The United States is in the throes of an addiction crisis. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. overdose deaths topped 70,200 in 2017, with 47,600 of those caused by opioids. President Donald Trump has repeatedly declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, but so far it’s been bravado rhetoric with little action.
In the meantime, users continue to struggle. Neal Catlett, a thirty-nine-year-old recovering opioid addict from Lexington, Kentucky, has some less traditional ideas to offer: Could there be a drug to “spiritually awaken” those who suffer? Could the venom from a toad be the antidote to help America kick its dependency?
I first met Catlett during a march commemorating Overdose Awareness Day in New York City. He invited me to tag along to a “ceremony” that involved smoking the psychedelic venom from the Sonoran Desert toad, also called Bufo alvarius. The venom contains a substance, 5-MeO-DMT, that is said to help people kick their long-term drug dependency by relieving depression and anxiety.
Catlett credits the toxin with contributing to his healing, so much so that he plans to create clinics where others can test out the hallucinogens that saved his life. For the past year, I’ve visited him in Lexington as he seeks to help other addicts.
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Madhu Anand, a ceremonial sitter and former cocaine addict, blows sage to prepare for a healing ceremony in Lexington. He travels globally holding ceremonies for people, many of whom have said they are seeking a “reset” from trauma, anxiety, and their addiction.
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A pipe is packed with dried Bufo alvarius venom and other items used during a healing ceremony with Anand in Lexington. The potent “medicine” comes from the Sonoran Desert toad’s parotid gland (behind the ear) and is dried and distributed all over the world.
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Harm reduction proponent Adrian Hooper smokes a pipe with dried Bufo alvarius venom during a healing ceremony with Anand in Kentucky.
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Mallorie Branch, who lost her brother to opioid addiction, participates in a Bufo alvarius healing ceremony. During her trip, Branch spent nearly thirty minutes in a state of euphoria as she mourned the loss of her brother.
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Catlett heads to a Clark County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy board meeting in Kentucky to promote substances from Bufo alvarius and ayahuasca as new ways to combat heroin and opioid addiction in the area.
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Catlett involuntarily reacts after smoking the venom of Bufo alvarius during a healing ceremony under Anand’s watch in Lexington.