Author: James Anderson
DMT N, N-dimethyltryptamine: Origins, effects & risks
DMT lasts less than 45 minutes when smoked or vaped, and up to 12 hours in the form of ayahuasca. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in 200 species of mushrooms, colloquially called magic mushrooms. Psilocybin and DMT are both in the tryptamine family of psychedelics and have similar chemical structures. Plants containing psilocybin and DMT are also both used in religious ceremonies in indigenous American cultures. However, psilocybin experiences last longer, usually four to eight hours.
Most of this takes place within the same 45-minute window the DMT remains active. The reason the effects wear off is because the DMT is destroyed and removed from the blood. Ayahuasca is a combination of an MAO inhibitor (the ayahuasca vine) and a source of DMT (usually mimosa or chacruna). The MAO inhibitor blocks the enzyme from destroying the DMT for several hours — dramatically prolonging the effects and intensity of the DMT. When using oral forms of DMT — such as ayahuasca — your digestive status will heavily impact the onset time. People with poor absorption due to inflammation or irritation will have to wait longer to feel the effects of the DMT.
DMT has an exceptionally high celerity — which means it kicks into full effect almost immediately (when smoked). It blasts off the start line with exceptional force, but the race is over just as quickly as it started. In the world of psychedelics, the term used to describe how fast a substance kicks in is called celerity (think “acceleration”). DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is a powerful psychoactive compound found in a variety of plants and animals. If you do decide to take DMT, you should do so in a safe environment. While under the influence of DMT, people can act irrationally, sometimes even causing harm to themselves, such as by jumping out of windows.
Losing this connection can catalyze an incredibly powerful and profound shift in consciousness, but it can also produce symptoms of depersonalization. Low doses (0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg) of DMT primarily affect physical and emotional states with few to no perceptual hallucinations. Higher doses typically produce rapid kaleidoscopic images full of intensely “techno-colored” abstract and representational displays.
More on DMT
The effects generally last for up to 45 minutes when smoked and about 4 hours when taken orally in the form of ayahuasca. Like most psychedelics, DMT is a very powerful drug and has the potential to be very unpleasant if not treated with respect. Follow the 6S’s of psychedelic use to minimize the risks of a bad experience. Rick Strassman pioneered contemporary research into psychedelics in the 1990s with the belief that their profound effect on consciousness warranted further exploration.
This can result in heavy confusion, which may escalate into anxiety or panic. The closed-eyed visualizations can also be overwhelming and may cause a feeling of discomfort, fear, or, at the extreme, psychological trauma. In some users, DMT induces a feeling of separation between the mind/soul and the body.
Passing states of anxiety are common, though so are euphoric states. Somewhat paradoxically, these two states can be experienced simultaneously. Out-of-body experiences, or dissociation of awareness from the physical body, is very common with DMT at higher doses. Another important part of how long DMT will stay in the body is the way in which it has been used by the person in question. When someone abuses an illicit drug such as DMT for a long duration of time, it builds up in the body.
How Long Does DMT Stay in Your Body?
The type of drug tests and screening administered also affect whether it’s detectable in your body as well as for how long. Most common drug tests don’t include psychedelic drugs such as DMT in their standard screenings. However, if testing specifically for the hallucinogenic drug, whether it is detectable on the lab test depends on the type of test administered. For a urine test, it could be a day or two, but for hair tests, it could be as much as 90 days. DMT-induced psychedelic experiences occur when a dose of 0.2 mg/kg or higher is ingested. Blood tests can only detect DMT for about 2 hours after the last use.
To ingest DMT snuff this way, a partner would use a tube or pipe to forcibly blow the powdery concoction into the recipient’s nose. These practices are often done in community contexts with skilled and practiced elders, leaders, and shamans—using them alone can pose safety concerns. Recovering Champions offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs.
- While the DMT experience tends to be highly visual, 5-MeO-DMT is more like a perspective shift.
- A trip that includes the dissolution of one’s identity, sometimes dubbed “ego death,” brings this radical new perspective to the user.
- It takes effect quickly and, in most cases, falls below detectable levels quickly as well.
- Mixing DMT into the liquids found in vape pens is a newer form of ingestion.
DMT can result in high levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This can lead to a potentially life threatening condition called serotonin syndrome disorder. One study determined that injected DMT reaches its peak concentration in the blood within 10 to 15 minutes and is below the limit of detection within 1 hour.
DMT is also known as Dimitri, fantasia, and the spirit molecule. The brief nature of its psychedelic experiences (up to 45 minutes when smoked) also earned it the names businessman’s trip, businessman’s special, and 45-minute psychosis. DMT causes intense and immersive psychedelic effects similar to LSD but shorter-lived; often likened to near-death experiences or outer space travel.
How Long Does DMT Stay in Your System?
Medical News Today does not endorse using illegal substances, and we recognize abstaining from them is always the safest approach. However, we believe in providing accessible and accurate information to reduce the harm that can occur when using. As long as you’re not tripping on DMT within about 24 hours of your drug screening, you’re unlikely to register any DMT on the test at all.
The more you take, the more time you need to wait for the body to metabolize it and eliminate it from the system. If you’ve used DMT within the last day or two, the onset time and intensity of the effects will be slower and milder than the first session. Tolerance formation begins immediately, and most people find they can’t get the full effects of DMT if they use it more than once per week. It doesn’t need to be “activated” like psilocybin from magic mushrooms or 1P-LSD.
Research has shown that when taken orally, DMT has little to no effect or activity. This is largely attributed to extensive degradation by MAO, monaomine oxidose in the digestive tract. Therefore, for oral consumption of DMT to produce any effect, it needs to be taken in combination with an MAOI, monoamine oxidase inhibitor which can also prolong how long the effects of the drug are felt. When taken for recreational purposes, DMT can cause intense visual and auditory impairments and hallucinations. Some people experience out-of-body experiences referred to as “tripping.” Typically, the effects set in within seconds after administration and last between 30 and 45 minutes. DMT is a powerful drug that produces a range of short-lived psychological and physical side effects.