Editor's Note: This article was originally published in Psychedelic Illuminations number 6, released sometime in 1994. This is the first time this article has appeared online.

Well, by now you've heard the stories. The "trip toad" exists and it's out there waiting for you. However, toad venom can be extremely toxic, even causing paralysis and death in humans (see attached article). We at PI feel there are a few things you should know before you run out and start randomly stuffing toads in your mouth.

First of all, because a toad's toxins are highly concentrated on the skin's surface, it is the licking that is most dangerous. Smoking the venom, however, is a totally different story. Toad venom only contains trace amount of bufotenine which is burned off while smoking. What's left is a safe, naturally occurring source of 5-Me0-DMT.

So, if you're ready to take the challenge we've compiled the following comprehensive list of toad hunting and venom smoking tips. Happy hunting!

1. Finding the Right Toad

Although there are many toads known to contain indolealkylamine bufotenines, Bufo alvarius is the only species known to contain an actual hallucinogen, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine (5-Me0-DMT) in it's venom. Though 5-Me0-DMT is actually an unscheduled substance, meaning that it's legal to posses (in 1994), B. alvarius venom also contains trace amounts of bufotenine, which is scheduled (watch out!).

2. Locating Your Toad

The habitat of B. alvarius is the Southwestern portions of North America. Although it has been found as far North as Central California and Nevada, it's highest population density is along the Colorado River in Southern Arizona, California and Northern Mexico (Sonora).

Since B. alvarius is semiaquatic, you will most likely find it lurking around streams, riverbeds, irrigation ditches, or livestock watering troughs. As with mushrooms, the best toad hunting is directly after spring rain showers.

3. Stalking Your Toad

Since toads don't generally favor the heat, your best hunting will be in the early evening. Find a cool, moist area and wait until just before sunset. If B. alvarius is present in any numbers, you will no doubt hear croaking. It will start as a gentle chirp but can grow into a deafening, guttural roar. Now's no time to turn back. The moment of truth is at hand!

As this alarming video shows, toad licking is an evil that we will soon have to deal with via massive law enforcement response. These bastards live 15 years for gods sake!

This news is a few days old, but as part of our weekend wrap-up we'll be doing some toad greatest hits. So here we go...

A US man and his pet toad have been arrested after authorities accused him of using the critter to get high.

Kansas City police allege David Theiss possessed a Colorado River Frog with the intention of getting high, KMBC-TV reports.

Experts said it was possible for someone to achieve psychedelic effects by licking the toad’s venomous glands.

Most pet stores in Kansas City do not stock the rough-looking, dark-green frog because its venom can kill household animals and sicken humans.

"People used to do it all the time, but it got faded out awhile, but came back as a fad. Not a smart one," animal expert Danny Snyder said.

"The toxins in it can kill a lot of stuff."

Theiss has been released on bond while the toad remains in custody at a police crime lab.

So I was going to blog about this Grateful Dead symposium at U Mass this weekend, but I was searching their exhibits and found myself back at the site of one of my favorite psychedelic artists, Mike DuBois, who will have a gallery showing at the event. And so I decided to include one of his pictures here instead, because I love it.

For those of you interested in sacred geometry and physics, a new holy grail is being presented. Meet E8, a symmetrical 248-dimensional object comprised of over 205.2 trillion polynomials, a complex shape discovered in the 19th century that some feel may be the underlying pattern of the universe. And recently, an unemployed physicist (who also surfs) named Garrett Lisi has proposed how the fundamental forces of physics (including gravity) are all represented in this structure, making it an elaborate mathematical unified-field theory. The theory is not widely accepted yet, but some think Lisi may actually be onto something here. With the help of a supercollider the missing pieces can be tested and filled in, so we'll have to wait and see on this one. But can we all say 21st century physics people? Pretty n-dimensional mandalas... Yum...

Update: I just found a blog post reviewing this paper and claiming it is junk science. You can check it here. This guy is obviously a high-energy physics geek and goes off on giving Lisi a lashing, calling him an outright crackpot.

As the Dutch rocket toward their unhappy mushroom ban, a recent Time update offers speculation as to what might take the place of "paddos," as they're called, in the hearts and bodies of consciousness-expanding thrill seekers. LSD use, for instance, might come back into style:

Rogier Bos, speaking for the expert body that advised the minister on the issue, agrees. "If these consumers switch back to LSD, public health will suffer." The synthetic hallucinogen, which has been banned since 1966, is usually sold as a piece of impregnated paper, and thus easier to hide and trade than the bulky mushrooms.

LSD is not the only drug set to benefit from a paddo ban. Some experts predict that San Pedro, a cactus of the Andes, could fill some of the hallucinogenic void in the wake of the mushroom ban. And a range of other flora remains off the radar, and thus not prohibited, according to Bos. "There are so many blossoms or cacti that can be tried," he says. "We can't even scientifically say if these products cause a hallucinogenic effect, let alone what the health risks may be."

Hmm, you mean banning a psychoactive substance isn't going to result in a totally and constantly sober population? I'm stunned, nay, shocked.

According to the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board, the world has plenty of legally supplied opium to more than meet the world's demand:

The Board, which is currently reviewing the global situation of the lawful production and use of narcotics, noted that during the past five years, the total supply of opiate raw materials has exceeded the total demand for opiates needed for medical and scientific purposes.

That's a bummer for those who have consistently advocated that Afghanistan's opium crop be turned away from heroin and toward supplying medical needs. In the meantime, just because there's plenty of medical opium to go around doesn't mean it's being widely used in all parts of the world:

Meanwhile, the Board expressed concern at the low levels of consumption of morphine and other opiate analgesics for treating pain in the other countries, particularly those in the developing world. Concerns about addiction and the reluctance to prescribe were among the main reasons for this, as cited in a recent survey among governments. The INCB is working with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) to address these issues.

Yes, in parts of the world, governments would rather let you suffer in pain than risk the chance of you getting addicted - or rather, not necessarily you, but whatever unsavory types might wind up diverting medical opiates from their intended use. Yipe!

Jimmy Kimmel demonstrates what happens when firefighters respond to a massive grow house fire:

Via MilkandCookies.

Still looking for ways to successfully quit smoking? You might try one of these three techniques that came across the wire recently. First off: gradually reducing the amount of nicotine in your cigarettes over the course of several weeks:

In the study, 20 healthy adult smokers smoked their usual brand for a week and then followed a six-week regimen of smoking cigarettes with progressively decreased nicotine content.

At the end of this period, they were free to return to their usual commercial cigarette brand, and most of them did. When tested one month later, they were smoking about 40 percent fewer cigarettes per day, with a comparable reduction in nicotine intake, compared to when the study began. Even more promising, one fourth of the smokers quit smoking entirely while the study was in progress, the researchers found.

“This study supports the idea that if tobacco companies were required to reduce the levels of nicotine in cigarette tobacco, young people who start smoking could avoid becoming addicted, and long-time smokers could reduce or end their smoking, [study leader Neal] Benowitz [MD] said.

Of course, that requires a more patient approach. A more direct approach: take a shot that interrupts the brain's ability to enjoy nicotine.

A shot that robs smokers of the nicotine buzz from cigarettes showed promise in midstage testing and may someday offer a radically new way to kick a dangerous habit. In a study, more than twice as many people given five of the shots stopped smoking than those given fewer or phony shots - about 15 percent versus 6 percent after one year....

The study tested NicVAX, a vaccine designed to "immunize" smokers against the rush fueling their addiction. It's made by Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of Boca Raton, Fla.

The treatment keeps nicotine from reaching the brain, taking the fun out of smoking and hopefully making it easier to give up. Some nicotine still gets in, possibly easing withdrawal, the main reason quitters relapse.

And if that doesn't work? Turn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints:

Mormons (a nick name) are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They believe in a teaching known as the “Word of Wisdom” which teaches that they should not use coffee, tea, alcohol, or tobacco.

The stop smoking lesson has been extremely successful because it teaches people how to stop the nicotine fit, or longing that often makes it so hard for people to quit. The missionaries use the lesson manual to teach people 15 steps to follow for seven days.

I don't know what the 15 steps are because you have to go to a web site and request a PDF, but you need not be a Mormon missionary to make such a request, so head on over!

The British Medical Association's ethics committee recently published a "discussion paper on the ethics of cognitive-enhancement," centering in part around the use of Ritalin and modafinil to improve memory and learning. The question at hand: the use of these substances for competitive advantage is increasing among so-called healthy adults, but is that particularly a bad thing? A great summary article in the Guardian offers a range of anecdotes to illustrate the ethical complexity involved when a subset of those competing in a field of study, for instance, or in a career path, are enhancing their performance with Ritalin - which is prescribed often enough to kids that people believe it's a basic tool in the kit - and modafinil, which continues to demonstrate its utility at improving short term memory. For instance:

Sahakian and a team of researchers at Cambridge tested modafinil on healthy male undergraduates in 2003. Those who took a single 200mg dose were found to use information more efficiently within two hours of taking it. They were better at mental planning tests, completed puzzles more accurately, could remember longer strings of digits and recognise pictures more quickly. Long-term memory was not enhanced, but the increased ability to concentrate for longer periods of time would, the researchers say, allow them to learn more.

A logical question would be, assuming longer term studies demonstrate that modafinil is not harmful, what would the issues be with allowing widespread access to it? But that's not really what the BMA is bringing up in its discussion paper, since it seems quite likely that significant use is already emerging, regardless of waiting around for long term study results. So the questions are more practical:

The idea of competing with pharmaceutically enhanced peers at work or university will strike many as deeply unfair. "It may not be a fair thing that I took modafinil," Mark says, "but so many students have Ritalin and other drugs, some who have been prescribed it for more or less spurious reasons, or others who can just get hold of it one way or another. Loads of students I knew were using it to stay up and write essays. And at that particular time, this particular drug seemed quite helpful to me, so I didn't feel too bad about taking it."

The seeming ready availability of Ritalin and even modafinil by prescription does indeed seem to leave others out in the cold, but there will always be those without access to key modern tools of learning - the student who can't afford a laptop, for instance. In the meantime: