From KMBC:
Clay County sheriff's deputies said David Theiss, of Kansas City, possessed a Colorado River toad with the intention of using it as a hallucinogenic.
Experts said it's possible to lick the toad's venom glands to achieve psychedelic effects.
Most pet stores don't sell the Colorado River toad because the venom can sicken humans and kill household animals.
"People used to do it all the time, but it got faded out awhile, but came back as a fad. Not a smart one," animal expert Danny Snyder told KMBC's Dion Lim. "The toxins in it can kill a lot of stuff."
Authorities said this is the first time Clay County has dealt with this sort of hallucinogen.
Theiss was released on bond.
The toad is in custody at a police crime lab.
[Via Blonde Sense]
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Possession of bufonid with intention to lick!
I hope they throw the book at him (not the toad--a decent-sized book would mush the poor toad).
Came across a report years very many ago - might have been in "History Today" - about professional toad-eaters who used to go around village fairs. The meat, so to speak, of the article was that contented toads don't produce toxin, and they're also a bit slow on the uptake, so if you keep them happy right up until the moment you swallow them you should be OK, maybe.
[Don't try this at home kids.]
A while before that I was involved in a discussion about the pros and cons of regulating the alternative health market and in particular the risk of creating false assurances that if substance isn't actually banned, it must be safe. The conversation got round to efficacy, and at some point someone asked about "traditional" remedies for impotence (erectile dysfunction). A very quick search found there was some evidence for the effectiveness of several naturally occurring substances, and also that the risks of adverse effects appeared to be interestingly high for most of them. Among these was Bufanolides, from toads.
Unfortunately Medline didn't say what you were actually supposed to do with the toads to get the desired effect but evidently in view of the above you would probably need to annoy them first.
[Er, don't try this either.]
When toads are outlawed... ;-)
From Mason 'Classical Gas' Williams, and his 1964 "Them Poems" ...