First the most important thing, honestly and up front: DMT is not legal in the Netherlands, and we do not sell it. This article is purely educational and cultural, not an encouragement to use it. But few substances capture the imagination quite like this one, so it deserves an honest explanation. What actually is this spirit molecule?
What is DMT?
DMT, in full N,N-dimethyltryptamine, is a powerful psychedelic substance from the tryptamine group. It is closely related to substances your own body already knows, and to psilocin, the compound that magic truffles work on. Smoked or vaporised, the experience is exceptional: it comes on within a minute and is usually over again after a handful of minutes, yet many describe it as overwhelmingly intense.
Why the spirit molecule?
The nickname comes from the American psychiatrist Rick Strassman, who conducted DMT research in the nineties and in 2001 wrote the book DMT: The Spirit Molecule about it. The name stuck because many people describe the experience as deeply meaningful, almost spiritual. Whether that is truly the case is something science cannot answer. We mention the term because you come across it everywhere. You can read more about the man behind it in Rick Strassman.
How does it differ from magic truffles?
Both are tryptamines, but the experience is completely different. A truffle experience builds up gently and lasts hours, see how long magic truffles last. Smoked DMT is the opposite: extremely short and extremely intense, not a gradual journey but suddenly somewhere else and then back again. We explain the kinship between the two tryptamines in psilocybin and DMT.
Does DMT also occur in nature?
Yes. DMT occurs in a large number of plants across the world. It is also the active substance in ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian brew in which DMT is combined with a plant that makes it orally active. You can read more about that in ayahuasca and DMT.
Is DMT legal?
No. In the Netherlands DMT falls under the Opium Act and is not legally for sale. We do not sell it and we will not do so. What is legal in the Netherlands is magic truffles, and that is where our focus lies. You can read why we make that choice deliberately in why we sell truffles and not DMT.
One of the most talked-about sides of the DMT experience are the beings that people describe encountering. That is the subject of the machine elves.
This article is educational and informational, not medical advice and not an encouragement to use a substance that is prohibited in the Netherlands.