What does DMT look like?

DMT is found in a variety of plants and is the psychoactive ingredient in the drug ayahuasca.³ In ayahuasca, a plant containing DMT is boiled together with a plant containing a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as harmaline, and the mixture is drunk.⁴

When produced synthetically DMT is a white crystalline powder.³

Other names

Dimitri, The spirit molecule, Changa, Fantasia

DMT can be:

• vaporised or smoked in a pipe
• drunk as part of an ayahuasca brew
• snorted
• injected.⁵

Effects of DMT

There is no safe level of drug use. Use of any drug always carries some risk. It’s important to be careful when taking any type of drug. 

Psychedelics affect everyone differently, based on:

• size, weight and health
• whether the person is used to taking it
• whether other drugs are taken around the same time
• the amount taken
• the strength of the drug (varies from batch to batch)
• environment (where the drug is taken).

DMT affects everyone differently, but effects may include:

• a ‘rush’
• euphoria
• changes in mood
• increased sensitivity to bodily sensations (body aches, tingles, feelings of pain and pleasure, warmth and fatigue)6,7
• increased heart rate and blood pressure
• dilated pupils
• increased rectal temperature
• intense visual hallucination
• dissociation.^5,7

DMT is most commonly smoked in Australia, with effects commencing almost straight away and finishing after around 30 minutes.⁵