Recent studies show 5-MeO-DMT can greatly improve anxiety and depression after a single session. Many who have experienced 5-MeO-DMT say the medicine has the potential for life-transforming experiences in a matter of minutes and its use is exploding worldwide due to its efficacy. In order to honor and protect the sanctity of this newly popular medicine and to share safety and best practice ideas, experts and enthusiasts worldwide are gathering to honor 5-MEO-DMT and the public is invited to attend.

On July 26-28, at The World Trade Center, Mexico City, scientists, practitioners, (neo) shamans, academics, writers, filmmakers, psychonauts, natives, doctors, and people from all over the world that have experienced the healing of the Bufo Alvarius / 5-MeO-DMT medicine, or are interested in learning more will converge in Mexico City for the World Bufo Alvarius Congress (WBAC). This three-day event will include lectures, workshops, movies and communion focused on 5-MeO-DMT medicine, its carrier, and related topics. It is open to anyone who would like to join the community in learning celebration.

Reset recently had the opportunity to speak with co-organizer, Rak Razam who is a writer, film producer, culturemaker and Executive Director of the Terra Incognita Project.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Can you give me an overview of what the WBAC will entail and what you hope to accomplish?

It’s the second year we’ve hosted this in Mexico City. Co-creator, Mario Garnier and I had been working on some toad conservation projects. We both had an intuition in late 2017 that it was time we had a platform for the community to come together. That is why we hosted the first congress last year in 2018.

A congress is a little bit different than a conference when people just talk and lecture. It (the congress) really is a meeting of the people. WBAC is quite unique in the psychedelic/entheogenic community as a gathering in that it hosts people from all over the world. The theme this year is the Bufo nation. The Bufo Alvarius / 5-MeO-DMT medicine is used by westerners and indigenous people alike. It’s a community of people that are united by the common experience of this medicine. It’s something that bonds us together. We are continuing the momentum of last year of nurturing the community and creating a platform where the community can discuss, share and meet each other. It’s very much a celebration.

There are the same pros and cons and learning curve we’ve seen with ayahuasca over the last generation. The ethical harvesting of the medicine, conservation of the toads in the wild, correct facilitation of the medicine, best practices. The congress talks about all of these issues in a way that isn’t just lectures, it’s actually like empowerment. We have the first track which talks about all the different issues within our community and culture globally. Then we have a second track where we have ongoing workshops and break out groups looking at things such as conservation, new practitioners -which are sprouting all over the world very rapidly, land issues around farming the medicine, the science of 5-MeO-DMT, the mystical experience of 5-MeO-DMT. We have an opening and closing ceremony that is a very shamanic style.

WBAC is very unique. A real voice of the people to represent the issues we face as a global community. We invite people to come and celebrate! The culture around the toad medicine and the culture we’re becoming.

These are very exciting times for shamanic medicines such as the toad medicine. There’s such great momentum around the world of decriminalization and medicalization of psychedelics for healing. There’s a lot of research being done with different substances. 5-MeO-DMT is being looked at by John Hopkins and researches at Stanford. My own not for profit organization is also pioneering some neuroscience with 5-MeO. Everyone is feeling there’s a change that is needed in the way we are in relationship with the planet and with ourselves. Medicines like the toad secretion can assist in knowing ourselves very deeply and shifting an understanding of what and who we really are and then applying that into our communities.

Why did you choose Mexico City for the location?

Mexico is a land of many shamanic medicines. Home of the psilocybin magic mushrooms, San Pedro Cactus, morning glory seeds, salvia divinorum, they’ve re-introduced ayahuasca there as well. There are probably more shamanic medicines per capita than anywhere else in the world. Bufo Alvarius / 5-MeO-DMT is legal in Mexico.

A few years ago Peru formalized ayahuasca as a national treasure. Not just as a plant medicine but something that is valuable for the cultural integrity of the people. This hasn’t happened in Mexico just yet, but there is an indigenous medicine which has resurfaced in the last decade or so.

What is Bufo Alvarius?

It’s from the glands of the Bulfo Alvarius Toad. The Bufo Alvarius is an incredibly powerful psychoactive medicine. It’s kickstarted an indigenous Mexican lineage with the modern Sonoran tribes in Mexico and has spread out into the world. The glands of the Bufo Alvarius toad contain 5-MeO-DMT which is very different from the NN DMT in ayahuasca brew and other substances. It’s a very brief experience but it’s a very profound spiritual awakening. We know with neuroscience that 5-MeO-DMT helps to lower the frontal lobes and parietal lobes of the brain. The sense of ego or identity is diminished or reduced and can reveal the divine consciousness within us all. It’s used as a healing modality to help relieve PTSD, anxiety and depression but it’s deeper than that.

It’s a revelation and experience that is not like other psychedelics where you go on a journey. It reveals what has been within you all along. It’s not doing it to you, it’s just lowering the frontal lobes, relaxing the mind and allowing us to discover our full potential. The same pathways meditation shows us. It’s something that once the source within is awakened with 5-MeO, the relationship with the divine within can continue with breath-work and meditation.

Who will be speaking/ attending?

This year we’ve curated quite an international line up. This was intentional as we understand that the toad medicine is a decade old in modern usage. It has spread around the world and is legal in most countries. We have Mexican indigenous people, women speakers, people that work with the medicine but might not be known publicly. A full list can be found here.

You are invited to join the WBAC community July 26-28, 2019 at The World Trade Center, Mexico City. Purchase your tickets here before they sell out. The cost is $300 for all three days and events. Locals receive a 50% discount. Tickets for the live stream are also available for $100.