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625185707/https://erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_dose.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TiHKAL" />{{medical citation needed | date = June 2023}} In general, this is inhaled in a few successive breaths, but lower doses can be used if the user can inhale it in fewer breaths (ideally one). The effects last for a short period of time, usually 5 to 15 minutes, dependent on the dose. The onset after inhalation is very fast (less than 45 seconds) and peak effects are reached within a minute. In the 1960s, DMT was known as a "businessman's trip" in the US because of the relatively short duration (and rapid onset) of action when inhaled.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Haroz R, Greenberg MI | title = Emerging drugs of abuse | journal = The Medical Clinics of North America | volume = 89 | issue = 6 | pages = 1259–1276 | date = November 2005 | pmid = 16227062 | doi = 10.1016/j.mcna.2005.06.008 | quote = Use of DMT was first encountered in the United States in the 1960s, when it was known as a 'businessman's trip' because of the rapid onset of action when smoked (2 to 5 minutes) and short duration of action (20 minutes to 1 hour). | oclc = 610327022 }}</ref> DMT can be inhaled using a [[bong]], typically when sandwiched between layers of plant matter, using a specially designed pipe, or by using an [[e-cigarette]] once it has been dissolved in propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin.<ref>{{Cite web|vauthors=Power M|date=5 June 2020|title=I Sell DMT Vape Pens So People Can 'Break Through' at Their Own Speed|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-sell-dmt-vape-pens-so-people-can-break-through-at-their-own-speed/|access-date=12 July 2020|website=Vice.com|language=en|archive-date=12 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712192852/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/akzgbz/i-sell-dmt-vape-pens-so-people-can-break-through-at-their-own-speed|url-status=live}}</ref> Some users have also started using vaporizers meant for cannabis extracts ("wax pens") for ease of temperature control when vaporizing crystals. A DMT-infused smoking blend is called [[Changa (drug)|Changa]], and is typically used in pipes or other utensils meant for smoking dried plant matter.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

====Intravenous injection====
In a study conducted from 1990 through 1995, [[University of New Mexico]] psychiatrist [[Rick Strassman]] found that some volunteers injected with high doses of DMT reported experiences with perceived [[Extraterrestrial life in culture|alien]] entities. Usually, the reported entities were experienced as the inhabitants of a perceived independent reality that the subjects reported visiting while under the influence of DMT.<ref name="strassman" />

In 2023, a study investigated a novel method of DMT administration involving a bolus injection paired with a constant-rate infusion, with the goal of extending the DMT experience.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Luan LX, Eckernäs E, Ashton M, Rosas FE, Uthaug MV, Bartha A, Jagger S, Gascon-Perai K, Gomes L, Nutt DJ, Erritzøe D, Carhart-Harris RL, Timmermann C | title = Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT | journal = Journal of Psychopharmacology | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | pages = 56–67 | date = January 2024 | pmid = 37897244 | pmc = 10851633 | doi = 10.1177/02698811231196877 }}</ref>

The dose range of DMT via bolus intravenous injection is 4 to 30{{nbsp}}mg.<ref name="TiHKAL" /> By constant infusion, the dose is 0.6 to 1.8{{nbsp}}mg per minute.<ref name="LiechtiHolze2022">{{cite book | vauthors = Liechti ME, Holze F | title = Disruptive Psychopharmacology | chapter = Dosing Psychedelics and MDMA | series = Curr Top Behav Neurosci | volume = 56 | pages = 3–21 | date = 2022 | pmid = 34734392 | doi = 10.1007/7854_2021_270 | isbn = 978-3-031-12183-8 | chapter-url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355943062}}</ref><ref name="HolzeSinghLiechti2024">{{cite journal | vauthors = Holze F, Singh N, Liechti ME, D'Souza DC | title = Serotonergic Psychedelics: A Comparative Review of Efficacy, Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Binding Profile | journal = Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging | volume = 9 | issue = 5 | pages = 472–489 | date = May 2024 | pmid = 38301886 | doi = 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.01.007 | url = | doi-access = free }}</ref>

====Intramuscular or subcutaneous injection====
Threshold activity occurs at a dose of 30{{nbsp}}mg [[intramuscular injection|intramuscularly]] and full effects occur at a dose of 50 to 100{{nbsp}}mg by this route.<ref name="Shulgin1976" /><ref name="TiHKAL" /> The dose for full effects with [[subcutaneous injection]] is likewise 60 to 100{{nbsp}}mg.<ref name="Shulgin1976" />

====Oral====
{{See also|Ayahuasca|Pharmahuasca}}
[[File:Aya-preparation.jpg|thumb|Ayahuasca preparation]]

DMT is broken down by the enzyme [[monoamine oxidase]] through a process called [[deamination]], and is quickly inactivated orally unless combined with a [[monoamine oxidase inhibitor]] (MAOI).<ref name="McKennaTowers1984"/> The traditional South American beverage [[ayahuasca]] is derived by boiling ''[[Banisteriopsis caapi]]'' with leaves of one or more plants containing DMT, such as ''[[Psychotria viridis]]'', ''[[Psychotria carthagenensis]]'', or ''[[Diplopterys cabrerana]]''.<ref name="McKennaTowers1984"/> The ''Banisteriopsis caapi'' contains [[harmala alkaloids]],<ref name="pmid9924842">{{cite journal | vauthors = Callaway JC, Grob CS | title = Ayahuasca preparations and serotonin reuptake inhibitors: a potential combination for severe adverse interactions | journal = Journal of Psychoactive Drugs | volume = 30 | issue = 4 | pages = 367–269 | year = 1998 | pmid = 9924842 | doi = 10.1080/02791072.1998.10399712 | url = http://www.mimosahostilis.com/files/Ayahuasca%20and%20SSRI%20Interactions.pdf | access-date = 10 April 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120201144245/http://www.mimosahostilis.com/files/Ayahuasca%20and%20SSRI%20Interactions.pdf | archive-date = 1 February 2012 }}</ref> a highly active reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A ([[Reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A|RIMA]]s),<ref name="BergströmWesterberg1997">{{cite journal | vauthors = Bergström M, Westerberg G, Långström B | title = <sup>11</sup>C-harmine as a tracer for monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A): in vitro and in vivo studies | journal = Nuclear Medicine and Biology | volume = 24 | issue = 4 | pages = 287–293 | date = May 1997 | pmid = 9257326 | doi = 10.1016/S0969-8051(97)00013-9 }}</ref> rendering the DMT orally active by protecting it from [[deamination]].<ref name="McKennaTowers1984"/> A variety of different recipes are used to make the brew depending on the purpose of the ayahuasca session,<ref name="Andritzky1989">{{cite journal | vauthors = Andritzky W | title = Sociopsychotherapeutic functions of ayahuasca healing in Amazonia | journal = Journal of Psychoactive Drugs | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 77–89 | year = 1989 | pmid = 2656954 | doi = 10.1080/02791072.1989.10472145 | url = http://www.lila.info/document_view.phtml?document_id=8 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080226052014/http://www.lila.info/document_view.phtml?document_id=8 | archive-date = 26 February 2008 }}</ref> or local availability of ingredients. Two common sources of DMT in the western US are [[reed canary grass]] (''[[Phalaris arundinacea]]'') and [[Harding grass]] (''[[Phalaris aquatica]]''). These invasive grasses contain low levels of DMT and other alkaloids but also contain [[gramine]], which is toxic and difficult to separate. In addition, [[Mimosa tenuiflora|Jurema]] (''[[Mimosa tenuiflora]]'') shows evidence of DMT content: the pink layer in the inner rootbark of this small tree contains a high concentration of ''N'',''N''-DMT.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

Taken orally with an [[Reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A|RIMA]], DMT produces a long-lasting (over three hours), slow, deep metaphysical experience similar to that of [[psilocybin mushrooms]], but more intense.<ref name=Peru>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html |title=Hell and back |vauthors=Salak K |publisher=National Geographic Adventure |access-date=2008-10-31 |archive-date=2019-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911140217/http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The intensity of orally administered DMT depends on the type and dose of MAOI administered alongside it. When ingested with 120&nbsp;mg of [[harmine]] (a [[Reversible inhibition of monoamine oxidase|RIMA]] and member of the [[Harmala alkaloid|harmala alkaloids]]), 20&nbsp;mg of DMT was reported to have psychoactive effects by author and [[Ethnobotany|ethnobotanist]] [[Jonathan Ott]]. Ott reported that to produce a visionary state, the threshold oral dose was 30&nbsp;mg DMT alongside 120&nbsp;mg [[harmine]].<ref name="ott1998" /> This is not necessarily indicative of a standard dose, as dose-dependent effects may vary due to individual variations in drug metabolism.

Without an MAOI, DMT is inactive orally at doses over 1,000{{nbsp}}mg.<ref name="Shulgin1976" /><ref name="TiHKAL" />