DMT has a long history dating back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures have often usedTrusted Source it in religious rituals. For example, there is evidence of its use in Trinidad at the time of Spanish colonists’ arrival.

The drug is the active ingredient in ayahuasca, a traditional South American brewed tea.

People illicitly use DMT for its psychoactive, hallucinogenic effects. Anecdotally, many users report taking the drug to attain spiritual insight. Scientific data suggests its effects on the brain might mimicTrusted Source those of a near-death experience.

Research from the 2021 Global Drug Survey found that 7.4% of respondents reported microdosing with DMT. Microdosing is the practice of taking small doses of a drug to promote insight and creative thinking.

Participants reported a lifetime use of 8.9%, with 4.3% reporting use during the last year. Data from this survey indicates use has increased over time, with usage rates similar to methamphetamine.

 

The main effect of DMT is psychological, with intense visual and auditory hallucinations, euphoria, and an altered sense of space, body, and time.

 

Many users describeTrusted Source profound, life changing experiences such as visiting other worlds, talking with alien entities known as “DMT elves” or “machine elves,” and total shifts in the perception of identity and reality.

When smoked, DMT produces brief yet intense visual and auditory hallucinations that some users describe as an alternate reality, otherworldly, or a near-death experience.

 

DMT users frequently claim that it has fewer side effects than other psychedelic drugs, but this is a difficult claim to measure and quantify.

increased heart rate

increased blood pressure

chest pain or tightness

agitation

dilated pupils

rapid rhythmic movements of the eye

dizziness

 

When taken orally, DMT can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

 

 

Depending on the individual user, the DMT experience can range from intensely exciting to overwhelmingly frightening.

The experience can be so powerful that users may have difficulty processing and integrating the “trip” into real life. Because DMT can mimic a near-death experience, some people may find using the drug traumatic and upsetting.

Mental side effects may linger for many days or weeks after ingestion of the drug.