Since the dawn of human consciousness, people have demonstrated an innate need to get high. Through trial and error, our species has found many ingenious ways to bend reality. Which brings me to the hottest trend right now in psychedelics: toad venom.

No, you’re not reading a story in The Onion. Classic psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin…well, they’re familiar stories. For ambitious “psychonauts,” the next big thing is the mind-blowing substance that can be extracted from a rare species of amphibian.

In the words of Hunter S. Thompson: “Yesterday’s weirdness is tomorrow’s reason why.”

Predictably, entrepreneurs and Big Pharma are taking notice of toad venom and they’re already exploring ways to commercialize it. Because after all, the desire to profit is a powerful human drive, too.

The Colorado River toad (Bufo Alvarius), aka the Sonoran Desert toad, is the creature in question. Recent scientific research shows that a smoked hit of the dried psychedelic secretion of the toad can enhance a person’s mental well-being.

The psychedelic venom is a defense mechanism deployed by the toad to ward off predators. The venom’s technical name is 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). Native Americans have known about the venom’s special properties for millennia. Only in recent years have researchers and ordinary consumers discovered it.

The toad secretes a poisonous, milky-white substance in its skin and glands that also contains the 5-MeO-DMT compound. Clinical studies by Johns Hopkins and other prestigious institutions have shown that 5-MeO-DMT, as with other psychedelics, can be used to treat various mental disorders.

The studies found that people reported feeling happier with their lives immediately after ingestion, and these feelings of satisfaction persisted for weeks. They also reported feeling more aware of time and appreciative of the sensory details of existence.

People who smoke 5-MeO-DMT also reported mystical-type experiences, characterized by awe, acute self-awareness, and timelessness, among other effects. Researchers are now looking into the substance’s ability to treat anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. The venom already is helping people cope with alcoholism and drug abuse.

Five-MeO-DMT remains illegal in the U.S., where it is classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act. But its illegality is rapidly becoming a moot point.

The substance has spawned a “toad venom tourism” industry, whereby affluent consumers attend retreats in Latin American countries where the venom is widely prevalent and legal. Ceremonies also are occurring in the U.S., where law enforcement agencies generally tolerate the venom’s growing popularity and turn a blind eye.

Toad venom has become trendy among the rich and famous, with an increasing number of celebrities (e.g., Mike Tyson, Chelsea Handler, and Megan Fox) swearing by it.

People are paying anywhere from $200 for a ceremony in Colorado to $10,000 or more for beachfront bungalows in Mexico to consume the toxin.

As with LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and other psychedelics, efforts are afoot by political activists to legalize toad venom, although these legalization campaigns remain in nascent stages.

Lab-made venom…

As a reminder of the law of unintended consequences, this endangered species of toad is being hunted to the point where conservationists worry it will become extinct. Accordingly, scientists are working to create synthetic toad venom, although purists turn up their noses at the idea of “Venom 2.0.” This tweet, posted December 9, is indicative of the debate: