DMT Research from 1956 to the Edge of Time

Gallimore, A., & Luke, D. (2015). DMT research from 1956 to the end of time. In D. King, D. Luke, B. Sessa, C. Adams and A. Tollen (Eds), Neurotransmissions: Psychedelic essays from Breaking Convention (pp.291-316). London: Strange Attractor Press.

From a representative sample of a suitably psychedelic crowd, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t tell you all about Albert Hofmann’s enchanted bicycle ride after wallowing what turned out to be a massive dose of LSD. The world’s first acid trip (Hofmann, 1980) has since become a cherished piece of psychedelic folklore. Far fewer, however, could tell you much about the world’s first DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) trip. Although less memorable than Hofmann’s story, it was no less important. The folklore would come later and reveal itself to be far weirder than anyone could have predicted. A DMT trip is certainly one of the most bizarre experiences a human can undergo and, although six decades have passed since the very first DMT trip, the experience continues to confound and remains fertile ground for speculation regarding its significance and meaning.