There’s one drug that stands out amongst the rest. People talk about it like they would an urban legend or ancient myth. That drug is DMT — aka N,N-Dimethyltryptamine. I do not claim to be an expert on the subject and I won’t bore you with details about where it comes from or how to make it. What I will tell you is how to smoke it and what it does. Keep in mind however, that this is all subjective and that drugs affect different people in different ways. And due to the inconsistency of its effects from person to person, I ask that no one take this article as an endorsement. Neither I, nor the Daily Nexus, nor the university endorse drug use. This article is purely for entertainment.

Anyway, the DMT I’ve seen has always been white and crystallized — usually conglomerated into little rocks. I’ve heard of people using an oil-burner (a.k.a meth pipe) to smoke it, but I’ve always just used a standard bong (pipes and bubblers also work). Take a little bit of weed and stick it in your bowl. Then take a little bit of powdered DMT and sprinkle it over the weed. The dosing can be a little tricky if you’re not used to it, so it’s best to have someone you trust dose it for you. One should start with a small portion just to be safe. To smoke it, hold the lighter about three quarters of an inch above the bowl and inhale slowly. The DMT should melt, without burning, into the weed. Now gradually bring the lighter closer to the bowl until the weed starts to singe. It’s important not to torch the DMT directly, because the excessive heat can burn some of the alkaloids up (DMT needs to vaporize). Slowly pull the smoke into your lungs and hold it in for as long as you can.

Now, this shit will make you trip balls. And I mean really trip balls. Patterns, figures, colors, exploding over your eyelids. Your body feels like its melting straight into the ground and your mind’s whirring so fast you can’t keep track of your own thoughts — your mind is essentially outrunning your consciousness. If you open your eyes you’ll see that everything is coated with endlessly morphing patterns of color and shapes. The world opens up into some twisted psychedelic manifestation of Dali. Animals will form from the ground and walk around before evaporating, looking as clear and real as anything else. Well, all this shit happens for about five to ten minutes until you come down; and the high fades just as quickly as it came. One second you’re flying through a wormhole in your head, the next you’re lying on your back with your heart beating so fast you’d think you spent the last four hours fucking.

However, the trip I described above happens only with what I, and my fellow enthusiasts, would call a “breakthrough dose.” A lot of the people I meet seem to share a common misconception about DMT: Every time you do it, you trip crazy hard. Tons of people tell me “Naw, man. That shit sounds too crazy. I’m just going to stick with mushrooms.” But, just like every other drug on this planet, a small dose equals a light trip. If you just put a little pinch of it on your bowl, you will feel little more than a nice head high and maybe some slight visual distortions for about five minutes or so. A slightly bigger pinch results in some shapes and patterns that distort your vision, all the while feeling a floating or perhaps melting sensation. DMT can actually be quite a mild drug if the doses are portioned right, or if smaller hits are taken.

I will conclude with this: DMT is actually not as insane as people make it out to be. You can’t overdose on it, however, don’t take that as a challenge. Also, I’ve never heard of anyone experiencing any harmful and/or lasting side-effects. I’ve smoked DMT about thirty times in my life and I’m sure my one-a-day Costco hotdog diet has had a vastly more negative impact on my health. And, unlike acid or ’shrooms, if you take too large of a dose you don’t have to worry about freaking out for six hours straight. Not only does DMT last about 10 minutes or less, but the harder you’re tripping, the less you move, therefore you are less likely to hurt yourself. Contrary to popular belief, I think DMT is the psychedelic people should try FIRST. It’s easy to take light doses, you can’t overdose, and even if you hate the trip or it’s freaking you out, there’s nothing to worry about because it will be over before you know it. DMT is a drug of variability, providing both an easy-in for neophytes, and a powerful challenge for even the most courageous of psychonauts. It is the perfect psychedelic — a high so incredible and unique that even the most far-reaching imagination couldn’t begin to fathom its power and beauty.