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Save the toads

Lexston Announces a Memorandum of Understanding to Collabborate on Psychedelics Research and Development With Alvarius Research Inc.

Did you know that potent psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin come from the venom of the Colorado River Toad? 

With growing demand to study these compounds and increased recreational use, wild populations of the toad are threatened in some areas.

Alvarius Research Inc. recently developed a toad conservation program to address this issue. The company is also collaborating with Egret Bioscience to develop synthetic “toad-free” versions of the compounds.

A 7-year-old toad in the program named Little Buddha

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Psychedelics → power?

Psychedelic-laced beer may have helped this ancient South American empire rule

An ancient South American empire called the Wari Empire may have used a hallucinogenic beer to maintain its power.

The Wari people brewed a beer-like drink with seeds from the vilca tree, which contain a psychedelic compound called bufotenin (one of the substances found in toad venom!). 

Archeologists believe that Wari leaders served the drink at feasts to strengthen social connections with guests from surrounding regions. Guests likely had a euphoric or spiritual experience, compelling them to “acknowledge the power of their hosts or feel the need to owe them a favor in the future,” explains one archeology expert. 

Could this be why the empire maintained political control for hundreds of years? 🤔

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