Kimon de Greef's new book, "The Ego Trip," explores the activities of Octavio Rettig, a figure who popularised the use of Sonoran desert toad venom for psychedelic treatments. The venom contains 5-MeO-DMT, a hallucinogen known as the "God molecule," which was discovered by humans in the early 1980s.
Rettig, who began smoking dried toad venom in the first decade of this century, claimed it helped him overcome a crack cocaine habit. He reportedly created a tradition around this hallucinogen, presenting himself globally as a practitioner of indigenous medicine after visiting the Seri people in 2011 and adopting their chants.
The book details Rettig's methods, which included offering large doses of the substance with minimal screening, sometimes forcibly. He also reportedly engaged in sexual relationships with women after administering the toad venom and denied responsibility when patients died. Rettig claims his work has been "misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misused."
De Greef's reporting, which began in the New Yorker, examines the broader issues of unregulated wellness practitioners, the exploitation of the natural world, and the authority of charlatans.