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I've attached fourthripley's PDF doc "On processing Phalaris; some notes" from the DMT Nexus (relevant thread is linked below) for anyone here that wants access to it. I think you may need to be a DMT Nexus member and logged in to access it via the Nexus.

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=28869

Hey dude,

I'm good thank you. And yes I do mean a glass oil/meth type pipe (see attached photo). The flame should be in contact with the pipe. 5-MeO hcl requires a bit more heat to vapourise than 5-MeO freebase, and I think there is a fairly narrow temperature range between it vapourising and it burning. 5-MeO hcl is great for all other ROA's, but 5-MeO freebase is better for vaping...it's not hard to convert hcl into freebase, so that would be a suggestion, depending on how you get on. I've not got any experience vapourising 5-MeO hcl (only freebase or Bufo secretion), I think you will need to experiment with the lighter and vary the distance between it and the pipe...with the aim of vapourising it without burning it.

Hi Flux,

This is an interesting topic, thanks for providing some further reading on this. I do think there is something to this kundalini stuff, and that the yogi's are on to something. I'm not claiming to have personal experience with it although I have experienced different facets of what I would consider my bioenergetic system. And it is this system as you point out that 5-MeO-DMT seems to work with, in a highly specific manner compared to other psychedelics. So I've long pondered a potential link between kundalini and 5-MeO-DMT. Also quite interesting to note that endogenous 5-MeO humans has been detected in cerebrospinal fluid, and textbook kundalini rising symptoms are the feeling of the energy moving up the spine (not claiming there is a connection, I just thought it was interesting). If there is a potential neurochemical link between the experience of kundalini and endogenous compounds, 5-MeO-DMT is an interesting potential candidate (given its profound potency compared to N,N-DMT).

I thought Indian yogi/mystic/writer Gopi Krishna's eloquent account of his full kundalini awakening experience sounded very familiar with respect to the 5-MeO experience:

"The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider surrounded by waves of light. It grew wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, normally the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all consciousness without any outline, without any idea of corporeal appendage, without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea of light simultaneously conscious and aware at every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction. I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined to a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exultation and happiness impossible to describe."

...sounds familiar, no? The experience of light, and waves of light, the loss of contact with the physical body, the experience of boundless, bodiless consciousness, a state of exultation and bliss...there a number of interesting overlaps with a full release/breakthrough dose of 5-MeO.

Now one thing you tend to hear from yogi's into kundalini yoga and other forms of yoga that work with this kundalini energy is that it takes a great deal of preparation and purification, and guidance is required in order for one to awaken their kundalini safely. An analogy sometimes used is that trying to awaken kundalini before one's system is ready for it is akin to try forcing far more voltage through a bulb than it can handle...you need to tune up the electrical circuitry with practices and under guidance so you don't get any short circuits with all that excess energy going into one's system. I'm not sure to what degree this is outdated dogma, and to what degree it is true and sage advice (I've heard a few believable accounts of people suffering side effects from practicing kundalini yoga and having to cease their practice so I think there may be something to this)...it would be good to have a yogi or two chime in here. But kundalini syndrome (the side effects of a kundalini awakening gone wrong) or symptoms like them rarely seem to be reported by 5-MeO experiencers...so I'm wondering if they are different even if they overlap to a fair degree.

It would be really interesting to hear from someone who practices kundalini or other forms of esoteric yoga for their perspective. This is the perspective of a Nexian who has experience with N,N-DMT, an NDE and kundalini yoga, and he felt there was a great deal of overlap between them:

"In my life so far I've had an NDE, smoked DMT, and also had brief insights through Kundalini yoga (which I had to stop), interestingly enough they were all very similar experiences with similar visuals, emotional states and thoughts."

Also this I believe is relevant here, the words of another Nexian who may be a member here, who had an accidental dose of 30mg 5-MeO-DMT via IV (being under the impression it was N,N-DMT). This induced a hybrid experience somewhere between a very heavy 5-MeO experience and a classical NDE. The relevant part here is the after effects he experienced:

"The after effects are one of the most striking things about it. I want to know why that happens. Is there some kind of metabolite; like nor-ibogaine that sticks around for a while active in the system? Or is it some kind of "subtle body" effect, ala kundalini, that although still un-measurable, unquestionably exists if it can be stimulated through a drug! I felt like I was "downloaded' upon coming down instantly with a knowledge of the 'technology' of yoga. The way and reason that pranayama, asanas, and mudras work in conjunction with one another to manipulate energies within the body to become a circuit for subtle energy. However, with no real practical knowledge, my experiments put me on the verge of insanity I felt and I had to stop. At one point, I regressed into the mind of a mouse along my ancestral line right after the extinction of the dinosaurs trying to figure out what to eat and how to survive. That was typical day in the weeks after the experience."

An interesting topic for sure...thanks for all the linked resources I'm going to check them out. 

Thank you very much for sharing this excellent information, HumbleVoyager!  You do a great service to the community. I am highly intrigued about the IM ROA and do hope to try this myself sometime in the near future, it sounds like a great way of working with 5-MeO.

HostilisHead - high purity synthetic 5-MeO hcl is the best form of 5-MeO to use for IM injection. If you went with organic 5-MeO it would need to be of very high purity (and in salt form) and would likely require analytical testing to confirm this prior to use to be on the safe side.

In the dream I put a oil burner pipe/meth pipe filled with 5-meo-dmt to my face and took a large inhalation, and immediately slumped backwards onto my back.
At that point I entered into a profound, transcendent experience of immense power and force.
I saw brilliant green fractals and my vision exploded and I almost immediately after experienced myself as the unending, infinite universe expanding in all directions and stretching into infinity.
I do not remember how long that state of awareness lasted, as time was completely irrelevant at that point.
However it seemed to be over in an instant, but during the experience it seemed like it lasted forever.
I awoke soon after and couldn't believe what had just transpired.
This dream experience now has me wanting to try 5-meo-dmt more than ever.
I see the dream as an auspicious sign.
I just don't know when I should begin my experimentations with 5-meo-dmt.
Hopefully I try this very soon, I still have a nice amount of it which I have not touched yet.
Thanks for reading.

Fascinating! When I clicked on this thread, I assumed it was someone describing 5-MeO's effect on their dreaming...after my own breakthrough experiences earlier this year, I experienced some very vivid 5-MeO themed dreams for some time after the experiences (I still dream about in occasion) as well as some very vivid reactivation experiences during the night.

Your 5-MeO dream experience very closely aligns with my own breakthrough 5-MeO experiences earlier this year...that experience of one's vision exploding (for me it was into white light fractals...which seems to be common...as opposed to green light), experiencing oneself as an unending infinite universe expanding in all directions into infinity (this PRECISELY aligns with what I experienced), in a timeless state of eternity beyond or outside linear time (again, In know exactly what you mean)...I experienced all of this! So I find it fascinating how your dreaming mind was able to concoct an experience that sounds so similar. This becomes all the more mysterious when we keep in mind that 5-MeO is an endogenous compound and natural component of our biochemistry.

Personally, I am in agreement with you, my hunch is that this is an auspicious sign, it seems like the molecule wanted to introduce itself to you. This is special! I've heard of psychedelic teacher plants appearing in people's dreams before they experience them for real, but this is the first case I've encountered of what really sounds like the essence of 5-MeO specifically showing up and making its presence known. I myself have had a similar experience...exactly two weeks before my first ever kambo experience, I had a very vivid dream shortly before waking where I encountered a tree frog that jumped onto myself and my mum and started giving us little frog kisses, which I thought was strange, even for a dream! Skip forward to my kambo session two weeks later, and the kambo practitioner leading the sessions says the opening line of the kambo prayers..."The kambo frog will kiss you...".

PLEASE chime in here, if you wish, if and when you experience 5-MeO for real...I would be very intrigued to hear how you find the real experience compared to your dream experience.

Happy exploring fellow traveller...onwards!! 

I shared this on the DMT Nexus forum, a few queries and concerns about this project from Nexian SnozzleBerry. Are you able to comment on any of this LogosOne?

At the risk of being a Debbie Downer (yet again), is there more information on this project? I haven't delved too deeply, but here are a few things that stand out to me right off the bat.

1) The funding request states "The Terra Incognita Project is now seeking funding for a second-stage study on the sustainability of the Bufo Alvarius (Alvarius Incilius) toad in the Sonoran desert of Arizona (building on data from our 2016 Mexican study)."

However, it then states "Funds raised will directly go towards logistical support for researchers to undertake this pilot study in August, 2017 and for analysis of skin and water samples of toads and their habitat."

So it sounds like the funds are going towards paying researchers and covering analytical costs. I'm personally unclear on what the analysis of "skin and water samples of toads and their habitats" has to do with understanding the sustainability of the toad in question. Actually, I'm rather unclear as to what it means to "study on the sustainability of the Bufo Alvarius (Alvarius Incilius) toad in the Sonoran desert of Arizona." Is this study focused on the sustainability of harvesting toads? Is this a study on ecological pressures on toads? It seems unclear from the information presented in this section of the write-up.

However, looking farther down in the write-up, it appears this is about "sustainable toad harvesting"...if such a thing is even possible. I'm curious as to why that isn't explicitly stated up front. Perhaps it was just an accidental omission? If so, it seems like a pretty glaring omission, to me.

Also, if this is the "second-stage" where is the information from the "first-stage?" Did I miss it?

2) The opening paragraphs here references a 2016 study. The TI website provides links to two "studies", however neither of them actually appears to be a "study" in the commonly-understood sense of the word, and neither of them appear to be peer-reviewed or published (which is fine, but does raise some questions). The 2016 writeup appears to be a loose abstract on "difficult reintegration experiences after receiving 5-MeO-DMT," and the 2015 writeup appears to be correspondence with an unknown chemist, relating the Nexus' critique of Octavio Rettig's claims re: bufo/5-meo conversions, and confirming the presence of 5-meo, but not bufo, in a sample of toad secretion.

I must say, I'm somewhat unclear as to how the proposed project builds on the 2016 investigation where TI

Quote:
...helped to facilitate treatment for an extreme case of trauma with one client who had smoked 5-MeO-DMT and reported symptoms of brain damage. Some of the reported behaviors and feelings included: high levels of anxiety, depersonalization, detachment, decreased motivation, and or memory difficulties.


My understanding is that EEG (especially EEG by itself) is not particularly reliable for providing meaningful data in the contexts it's being utilized, but I'm no expert. I do remember "Dr. Juan" receiving quite a bit of criticism when he attempted to share his EEG results at Psychedelic Science 2013. But either way, I'm not clear on the link between this write-up and the "sustainable harvesting" being presented as the current focus of TI.

3) I find myself a bit ill-at-ease when someone states they want something to "feel inclusive" or "feel communal" or "feel non-hierarchical" as it implies, to me, that the reality of the structure is different than the feeling. I understand some may view this as nit-picky, but if a hierarchical organization exists (or an organization with an established leadership/research team in place) I'm more interested in the mechanisms through which they are proposing horizontality and accountability, rather than what the organization "feels" like.

Through what means do stakeholders and community members have any control/influence/say over how the organization chooses to act? If the answer is "none" (or something along the lines of "we will take that into consideration"), it seems to me that the organization is more interested in the appearance, facade, or feeling, rather than the actuality of the matter at hand. That said, I'm not familiar with TI and don't know what framework (if any) they have in place to actually promote such a structure (but a facebook group is not a mechanism to that end, imo).

4) I see a lot of buzz words (and references to studies) that seem a bit light on content. I would be more interested in what their vision of toad harvesting looks like, rather than hearing their long-term goal is "sustainable harvesting" (especially as they drop the harvesting in their opening paragraphs). Given the controversy that erupted around Rettig at one point, as well as the lack of engagement with the whole bufo/5-meo conversion claims and critiques, I'm curious as to what the motivation is here.

If sustainable acquisition of 5-meo-dmt is the question at hand, why not fund synthesis efforts? Would that not be the least destructive to the toad? If the goal is bufotenin, yet there is no bufotenin in the secretions, why mess with the toad at all?

I'm not trying to bash this effort, but I think these are fairly significant/essential questions with regards to the institution at hand and efforts/goals presented.

No worries, I figured this could be helpful to people. Using the smaller "3mg" scoop, I noted only a 0.5mg variation in weights for both 5-MeO-DMT freebase and 5-MeO-DMT hcl. Personally, I would be comfortable with a 0.5mg variation. Slightly more variation of 0.8mg was noted for the larger "10-12mg" scoop, but the smaller "3mg" scoop in particular seems to me to be a worthy addition to any 5-MeOnauts medicine bag.

That's a good idea regarding the N,N-DMT, accurate dosing with it is still important obviously but not as critical as for 5-MeO-DMT, so I think the larger "10-12mg" scoop would be more useful in its case. I will repeat this when I have some N,N-DMT to hand.

Hey Rising Spirit,

Some interesting comparisons are made in this thread, not just in the opening post but further down comparing the two, I think it should be of interest.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Drugs/comments/9izqn/has_anyone_else_tried_both_dmt_and_5meodmt_heres/

If there is indeed something to chakras, I would definitely take the view that 5-MeO is a crown chakra medicine! My own breakthrough Bufo/5-MeO experiences very closely resemble Gopi Krishna's description of his kundalini awakening experience (but without the negative long term after effects he experienced).

There is a little overlap between 5-MeO-DMT and N,N-DMT but they are far more different than similar in experiential qualities, in my experience. A major difference is 5-MeO-DMT, at breakthrough dosage, reliably and consistently produces a non-dual experience, where there is no longer any gulf between observer and what is being observed. This state can occur through N,N-DMT but is much less common, whereas with a release dose of 5-MeO-DMT, it is pretty much a given. Rather than being a witness to what is unfolding, you are a part of the unfolding. 5-MeO much more reliably induces experiences of white light, oneness, unity and cosmic consciousness, and an experience that seems to much more resemble a near death experience in a content than a classical psychedelic experience (I view it as an atypical psychedelic). I find it very direct and consistent. N,N-DMT is much more visionary in quality and variable in content for me, often with an alien feel to it, whereas 5-MeO-DMT feels more universally cosmic. For myself, 5-MeO-DMT I find much more intoxicating, blissful and ecstatic than N,N-DMT which for me always feels clear, and serious in tone. My own subjective take is that while other psychedelics certainly produce expanded states, they also impart their own character or flavour onto the experience...5-MeO-DMT is in some way like being intoxicated on pure, unfiltered consciousness or awareness. 5-MeO-DMT is also a step above N,N-DMT in terms of raw power. 5-MeO-DMT reliably induces the classical mystical experiences described previously that Rick Strassman was expecting N,N-DMT to induce before he embarked on his research study with the latter.

[annihilation into truth-light.]

An excellent and important article Shy Violet, thank you for sharing.

It also reminded me of a discussion recently about Bufo Alvarius not 'needing' to produce 5-MeO because of the bio-availability of other bufotoxins it has to potentially deter predators and that it produces 5-MeO as a result of living underground for 9 months of the year and the relationship between 5-MeO and light.

This was idea was supported via way of testaments to darkness retreats invoking 5-MeO like states and the (somewhat speculative?) cascade relationship between melanin, melatonin, tryptophan, serotonin, pinoline and 5-MeO-DMT in the human brain.

Well the crux of idea was; that the Australian Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus) being so closely related to Bufo Alvarius could, if environmentally necessitated to hibernate underground... also begin to produce 5-MeO-DMT.

An exciting if not wild idea

thoughts most welcome

Just FYI (I do like your exciting and wild idea by the way), I've been in touch with someone who has his own pet captive bred Bufo alvarius toads...I appreciate toad keeping is rightfully discouraged, but captive bred toads at least are not impacting wild populations, and this person goes to great lengths to ensure that his toads are well looked after. (I've also been in touch with breeders here in the UK, who claims these toads do breed readily in captivity). While in the wild they will hibernate underground for much of the year, this is not the case in captivity, and it seems more out of necessity in the wild setting than anything else. This person uses toad secretion in ceremonies, for people's first 5-MeO experience only (he then goes onto use synthetic 5-MeO for subsequent sessions).

In his own words, based on his experience keeping toads:

It's a myth that toads in captivity give less secretion, low potency secretion or need to hibernate to give it all. Same myth as the licking toads' thing...

I have synthetic 5-MeO on hand, so I can say that their secretion (if not milked more than every 8 weeks and if they are fed enough) is VERY potent, I'd say more than the average of 20% it's more the max of 25% of overall material. A full dose (15mgs) is usually achieved with 70mgs toad secretion only.

That darkness-biochemical cascade theory subscribed to by some Taoist groups and others is mighty interesting indeed, but at this point in time is pure speculation...this is an area in dire need of some more research. Lindsey Vona's account of a two week darkness retreat makes for mighty interesting reading from a 5-MeO perspective though, and some of her experiences sound very reminiscent of 5-MeO experiences:

"At one point in my meditation, my head opened and flooded with light. I watched and felt this quiet bliss and gladness take over and noticed that my body became pure vibration."

"I was absorbed into this light, and this light became the entirety of space around me until I was only this giant, radiant light-filled void. I was real and home again and bigger than a trillion of our suns."

"I was a gigantic bigger-than-all-concept-of-universe radiant unending shimmering ball of light emanating perfect compassion forever without cause."

"Even my experiences of perceiving the maya, of perceiving emptiness and suchness throughout my whole "life as Lindsey" as a spiritual seeker could not come close to this total absorption into self-remembering perfection of total...er...uh...beyond words and description annihilation into truth-light." ...etc.

http://www.hopedance.org/home/awakenings/2051-lindsey-vona

...to me, that description of "annihilation into truth-light" just sounds like textbook 5-MeO! It makes me very intrigued about one day experiencing a darkness retreat.

[Practicing Death]

Interesting and well written article about an important issue that may be of interest.

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/practicing-death

Practicing Death

Marti was a bright, optimistic, attractive 40-year-old woman when she first entered a support group for cancer patients that I facilitated at the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Tiburon, California. It wasn't until a few years later that her illness wrought its devastation on her body and her spirit. During that time we had become friends, and she became interested in my shamanic work outside the center.

When her death was imminent, she became quite frightened and anxious. I shared with her my experiences with a psychedelic agent, 5-Methoxy Dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), with which I had been working for a number of years, and which might be helpful to her in dealing with her concerns and the challenges to come.

I told her it was a "spiritual medicine" from the Amazon, used shamanically by indigenous peoples there to contact the spirit world. Indigenous cultures typically use 5-MeO-DMT as a snuff, although on some occasions they use it as an admixture to ayahuasca. Rather than making a snuff, contemporary users prefer to vaporize extracts of 5-MeO from plants and inhale the smoke.

She became especially interested in it when I mentioned that I called it "death practice energy medicine" because it helped people work with the letting-go process, something she would face in the all-too-near future, and opened them up to the reality underlying the physical world — the world, as William Blake put it, where "energy is total delight."

My First Practice

The first time I took 5-MeO-DMT, I was with Terence McKenna in his home in Occidental with two other friends in 1985. I went first; I inhaled the smoke. When the medicine came on, time, space, and ordinary consciousness were totally obliterated.

At warp speed I shot down a hyperspace energy tunnel in full panic that this time I had gone too far — I was dying and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew I would never see my family again, never enjoy a sunrise, and never again walk in the mountains or forests that always filled me with joy. I tried to stretch my arms and legs out to the sides of the tunnel to slow down, but alas, I had no arms or legs. I had no body, just energy of what previously had been me, zooming toward infinity.

Realizing there was nothing I could do, I surrendered to my fate with the thought, I can't stop this, so I might as well be totally present and get as much from it as I can, right up until the moment when I die. At that precise instant, I went into a state of total bliss.

A gentle explosion of white-gold light evaporated all notions of past, present, future, shape, form, identity, and space. There was only infinite, pulsating "all-ness" of ecstatic energy — a cosmic organism of joy that just kept exploding into a sea of infinite emptiness, devoid of materiality but filled with love. This was the cosmic consciousness state referred to by the mystics of all religions around the world as god/goddess/holy spirit/the mysterium tremendum.

After 10 immeasurable minutes, parts of my psyche that had been blasted into the far reaches of the cosmos gradually began floating back into awareness. I could see sections of my ego identity slowly appear from the vast distances of far-off space, heading toward what was my body, lying there on the rug, beginning to recompose itself. After another 10 minutes I was back to baseline here but with a new relationship to death, to dying, to letting go.

The Peace-Filled Channel

I have been working with physical death in one way or another since my rude introduction into the teaching of impermanence, just months before my fourth birthday, when my father died. As an adult I received a Ph.D. in psychology and went on to help start the second hospice program in the United States. Then I helped start the Center for Attitudinal Healing, where I worked with children and adults with cancer for 32 years.

Over this time I sat bedside with numerous children and adults, witnessing their final moments. All too often I saw that anxiety and fear, along with a resistance to let go, created intense struggle for the departing person and increased anguish for attending family and friends. My job in being there, enlightened by my death-practice work with the energy medicine, was to serve as a labor coach, helping the natural letting-go process to happen as smoothly as possible, thereby birthing the person "back home" into the infinite cosmos from whence he came, an existence of pure consciousness, pure light, pure love.

My 5-MeO-DMT journey experience with letting go and entering cosmic bliss allowed me to remain peaceful no matter what was happening, as I knew that the key was surrendering into the underlying reality of oneness with all. Thus, I was able to be a peace-filled channel for the love and light that awaited each dying person when he finally did release. This function seemed to help the dying person, as well as others in the room, to feel more trustful of what was taking place and release into it with more peace and ease.

My experiences with other psychedelics (including peyote, psilocybin, and ayahuasca) and other life-threatened individuals over the years, and working with indigenous healers in Mexico and the Amazon, has repeatedly evidenced how the letting-go process with mind-altering substances — when used responsibly in supportive settings with experienced guides — allows the journeyer to exercise what I 63call the "surrender muscles." It creates an opportunity to do vital preparation work for the ultimate letting-go journey when physically dying by strengthening the letting-go process.

The Dynamics of Letting Go

A key dynamic for a fruitful and transformational psychedelic journey is releasing control and surrendering into mystery — and allowing the experience to unfold. In doing so, journeyers learn about the cartography of altered space; they learn about levels of consciousness and being beyond the physical self and the identity of ego. They experience an aspect of their being that is transcendent of whom and what they thought they were; they learn of the cosmic self. This experience not only brings more comfort and ease with the altered states that frequently accompany physical death, along with an ability to navigate within them, but it also provides a sense of inner peace and serenity.

The practice builds confidence that whatever is dying is okay, for they are about to enter a state of blissful oneness with all that has been, is now, and will forever be. Thus, they feel comforted that they will not be separated from the loved ones they seemingly are leaving behind. The practice suggests that the love they share does not die with their physical bodies, for they experience themselves as more than the physical containers that house their life spirit for the time of their life walk upon Mother Earth.

Marti, the cancer patient mentioned earlier, was eager to try the energy medicine after we talked about the experience and how it might prove helpful in defusing her fear and anxiety about death. We set up a time and safe setting, she arranged for a mutual friend to be there as an additional support person, and we went forward with our plan.

On the day of the journey, we met in her home. I first purified the site with sage smoke and invited Marti to set the stage for sacred space by placing her spiritual objects and pictures in a circle around her. I then invited her to speak her intentions for the journey and her gratitude, after which I said a prayer that used her spiritual notions of deity. Marti inhaled the smoke, held it for the required 45 seconds, and then collapsed backwards onto the pillows laid out for her journey.

Her eyes rolled backward in her head; her body shook uncontrollably. A blood-curdling scream roared from her mouth. Then she was totally still. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God," she mumbled. "Oh, my God. I can't believe it. I can't believe it." A gloriously serene smile appeared on her face, now softened in a way I had never seen before.

Marti lay peacefully on her back for another 20 minutes before she opened her eyes. Blinking, she looked at her friend and me, at the room, then back to me. "I saw God," she said. "I really did. I saw God. It was unbelievable, but it happened. Death is okay now. I know I will be okay, that I will be with God, with everyone. It's all love; it's all light. We are all together! Thank you, Tom. Thank you so much. I can't believe this medicine. What a gift. You have to share it with others!"

The Future of the Practice

Marti died peacefully one week after her energy medicine journey. I have seen similar results with scores of others, helping them ease their fear of death and dying and what happens after death. I can't help but believe how helpful this work could be with others who seek to exercise their surrender muscles in preparation for their physical death and/or for spiritually enhanced living.

The indigenous peoples with whom I have studied consider these agents as having a guiding and healing spirit, as being alive, a wisdom elder, a sacred sacramental gift from the spirit world. They must be approached only with the utmost respect, reverence, and humility. It is easy for our materially based, sensation-seeking culture to abuse these substances, and when that occurs, great harm can result. These substances are not for everyone. Most certainly they are contraindicated for people with high blood pressure, heart problems, seizure history, or those on any kind of psychoactive medications, as well as those suffering from any kind of mental illness. A trained guide who knows the territory also is necessary, along with a safe and secure setting, and creating sacred space in alignment with the journeyer's belief system and intentions.

It is my hope that federal regulations will allow these substances to be used responsibly by qualified practitioners, who can conduct research to validate the potential of these substances to create a sustainable world; one that is peaceful, loving, and just and that is built on the recognition brought forth by the journeys — that all of creation is interwoven in an invisible web of love that is truly the essence of our being.

Hey Xzen,

Thanks for chiming in here. Interesting the experience I described may have been some kind of cleansing alignment experience...this was quite a turbulent part of the experience, but in retrospect it seems like I could have been on the edge of experiencing some deeper form of transcendence.

And yes I definitely recommend the float tank experience. I have a feeling that post toad/5-MeO, when floating and using meditative and breathwork techniques, it could be a potentially interesting way of going about reactivating the state.

I had some really interesting 5-MeO-DMT related experiences over the weekend (without taking it). Earlier in the year, I had two release dose Bufo experiences with Dr Gerry, and I had a smaller vaped 5-MeO freebase experience quite recently that was less strong than my toad experiences but still spectacular. A few nights ago, I had a powerful and intense 5-MeO reactivation during the night, my most powerful yet. It was very much akin to being back in the experience for real, it was very powerful, if brief. I was staying in a cottage for the weekend in the stunning Scottish countryside with two good friends for a weekend of walking. I had smoked a little cannabis with them before retiring and hadn't slept much the night before, which may have played a part in my reactivation, as my mind was highly active on going to sleep.

The next day, we all ate a good dose of dried Psilocybe cyanescens mushrooms (from the same batch I had microdosed with on the day of my first release dose Bufo experience). I usually vibe very well with mushrooms, and these particular mushrooms I've found to be consistently very clean and serene from past experiences with them. The coming up period was unusually anxiety ridden, and despite being out in stunning nature with two of my best friends, I was introspective and having a turbulent time, mentally. A big part of this experience was my forced mental focus on my recent Bufo and 5-MeO experiences...being in the bemushroomed state allowed me to much better experientially conceptualise actually being in the 5-MeO state, in a way that is simply not possible when sober. And my mind was being bombarded with the power and profundity of my past experiences, but in retrospect it seems that some much needed integration was occurring.

I now, in reflection, sincerely believe I experienced absolute pure, boundless infinity/eternity during my experiences (for whatever reason I can recall more of my second Bufo experience), and I will hold this view for the rest of my days. From my perspective, when the 5-MeO annihilated my ego, I was no longer aware of myself as a finite individual...in fact this seemed like an illusion. That in fact I'm an infinite being, and rather than being an individual, it's more that I'm an individual facet of something much, much greater than me. If you think about it, 13.7 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred, and the physical universe and all its matter and energy and physical laws came into existence. We humans are special in that we are able in some way to comprehend our place in the universe..."we are star stuff...a way for the universe to know itself" to quote the great Carl Sagan. But of course we are very much part of that universe, there is no separation. All the large atoms in our bodies were forged in the cores of long dead stars. Our bodies run on energy originally derived from plants that can convert star light energy into matter we can consume. So on some level, our egos, our perception of being an individual being, separate from everything else, is a very sophisticated and elaborate illusion concocted by our brains. It makes great evolutionary sense of course, for us to feel we are separate entities, so we are able to live our lives and pass on our genes. So our egos are essential for our survival. But it is worth bearing in mind, that sense of us being separate individuals is an illusion. These breakthrough 5-MeO-DMT experiences very powerfully took down my ego. And when this occurred, I lost awareness of linear time, of being finite, and being an individual being, instead feeling a very powerful state of oneness, of unity with the infinite and eternal All That Is. This was a very cosmic experience, far beyond me as a human. But this force of infinity/eternity I very deeply encountered...felt like it could be part of the same force that ignited this universe/the multiverse in the first place, some kind of ultimate universal self organising fractal blueprint or equation of creation of which I/everyone/everything is a part of. It really is all one! I know that is one heck of a claim to make! But this was a very humbling and also empowering experience. In other words, experiencing this force directly, really felt like experiencing what some may term as God/Source/Tao/Brahman/Universal Consciousness.

Of all the many psychedelic and altered state experiences I've ever had in my life, of which there has been many, no experience has come remotely anywhere near as close as affecting me as deeply as this. I never ever expected to be able to experience something so incredible and so utterly mysterious in my life, and I believe I now know what a fair chunk of the mystics, yogis and near death experiencers were/are on about. "Entheogen" is not a term I've ever used, it never seemed really appropriate and so I never felt comfortable using it. In my experience though, out of all the psychedelics, 5-MeO-DMT seems truly worthy of such a label. Of all the various states of consciousness I've experienced over my lifetime, this is one I would have no issues referring to as intrinsically sacred. Without experiencing this directly myself, I simply would NOT consider such an experience to be remotely possible for a human being to experience by ingesting a chemical, or through any means for that matter. If there is a more reliable way of experiencing death in some measure before one's time, I'd like to know of it. This stuff has a power that dwarfs that of any other psychedelics, IMO. I don't say this stuff lightly either. I'm a scientist and someone who likes to think they are rational and grounded person.

So yeah, the TL:DR version is that I'm truly awed and humbled, and goes to show 5-MeO keeps working on you long after your last session.

Big love to All! 

[Phalaris arundinacea 'Turkey Red' Plant:]

I thought this could do with its own thread. Viable botanical sources of 5-MeO-DMT are lacking, when compared to N,N-DMT sources. My feeling is that the various Phalaris grass species remain relatively unexplored, and I think they hold perhaps the greatest potential of providing a viable botanical source of 5-MeO-DMT, of all the plants we know so far that contain it.

An interesting passage I've just spied on the DMT Nexus, taken from The Entheogen Review:

Phalaris arundinacea 'Turkey Red' Plant:

From The Entheogen Review Vol. XI 2002:-

My old, "Turkey red," was selected to produce 5-MeO-DMT because this is the alkaloid that I personally prefer for my own work and the work I do with groups around the country. I feel 5-MeO-DMT most closely mimics the natural enlightenment state of a fully functioning pineal-gland. It does not distract one with visuals, but open one's energy field and dissolves the energetic barriers between people. By taking about 75mg of the "Turkey red" extract - equivalent to about 7.5mg of 5-MeO-DMT - potentiated with a RIMA such as Syrian Rue, one can experience much healing, and in the right group, a unification of consciousness within the group. I believe this medicine has a role to play in the next stage of evolution, which must involve some form of group consciousness.

There are about five other alkaloids in Turkey red as well. I do not know what most of them are. I have tried to experiment of separating out just the 5-MeO-DMT and taking that orally with a MAOI, and I do get and effect, comparable to that of chemically produced pharmahuasca from synthesised 5-MeO-DMT. However, It does not have the magical shamanic effect I like to use for my group use. I have about a thousand TLC plates of my tests, each with its own unique and different alkaloid mixture. This could keep graduate students busy for years elucidating the unique healing properties of these mixtures.

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=16810

...so this particular cultivar of P. arundinacea certainly sounds promising as a potential 5-MeO-DMT source.

Some further information on Phalaris species and 5-MeO-DMT content to be found here:

Phalaris spp.

Phalaris data below is incomplete. Alkaloid concentrations and proportions are highly variable from year to year and show dramatic seasonal fluctuations. Concentrations between plant parts and first growth versus regrowih are also very different. In many populations there may be marked differences in both the amounts present and in actual alkaloid profile from one plant to the next. (i.e. plants in the same population and arising from the same seeds may show completely different chemistry, not simply differing concentrations.) See the amazing Festi & Samorini pieces listed in the Phalaris spp. page about cultivation for a review and overview of what is known so far.

Phalaris aquatica

- A major alkaloid in all samples they examined. (Culvenor et al. 1964)
- 5-MeO-DMT was not present in all clones examined (4 out of 12) Frahn & Illman 1973
- 5-MeO-DMT in leaf. 0.01-0.28% in material from California. (Festi & Samorini 1994a cited Welch 1971 ref Trout's Notes)
- var. AQ-1 (Italy) Weak occurrence reported (HPLC). (Festi & Samorini 1994b ref Trout's Notes)
- as Phalaris tuberosa - Strong in leaf. 2 Nov. and 17 Sept. 1995. Dec 1995. Assay. tlc by J. Appleseed 1995 (ref Trout's Notes)
- var Killer Phalaris (At one point this was synonymous with cv. Uneta, but has been in uncontrolled propagation for long enough this is no longer certain.) 5-MeO-DMT predominated in 25 June, 17 Sept., 2 Nov. 1995 samples. (DMT was predominate alkaloid in Fall 1994 by TLC) (ref Trout's Notes)
- Clone #R5 "large" amount of DMT (5-MeO? possible mistake in Trout's Notes) co-occurring with twice amount of 2-MTHBC (Clone, designated 405-9, originating with U.S. Regional Pasture Research Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania)
- Clone #R37 ·'trace" amount of 5-MeO-DMT co-occurring with " intermediate" amounts of hordenine and "large" amounts of 6-methoxy-2,9-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline. (From highly diverse source population used in plant breeding and genetic studies at the University of Minnesota. Department of Agronomy and Plant Generics".)
- Clone #R51 ·'large" amount of 5-MeO-DMT as sole observed al.kaloid. [Same source as R37)
- Clone #R96 " large" amount of 5-MeO-DMT co-occurring with "trace" amounts of hordenine and "trace" amounts of 6-methoxy-2,9-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline. (Same source as R37) (Gander et al. 1976. ref Trout's Notes)
- cv. Australian Commercial (CPI 119305) A major alkaloid in 7 day old seedlings. 150 nmol / 100 seedlings. (Mulvena & Slaytor 1983 ref Trout's Notes); In seedlings. (Mack et al. 1988); Mature 0.05% dry wt.(Baxter & Slaytor 1972)
- cv. Sirocco 51 nmol / 100 seedlings. (Mulvena & Slaytor 1983 ref Trout's Notes); Major base. (Frahn & O'Keefe 1971); 5-MeO-DMT in leaf (Ott 1994 cited Culvenor et al 1964; Baxter & Slaytor 1972; frahn & Illman 1973 ; Moore et al 1967; Mulvena & Slaytor 1982; Oram & Williams 1967 ref Trout's Notes)

Phalaris arundinacea

- 5-MeO-DMT in leaf and whole plant Barnes et al 1971; Culvenor et al 1964; Gander et al. 1976; Majak & Bose 1977; Majak et a!. 1978; Marten et al. 1973

Williams et al. 197 1. Many others.

- 0.0002-0.0067% 5-MeO-DMT in material from British Columbia. (Majak & Bose 1977)
- 0-0.02% in material from Minnesota. NRG741 was strongest of those tested & NRG721 the weakest. (Majak eta/. 1978)

Festi & Samorini 1994a

- TLC by Johnny Appleseed
- P.I. 172442 Turkey (cv. Turkey Red)0.0025% to 0.045% total alkaloid by wet weight. 5-MeO is predominate alkaloid. (J.Appleseed (undated manuscript); "Ayahuasca analog plants of the temperate zone." Tlc by Johnny Appleseed: fall 1994, 25 June, 17 Sept, 2 Nov. 1995. (ref Trout's Notes)
- cv Ottawa Synthetic : 5-MeO-DMT present, Amounts not given. Detected by TLC (Woods & Clark 1971 ref Trout's Notes)

Phalaris brachystachys

- PI 202676, PI 231044: 5-MeO-DMT reported, Appleseed tlc evaluation of field trials using USDA seeds. (ref Trout's Notes)

Phalaris canariensis

- PI 167261, and also 284185 (lower levels) 5-MeO-DMT reported, Appleseed tlc evaluation of field trials using USDA seeds. (ref Trout's Notes)
- Traces reported (HPLC). Festi & Samorini 1994b

Phalaris stenoptera (= P tuberosa var. stenoptera)

- Variable amounts. Festi & Samorini 1994b cited Rendig et al 1970 as finding 135-264 J.Lg/ml of expressed juice. (ref Trout's Notes)

https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/5-MeO-DMT#Phalaris_spp.

Some more relevant information:

Phalaris brachystachys

An extremely strong occurrence of DMT was reported, using HPLC, in material from Portugal. DMT was the sole alkaloid. Festi & Samorini 1994b.

Strongly positive human bioassays have been reported using clones originating from both Algeria and Greece. DeKorne 1997.

30 grams of fresh foliage was reported to be too much by EH, MA (1997 Entheogen Review page 15).

Appleseed's assays detected 5-MeO-DMT in several strains obtained from the USDA GRIN; including P.I. 202676 & P.I. 231044 Greece. (The latter was found to be a spreading form with good biomass production).


Phalaris canariensis may be another species in dire need of more research, apparently being a generous seed producing cultivar of P. brachystachys.


Phalaris canariensis

Individuals containing a uniform distribution of DMT among their offspring have been identified and selected for cultivation [from PI#415822].

A similar undertaking was performed for a high 5-MeO-DMT producing strain [from PI#167261].

Both should become commercially available within the near future. Both tested solidly and appear as good or better than the P. brachystachys strains that were also tested. Both showed a clean profile with only one alkaloid present.

November 1999 update: While this was true of the USDA seed grown material and held true early in the field trials, after being grown out for several successive seed crops, both of the strains in question began to also show the presence of other alkaloids. Further seed production efforts were placed on hold until an understanding of this can be reached.

From:

https://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/ayahuasca_apa/aya_sec3_part2_phalaris_strains.shtml

Further research/gardening is warranted here I think!

[Phalaris arundinacea 'Turkey Red' Plant:]

My pleasure hombre. And yeah I think it would be great to bring all existing information together to clear up any misinformation. And a species source list sounds like a good idea.

Plant wise, I think the Phalaris grass species may be worthy of more attention with regard 5-MeO-DMT.

An interesting passage I've just spied on the DMT Nexus, taken from The Entheogen Review:

Phalaris arundinacea 'Turkey Red' Plant:

From The Entheogen Review Vol. XI 2002:-

My old, "Turkey red," was selected to produce 5-MeO-DMT because this is the alkaloid that I personally prefer for my own work and the work I do with groups around the country. I feel 5-MeO-DMT most closely mimics the natural enlightenment state of a fully functioning pineal-gland. It does not distract one with visuals, but open one's energy field and dissolves the energetic barriers between people. By taking about 75mg of the "Turkey red" extract - equivalent to about 7.5mg of 5-MeO-DMT - potentiated with a RIMA such as Syrian Rue, one can experience much healing, and in the right group, a unification of consciousness within the group. I believe this medicine has a role to play in the next stage of evolution, which must involve some form of group consciousness.

There are about five other alkaloids in Turkey red as well. I do not know what most of them are. I have tried to experiment of separating out just the 5-MeO-DMT and taking that orally with a MAOI, and I do get and effect, comparable to that of chemically produced pharmahuasca from synthesised 5-MeO-DMT. However, It does not have the magical shamanic effect I like to use for my group use. I have about a thousand TLC plates of my tests, each with its own unique and different alkaloid mixture. This could keep graduate students busy for years elucidating the unique healing properties of these mixtures.

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=16810

...so this particular cultivar of P. arundinacea certainly sounds promising as a potential 5-MeO-DMT source.

Some further information on Phalaris species and 5-MeO-DMT content to be found here:

https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/5-MeO-DMT#Phalaris_spp.

I'm sure you're aware of this already, but the various Phalaris grass species remain relatively unexplored, and I think they hold perhaps the greatest potential of providing a viable botanical 5-MeO-DMT source, of all the plants we know so far that contain it. (I thought this topic could do with its own thread).

[0.0035% 5-MeO-DMT in dried stem]

It is quite common to hear tales of the presence of 5-MeO-DMT in the ayahuasca admixture plant Diplopterys cabrerana, aka Chaliponga, with some people being adamant this is what gives rise to its perceived unique effects, with others questioning whether it is safe to mix it with an MAOI in the form of ayahuasca vine.

Looking at the scientific literature and some more recently analyses, it is clear that 5-MeO is not playing a role in the effects of Chaliponga. However a fair portion of users of this plant do find it distinct in effect compared to other ayahuasca admixture plants like Psychotria viridis and Mimosa tenuiflora.

Some of the results of past analyses conducted on D. cabrerana:

- DMT and traces of bufotenine found, but 5-MeO-DMT not found (McKenna 1984).
- 0.4655% DMT, co-occurring with traces of NMT, Bufotenine and MTHBC (Agurell et al. 1968) (misidentified as Banisteriopsis rusbyana see Gates 1982).
- 0.16638% DMT, 0.0035% MTHBC and 0.0035% 5-MeO-DMT in dried stem (Agurell et al. 1968 - see attached paper) (misidentified as Banisteriopsis rusbyana see Gates 1982).

From:

https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Diplopterys_cabrerana#Alkaloid_content

DMT Nexus member endlessness performed a GC-MS analysis on a sample of D. cabrerana leaf, reputed to be a source of 5-MeO. None was found, attached is the first image of the spectra output, and below some notes on its interpretation.

The top part of the page is the the retention time. So basically the gas chromatograph separates the substances, each one is coming at different times through the column (read a simple explanation of how GC-MS works here). Notice there is one main peak, all the other peaks are at most 10x smaller, meaning 10x less abundant than DMT. So if there is 1% dmt, there is 0.1% of these other substances.

So the bottom of the page is a look at the mass spectra of the DMT peak (each peak in that lower half of the page is a small fragment of the molecule, as it breaks from the electron impact in the MS part of the machine. Notice how it is the same as a DMT standard spectrum

As for the mass spectra of the other smaller peaks that appear on the top of the page, you can see them individually in the zip file I attached. None of them corresponds to 5-MeO-DMT, nor bufotenine. They dont seem to be beta carbolines either but Im not sure yet. I have not identified the other peaks except knowing they are not 5-meo nor bufo, it would be good if one of our experts would be able to help me out, otherwise I´ll keep trying to search for them and will post here if I have them identified. Its possible some of these peaks arent even alkaloids, but other inactive plant impurities.

Hope this helps shed some light that any potential difference people feel from chaliponga is not due to 5-MeO-DMT, but probably self suggestion and/or related with synergy of small amount of other alkaloids (which we have to identify).

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&m=289645#post289645

On the DMT Nexus some people reported Chaliponga extract in quid form was active, so something was sublingually active, which would make it unique in comparison to the other ayahuasca admixture plants. So there may be as yet other compounds in the plant that give rise to its unique perceived effects, but it is very unlikely to be 5-MeO. To summarise, no 5-MeO has actually been reported in D. cabrerana leaves, only trace amount in its stems, and this GC-MS analysis didn't find any evidence for its presence in leaf material. Further research is definitely warranted here.

References

- Agurell, S. et al. 1968a. Identification of two new β-carboline alkaloids in South American hallucinogenic plants. Biochemical Pharmacology, 17, 2487-2488.
- Agurell, S. et al. 1968b. Alkaloid content of Banisteriopsis rusbyana. American Journal of Pharmacy, 140, 148-151.
- Der Marderosian, A.H. et al. 1968. Native use and occurrence of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in the leaves of Banisteriopsis rusbyana. American Journal of Pharmacy, 140, 137-147.
- McKenna, D.J. et al. 1984a. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: tryptamine and β-carboline constituents of ayahuasca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 10, 195-223.

[3mg micro measuring scoop:]

Hi y'all,

I used a high precision scale I have access to in the research labs where I work (a METTLER AE 50 analytical balance) which is sensitive to 0.0001g to weigh out doses from two different sized milligram measuring scoops (3mg and 10-12mg sizes of TCC and VantageCC brands, respectively; linked below), of both 5-MeO-DMT hcl and 5-MeO-DMT freebase powder. These scoops are cheap and easily obtained, and I thought this may be useful for the 5-MeO community who may not have access to highly sensitive (and highly expensive) scales for weighing, in the interests of accurate dosing and minimising potential risk or uncertainty.

12 level scoops (without any tamping down) were weighed of each. It would be wise to ensure the material is finely powdered to ensure even and consistent weighing.

3mg micro measuring scoop:

UK:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121819788520?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

USA:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3mg-Micro-scoop-x-10-measuring-spoon-for-supplements-nootropics-mini-measure-/121819788520?hash=item1c5d0674e8:g:DIgAAOSwcdBWTu1a


10-12mg micro measuring scoop:

UK:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5x-10mg-12mg-Micro-Scoops-Red-Nootropics-Supplements-Microscoops-Noopept/301625270030?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D2220072%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D44293%26meid%3D66dda0e2ae774b5090a3596a99f7f11e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D121537730373

USA:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-10mg-12mg-Micro-Scoops-Red-Nootropics-Supplements-Microscoops-Noopept/301625270030?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D2220072%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40130%26meid%3D2ec86223eafd4e5190c5aea8779d6400%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291457949887

5-MeO-DMT hcl - 10-12mg scoop:

6.5mg, 6.5mg, 7.2mg, 6.4mg, 6.5mg, 7.0mg, 7.0mg, 7.0mg, 7.0mg, 6.8mg, 7.2mg, 6.9mg.

Mean: 6.8mg. Median: 7.0mg. Mode: 7.0mg. Range: 0.8mg.

5-MeO-DMT hcl - 3mg scoop:

1.5mg, 1.4mg, 1.5mg, 1.8mg, 1.4mg, 1.5mg, 1.4mg, 1.6mg, 1.3mg, 1.4mg, 1.5mg, 1.7mg.

Mean: 1.5mg. Median: 1.5mg. Mode: 1.5mg. Range: 0.5mg.

5-MeO-DMT freebase - 3mg scoop:

1.8mg, 1.6mg, 1.8mg, 1.9mg, 1.9mg, 1.5mg, 1.5mg, 1.4mg, 1.5mg, 1.6mg, 1.7mg, 1.4mg.

Mean: 1.6mg. Median: 1.6mg. Mode: 1.5mg. Range: 0.5mg.

It can be seen that with both milligram measuring scoops, there is not a great deal of variation in weights when measuring level scoops of 5-MeO-DMT. The 10-12mg scoop has an average weight of 6.8mg of 5-MeO-DMT hcl per level scoop, with a total range of 0.8mg. The 3mg scoop is more accurate still, and has an average weight of 1.5mg of 5-MeO-DMT hcl and 1.6mg 5-MeO-DMT freebase per level scoop, with a total range of 0.5mg for both. Slightly more variation can be observed for the larger measuring scoop (and for 5-MeO at least, the 3mg and 10-12mg scoop size approximations certainly do not apply), however the larger scoop still provides fairly accurate weighing of doses. There was insufficient 5-MeO-DMT freebase to measure doses with the larger measuring scoop.

In conclusion, these milligram measuring scoops, particularly the smaller 3mg scoop have been found to measure out 5-MeO-DMT dosages with a reasonably high degree of accuracy and precision (even when considering 5-MeO-DMT's profound potency), and so may be a useful bit of kit for 5-MeO-DMT users for the purpose of safe and reliable dosing.