Table 4.
Adverse effects of 5-MeO-DMT from human epidemiological studies and published ‘underground’ reports.
| Study | Acute adverse effects | Delayed adverse effects |
|---|---|---|
| Davis 2020 (retrospective survey) | Participants reported that psychedelic treatment they received (ibogaine plus 5-MeO-DMT) was one of the most psychologically challenging (69%) experiences of their entire lives Adverse events not assessed |
Not assessed |
| Palamar and Acosta (2020; retrospective survey) | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Uthaug (2020b) (prospective study of synthetic 5-MeO-DMT in naturalistic settings) | 45.5% (N = 5) of the sample reported adverse effects post-session. One participant reported feeling ‘scared and confused’, one participant reported ‘feeling anger, joy love and fear’, one participant vomited shortly after intake, one participant expressed ‘feeling a little shock on the first try, but nothing bad’ and finally one participant reported feeling that their throat was scratching from smoking | On the 7-day follow-up, 27.3% (N = 3) of the sample reported adverse effects in the days following the session. One participant reported some affective symptoms and somatic tension in muscles, one participant reported difficulties sleeping (insomnia), and one participant reported experiencing somatic tension in muscles |
| Uthaug (2020a) (retrospective survey) | Not assessed | ‘Reactivation’ or flashback experiences reported more common with vaporised route of administration compared to the intramuscular (3/14 vs 9/13 participants, respectively) |
| Uthaug (2019) (prospective study of toad secretions in naturalistic setting) | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Davis 2019 (retrospective survey) | Assessed using CEQ: Mintensity = 0.8 (SD = 0.8), range 0–5. Subscales: Isolation = 0.4(0.9) Fear = 1.0(1.3) Grief = 0.9(1.1) Physical Distress = 0.9(0.9) Insanity = 0.5(1.0) Death/Dying = 1.5(1.7) Paranoia = 0.0(0.3) There were no differences in the intensity of acute challenging experiences between those who did or did not report an improvement in depression or anxiety, which could be because respondents reported only a ‘slight’ intensity of challenging experiences |
Not assessed |
| Barsuglia et al. (2018) (retrospective survey) | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Barsuglia et al. (2018) (case study) | Physical purging through dry heaving that lasted for several minutes | Not assessed |
|
Davis et al. (2018) (retrospective survey) Lancelotta and Davis (2020) (same survey) |
Assessed using CEQ: Mintensity = 0.95, SD = 0.91; range 0–5. Subscales: Isolation = 0.76(1.23) Fear = 1.22(1.38) Grief = 0.69(1.00) Physical Distress = 1.15(1.09) Insanity = 0.85(1.21) Death/Dying = 1.75(1.90) Paranoia = 0.18(0.60) On average 37% of respondents reported experiencing challenging psychological and somatic experiences. Between 40% and 66% reported experiences of feeling their heart beat, fear, frightened, their body shake/tremble, anxious, as if they were dead or dying, shaky inside, that something horrible would happen, like crying, pressure or weight in their chest or abdomen, and panic, and having the profound experience of their own death |
Not assessed |
| Metzner (2013) (qualitative field report of ‘underground’ use) | ‘Dissociative experiences’, involving losing consciousness and memory of the drug session, psychotic or fear-panic reactions occurred in about 10% of cases. Most dissipate as the drug wears off | Flashback/reactivation experience (of the dissociative, fear or psychotic reactions) |
| Ott (2001) (self-experimentation) | Tinnitus | Not reported |
| Shulgin and Shulgin (1997) (qualitative field reports of ‘underground’ use and self-experimentation) | Nausea, tinnitus, fear, feeling like dying, blackout, purple face and no breathing (in one case with unknown but very large smoked dose) | Psychosis, terror, lack of sleep (one report) |
SD: standard deviation.