Mike Tyson: How A Drug Derived From Toad Venom Made Him Comfortable With Dying

Besides being one of the most intimidating human beings ever to step into the boxing ring, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is also in the process of becoming a master at the art of dying. He’s had years of training to get there—as well as the help of a creature called the Sonoran Desert Toad that secretes a venom containing the psychedelic substance 5-MeO-DMT, which is widely agreed to be the most potent psychoactive drug on the planet.

Last weekend at the Wonderland conference in Miami—the largest psychedelic medicine business event ever—Tyson described his trips on the toad (he’s had over 50 of them) and how over the past five years the substance has improved his life in myriad ways.

“I ‘died’ during my first trip,” Tyson told the New York Post. “In my trips, I’ve seen that death is beautiful. Life and death both have to be beautiful, but death has a bad rep. The toad has taught me that I’m not going to be here forever. There’s an expiration date.”

Ingestion of toad venom is typically performed through gathering venomous secretions, drying them and vaporizing. Effects are reported to be fast and furious. Onset happens within seconds and lasts on average 15 to 20 minutes. Users report an ego loss or “ego death” similar to Tyson’s experiences. Shortly after use, participants tend to be completely lucid and back to normal states—a highlight of 5-MeO-DMT, which is easily metabolized in the body.

Tyson not only credits the toad with providing him insight into his own inevitable end but it has also expanded his horizons in business. “It has made me more creative and helps me focus,” he said. “I’m more present as a businessman and entrepreneur.”

Tyson may also be seen as a visionary, several years ahead of the growing amount of attention from pharmaceutical interests looking to capitalize on 5-MeO-DMT as a drug to treat mental health issues.

One frontrunner is GH Research PLC (GHRS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company out of Ireland that went public this year with a current total capital raise of $315 million. The company has been steadily moving through clinical trials to prove that their proprietary inhalable formulation of 5-MeO-DMT can help individuals with treatment-resistant depression.

“I’m fighting for psychedelics to become medicine you can buy over the counter,” Tyson said. “I’m not finished. I want to do more. I want to be the best I can be in this field.”

While a powerful drug like toad venom is unlikely to be sold in the likes of Walgreens or CVS anytime soon in the U.S., Tyson’s message about how the substance changed him for the better is certainly worth noting. And the fact that big money has entered the game looking to create proprietary 5-MeO-DMT formulations is no small event.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash