A synthetic version, known as pharmahuasca is a combination of an appropriate MAOI and typically DMT.

In this usage, the DMT is generally considered the main psychoactive active ingredient, while the MAOI merely preserves the psychoactivity of orally ingested DMT, which would otherwise be destroyed in the gut before it could be absorbed in the body.

Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

However, brews made using DMT containing plants are illegal since DMT is a Schedule I drug.

DMT is broken down by the digestive enzyme monoamine oxidase through a process called deamination, and is therefore inactive if taken orally unless combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor ( MAOI ).

The traditional South American ayahuasca, or yage, is a beverage derived by boiling the Ayahuasca vine ( Banisteriopsis caapi ) with leaves of one or more plants containing DMT, such as Psychotria viridis, Psychotria carthagenensis, or Diplopterys cabrerana.

5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic drug structurally similar to N, N-DMT, is sometimes referred to as DMT through abbreviation.

As a white, crystalline solid, it is also similar in appearance to DMT.

Psychologically, the DMT experience can be overly-intense, potentially causing overwhelming fear and difficulty integrating experiences if one is not mentally prepared.

Furthermore, due to the intense nature of the experience, DMT is generally considered to have no addiction potential.

This risk is more prevalent with DMT, as DMT is more intense than normal psychedelics.

Several speculative and yet untested hypotheses suggest that endogenous DMT is produced in the human brain and is involved in certain psychological and neurological states.

A new hypothesis proposed is that in addition to being involved in altered states of consciousness, endogenous DMT may be involved in the creation of normal waking states of consciousness.

It is proposed that DMT and other endogenous hallucinogens mediate their neurological abilities by acting as neurotransmitters at a sub class of the trace amine receptors ; a group of receptors found in the CNS where DMT and other hallucinogens have been shown to have activity.

' Basing his reasoning on his belief that all the enzymatic material needed to produce DMT is found in the pineal gland ( see evidence in mammals ), and moreover in substantially greater concentrations than in any other part of the body, Strassman ( p. 69 ) has speculated that DMT is made in the pineal gland.

Structurally, it is an analog of the naturally occurring neuro-active alkaloids dimethyltryptamine ( DMT ), bufotenine, and 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine, with an N-methyl sulfonamidomethyl-group at position C-5 on the indole ring.

DMT is found naturally in various natural sources, and is related to human neurotransmitters such as serotonin and melatonin.

DMT occurs naturally in the human body and is speculated to be released at the time of death, but it is normally digested in the stomach if consumed and an MAOI ( monoamine oxidase inhibitor ), in this case tetrahydroharmine, harmine and harmaline, is needed to allow it to reach the brain in this way, thus the use of the vine.

Yet another candidate is DMT, a psychoactive agent occurring in many wild plants of the Mediterranean, including Phalaris and / or Acacia.

This inhibition of MAO-A allows DMT to diffuse unmetabolized past the membranes in the stomach and small intestine, and eventually cross the blood – brain barrier ( which, by itself, requires no MAO-A inhibition ) to activate receptor sites in the brain.

In addition, Jurema ( Mimosa tenuiflora ) shows evidence of DMT content: the pink layer in the inner rootbark of this small tree contains a high concentration of N, N-DMT.

The leaves and bark also contain small amounts of DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and related compounds.

Upon entering the REM stage of sleep, minute amounts of DMT are most likely released into the bloodstream after one has fallen asleep.

A biochemical mechanism for this was proposed by the medical researcher J. C. Callaway, who suggested in 1988 that DMT might be connected with visual dream phenomena: brain DMT levels would be periodically elevated to induce visual dreaming and possibly other natural states of mind.

Dr Strassman's studies aimed to investigate the effects of N, N-dimethyltryptamine ( DMT ), a powerful entheogen, or psychedelic, that he hypothesizes is produced by the human brain in the pineal gland.

In this view, if MAOI is neither present in the plant nor added to the mixture, the enzyme MAO will break apart DMT in the human gut, preventing the active molecule from entering blood and brain.

In 2011, Nicholas V. Cozzi, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, concluded that INMT, an enzyme that may be associated with the biosynthesis of DMT and endogenous hallucinogens, is present in the human pineal gland, retinal ganglion neurons, spinal cord, and central nervous tissues.

In an article published in The Journal of Mental Science ( now the British Journal of Psychiatry ) in 1958 under the title “ Dimethyltryptamine Experiments with Psychotics ”, researcher Stephen Szara ( the chemist who first studied the human effects of DMT ) talked about how one of his subjects under the influence of DMT had experienced “ strange creatures, dwarves or something ” at the beginning of the trip.

During the project's five years, he administered approximately 400 doses of DMT to 60 human volunteers.

Of the 60 human volunteers who've ingested DMT under Strassman's watch, more than half reported similar experiences.

One of the active compounds of Hoasca is DMT, which is produced by the human body and in many plants.

These invasive grasses contain low levels of DMT and other alkaloids.

Induced DMT experiences can include profound time-dilation, visual and auditory illusions, and other experiences that, by most firsthand accounts, defy verbal or visual description.

Similar to other psychedelic drugs, there are relatively few physical side effects associated with DMT acute exposure.

In the 1950s, the endogenous production of psychoactive agents was considered to be a potential explanation for the hallucinatory symptoms of some psychiatric diseases as the transmethylation hypothesis ( see also adrenochrome ), though this hypothesis does not account for the natural presence of endogenous DMT in otherwise normal humans, rats and other laboratory animals.

The other is Mimosa tenuiflora, which is best known for its use in shamanic ayahuasca brews due to the psychedelic drug DMT found in its root bark.

Ayahuasca, which contains the powerful psychedelic DMT, is used in Peru and other parts of South America for spiritual and physical healing as well as in religious festivals.

Bad trip ( or psychedelic crisis ) is a disturbing experience sometimes associated with use of a psychedelic drug such as LSD, Salvinorin A, DXM, mescaline, psilocybin, cannabis, DMT and sometimes even other drugs including alcohol and MDMA.

The MAOIs in B. caapi allow the primary psychoactive compound, DMT ( which is introduced from the other primary ingredient in ayahausca, the Psychotria viridis plant ), to be orally active.

A recent court case involving caapi-containing ayahuasca ( which also contains other plants containing the controlled substance DMT, introduced from the Psychotria viridis plant ), Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, was found in favor of the União do Vegetal, a Brazilian religious sect using the tea in their ceremonies and having around 130 members in the United States.

While the Indians themselves attribute the properties of the drink Ayahuasca to B. caapi, this is not the common scientific view ; the MAOIs present in the B. caapi instead allow the extremely psychedelic ingredients in other plants added to the brew, noticeably plants containing DMT, to be activated and produce an intense experience.

Especially when using a short-acting substance such as smoked DMT or Salvia divinorum, it may be possible for two people to take turns, with one being the sitter while the other takes the psychedelic.

DMT is practiced in places such as mental health rehabilitation centers, medical and educational settings, nursing homes, day care facilities, and other health promotion programs .< ref >“ Who was Marian Chace ?,” American Dance Therapy Association, < http :// www. adta. org / resources / chace_bio. cfm >.</ ref > This form of therapy which is taught in a wide array of locations goes farther than just centering the body.

< http :// cancer. org / doctoor / MIT / content / MIT_2_3X_Dance_Therapy. asp >.</ ref > In 1966 Chace became the first president of the American Dance Therapy Association, an organization which she and several other DMT pioneers founded.

Although DMT is promoted to reduce stress and center the body, this therapy is very effective in helping to heal other disabilities and diseases.

As mentioned above, some harmala alkaloids can be used as an MAOI ( MonoAmine Oxidase Inhibitor ) to facilitate the ingestion of DMT and other tryptamines ; while not generally used as a hallucinogen alone, there are reports of such use.