I have travelled to many places, observed strange rituals, lived off the land and eaten just about anything edible. Except for bugs and spiders. I draw the line there. I use both Nature’s signs, computers, and technology to come up with my thoughts on what the weather is going to do.
Much of my natural knowledge came from living among my Native American close friends for a couple of years. The times spent among the Oglala Lakota and the Ojibway or Chippewa tribes gave me invaluable experiences to be able to live comfortably in nature if the need ever arises. Recently, a friend, I’ll call him “Bill”, and I had a discussion about weather. He told me some of the Native American tribes would be able to tell the weather future by licking toads. I told him I had never heard of that and that I thought he was jerking my chain. Still, he insisted that it was true and has mentioned it to me about doing a blog post on it. I have done my research and I found that NO Native American tribe practices this.
So here is my post. First, let me say that this is not for the faint of heart, and please do not consider this post any sort of advice to give it a try. In other words, do not attempt this at home. So what are we to make of toad sucking, licking, squeezing, smoking and snorting? Humans will tinker with their brains any way possible, and are willing to try things that boggle the imagination. As evidence of this truth, look at toad sucking. This is not a metaphor. Toad sucking is a real activity, not an urban myth. It is exactly described. You pick up a toad, insert part of it into your mouth, and suck. But it’s not just any toad that gets sucked, and the toad sucking has a surprising payoff.
There’s no clear history of when this practice took off. But one thing is for certain—toad sucking can be serious…even deadly business. There have been deaths reported as the result of people attempting to get high from cane toad poison. Toad licking has long been recognized as a stupid, risky way to try to get high. But do you know the biochemistry that determines how stupid and risky it actually is, and how high you could get. Let's squeeze some toads. 
The first problem with toad licking is that it isn't just any toad that will get you high.
The most famous culprit — one that has sent a lot of dogs on bad trips — is the cane toad. It and its general family, the family bufonidae, will secrete the stuff that can be sniffed, injected, or ingested to get people hallucinating. The stuff itself is called 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine. The chemical gets into the body and acts as a serotonin agonist, binding to serotonin receptors and releasing a lot of the feel-good substance into the body. People who take 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine report a full-body rush and powerful hallucinations…. As it's not much in the toad's interest to get people high, it secretes some other stuff as well.
One of the chemicals it secretes probably could be used to treat people medically. It's a cardiotoxic steroid which is a close cousin to digitalis, the chemical produced by the foxglove. Digitalis is used to treat people with irregular heartbeats. Its use is carefully calibrated, as there isn't much difference between a dose that saves a person's life and a dose that kills them (toads are not known for their mastery of pharmacology). A toad's version of the toxin releases massive bursts of adrenalin in the person or animal that ingests it; the adrenalin first increases the heart rate and then causes fibrillation. Enough of the toxin causes irregular heartbeat, seizures, and death.
Just as a bonus, toads secrete substances that weaken muscles and cause extreme nausea, too. So the overall effect of toad licking can cause a person to have vivid hallucinations, a racing heart, and muscles too weak to carry their constantly-vomiting body to the bathroom, let alone the hospital. The concoction produced in Bufo toad glands not only contains a hallucinogen, but a mix of other agents designed to make predators sick. Dogs oddly enough seem to fare reasonably well, though they can get terrifically spaced out.
For people, the best advice is to let toad-sucking remain the stuff of legend, and forget about trying it yourself. Just say no to toad! I hope this settles the toad licking question for Bill. Feel free to comment and be sure to hit the “Like” button at the end of this post.
