Mike Tyson says that he ‘died’ after smoking toad venom, an increasingly popular psychedelic drug that has been used by celebrities including HGTV star Christina Haack and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

Tyson, the 57-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion-turned cannabis entrepreneur, said he has ingested the venom more than 50 times. There have been days he has smoked it as much as three times.

Toad venom is an illegal Schedule 1 substance in the United States – meaning that the federal government considers it without medical value but one with a high potential for abuse.

Proponents of toad venom, including Hunter Biden and Haack, said it has profound spiritual and health benefits. Biden, whose history of drug abuse has long been documented, credits toad venom with helping him stay sober.

Other Schedule 1 substances include marijuana, heroin, LSD, ecstasy and magic mushrooms.

Mike Tyson (pictured in Las Vegas on November 5) says that he ‘died’ after smoking toad venom – a drug he has used more than 50 times since first being introduced to it four years ago

‘Bufo toad’, commonly known as Colorado River toad or the Sonoran Desert toad, secretes a substance that can be used to achieve a psychedelic high

Toad venom is an increasingly popular psychedelic drug whose benefits have been touted by celebrities including President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter (left), and HGTV star Christina Haack (seen right with realtor fiance Josh Hall)

Schedule 1 drugs are effectively illegal nationwide, though toad venom can legally be smoked in Canada and Mexico.

Since taking ‘the toad,’ Tyson has traveled across the country to preach the gospel of psychedelic drugs while selling .

‘It has made me more creative and helps me focus,’ he said. ‘I’m more present as a businessman and entrepreneur.’

Tyson’s business ventures include two brands of cannabis under his Tyson Ranch brand name. One line of products is called ‘Toad’, though it doesn’t include actual venom. Instead, it is inspired by his experiences taking the drug.

Iron Mike said he was 100 pounds overweight, drinking, and taking narcotics including cocaine four years ago when a friend recommended that he start using toad venom.

‘I “died” during my first trip,’ Tyson, 57, tells 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.’

The toad is a reference to the species Bufo Alvarius, or ‘bufo toad.’ Historically, the venom was ingested by licking the poisonous amphibian’s back. Now, however, it is available as a smokeable ‘dust’-like substance.

The psychoactive material is collected when the toad comes out of hibernation, which can last from as early as September to as late as June, depending on the altitude and latitude.

The poison-secreting gland is milked and the venom is collected and dried. It is then converted into a powdery crystal that can be smoked.

Tyson’s business ventures include two brands of cannabis under his Tyson Ranch brand name

‘Bufo toad’ is commonly known as Colorado River toad or the Sonoran Desert toad and is found across northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

The animal secretes a powerful venom which contains the psychotropic compound 5-MeO-DMT, a chemical which induces a high with ‘warm sensation, euphoria, and strong visual and auditory hallucinations’

The secretion also contains the chemical bufotenin, which also occurs in some plants and mushrooms.

Bufotenin has been outlawed in California since 1970. It is also illegal to possess Colorado river toads in several states.

Tyson has said that toad venom made him feel ‘like you die and you’re reborn.’

‘I did it as a dare,’ Tyson told the Post. ‘I was doing heavy drugs like cocaine, so why not? It’s another dimension.

‘Before I did the toad, I was a wreck. The toughest opponent I ever faced was myself.

‘I had low self-esteem. People with big egos often have low self-esteem. We use our ego to subsidize that.

‘The toad strips the ego.’

The former champ is so enamored with toad venom that he built an entire nursery of the four-legged creatures at his Southern California ranch.

‘People see the difference [in me],’ he said.

‘It speaks for itself. If you knew me in 1989 you knew a different person.

‘My mind isn’t sophisticated enough to fathom what happened, but life has improved.

‘The toad’s whole purpose is to reach your highest potential. I look at the world differently.

‘We’re all the same. Everything is love.’

Toad venom could ease depression and anxiety through mood-boosting ‘mystical experiences’

The venom of the homely Colorado River Toad (pictured) contains 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic compound that reduced anxiety and depression symptoms for 80 percent of those who tried it

A psychedelic compound from toad venom is among the latest promising treatment for anxiety and depression, a 2019 study revealed.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University said that the ‘mystical experience’ of the compound, called 5-MeO-DMT, may actually be a quick-acting way to reduce the symptoms of crippling mental health problems.

In the last several years, scientists have been increasingly focusing on psychedelics like psilocybin and ketamine as potential treatments for anxiety, depression and PTSD because the drugs require only short sessions to work.

The compound 5-MeO-DMT is the latest experimental drug to be investigated as a possible therapy for people who don’t respond to more traditional treatments.

For decades, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD, ketamine and DMT have been used recreationally by people searching for meaning and mystical experiences.

But now scientists think that hippies and club kids might be onto something – if the drugs are used properly, in controlled settings and in conjunction with talk therapy.

One of the issues facing people struggling with mental illness is that relief is never instantaneous.

Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are proven to work – best when they’re taken in tandem with therapy – but it can take weeks, even months, for their effects to set in.

And nearly half of depressed patients (45 percent) are ‘treatment resistant,’ meaning that the drugs don’t work.

The standard recommendation for next-steps is to up the dosage, add on more drugs or try a different drug.

That means starting the waiting game over, or risking broader-sweeping effects.

Many patients wind up in a seemingly endless cycle of trial-and-error treatment with little to no relief.

Psychedelics have a different pharmacology from pharmaceutical drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Instead, they act instantly, on different receptors, and only for a short while. Their effects can lead to a sense of self-exploration and work as a sort of ‘reset’ for the brain.

Clinical trials of psilocybin and ketamine for depression and PTSD treatments, respectively, are already underway, and Dr Alan Davis of Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Unit said he wants to keep exploring additional psychedelics.

Namely, 5-MeO-DMT.

The compound can be taken from the poison that the homely Colorado River Toad uses to defend itself from predators, or made synthetically.

Some have referred to 5-MeO-DMT as the ‘god molecule,’ and is estimated to be four- to seven-times more powerful than the related DMT.

The drug acts on the brain’s serotonin system too, but in a very different way from traditional antidepressants, producing hallucinogenic effects (such as seeing intricate patterns and fractals).

The 2019 study is Dr Davis’s initial exploration of the drug, and simply surveyed people who had used it in a (relatively) controlled setting.

The study establishes that as being in a group ritualistic setting, in a predetermined dose, with guidance and support before, during and after taking it.

5-MeO-DMT lasts just an hour to an hour-and-a-half, and about 80 percent of the 362 survey respondents said that even after those short ‘trips’ they felt less anxious and depressed.

And the more ‘mystical’ their experiences were, the more effective people said 5-MeO-DMT was at reducing they symptoms of their anxiety or depression.

For 80 percent of the study participants, 5-MeO-DMT was at least among the top five most meaningful experiences of their lives.

Although some people did experience ‘challenging’ elements of a psychedelic trip, such as physical discomfort or paranoia, this didn’t seem to make any difference in whether or not 5-MeO-DMT improved their anxiety and depression.

It’s far too soon to say for sure that the toad poison psychedelic will be hitting pharmacy shelves, but Dr Davis is eager to explore its possibilities, given what a high percentage of people who tried it found relief.

‘It is important to examine the short- and long-term effects of 5-MeO-DMT, which may enhance mood in general or may be particularly mood enhancing for those individuals experiencing clinically significant negative mood,’ he said.

‘Regardless, this research is in its infancy and further investigation is warranted in healthy volunteers.’