Rating: 
Summary: DMT: A real trip
Review: Rich Stassman's account of his ground-breaking research program with the psychedelic drug DMT is more than a scientific chronicle. His tale of the rigors of such an extraordinary undertaking, from the years he spent gaining permission for the study, getting access to the drug, and carrying out the experiments with human subjects, is suspenseful to the end.
DMT or di-methyl-trptamine is produced by many organisms and is found abundantly in plants and animal tissue. In humans it is believed that it is produced in the tiny pineal gland, which is situated deep within the brain. Its location in the brain corresponds with Eastern Ayurvedic traditions of the highest "chakra". In reptiles, the pineal is a light sensitive organ, and though this function has been lost in humans, it has been referred to as the "third eye". Descartes called it the "seat of the soul", and in modern times it has been a focal point of consciousness research.
Though the academic purpose for the research at the University of New Mexico from 1990 to 1995 was to find the purpose and function of "endogenous" (produced in the body) DMT, as well as its relationship to psychosis, it was Strassman's emersion in the teaching of Buddhism that was his inspiration throughout. Ironically, the findings of his research undermined many of his beliefs and left him alienated from the Buddhist community.
Many of his research subjects were experienced psychedelic users, but they were unprepared for the intensity of DMT. One volunteer described his acute ten minute voyage into another dimension as being hit by a "nuclear cannon." While LSD allows the user a self-guided trip, the DMT experience has its own agenda, stripping the subject of any goals, expectations, and ego. As Stassman said, "DMT as the true spirit molecule, gave the volunteers the trip they needed, rather than the trip they wanted."
But it wasn't only the volunteers of the experiments that were shocked. Strassman was completely unprepared for his subjects' reports of contact with alien beings, reptiles, and other strange entities. In other cases, they described out-of-body experiences, going through tunnels of light, and meeting relatives, spirits, and angels. Strassman soon realized that these reports were very similar to the modern cultural phenomena of alien abductions and near death experiences (NDE)--neither of which were familiar to him prior to his research project.
He theorized that these two phenomena might be caused by excess releases of endogenous DMT from the pineal gland under conditons of stess, such as child birth or severe trauma, causing an NDE. Similarly, a close cousin of DMT, namely melatonin and perhaps DMT itself, is released during the nighttime hours. This, Strassman thought, could give rise to the alien abduction experience, which most often happens in the early morning hours.
Near death experiences have often been used to support religious teachings. Perhaps the reverse should be considered. Religion was invented to explain the strange phenomena experienced due to an excess release of DMT in the body.
Because of the intense reality of the DMT experience, and the volunteers' rejection of psychological, or biological explanations for their journey, Strassman was forced to consider an even more intriguing explanation. Perhaps, DMT does not cause hallucinogenic experiences, but rather, allows our brain to sense different forms of existing reality. The information we receive from the world is limited by our five senses. It is possible that DMT allows us to sense other dimensions and other realities.
In the end the rigors and stresses of the study took a huge toll on Strassman costing him his job and alienation from the Buddhist communtiy. Even though many of the monks, had entered the monistary as a result of the influence of LSD use, their rise to elected power left them unable to support Strassman's research. AS Strassman stated, "Holiness won out over truth."
Rich Strassman's writing style makes this book extremely readable, and the DMT subjects' reports and anecdotal stories make the book difficult to put down. This book warrants a "5 star" rating. I highly recommend DMT the Spirit Molecule.
This review by David Kreiter, Author of "Quantum Reality: A New Philosophical Perspective."
Rating:
Summary: High marks on a controversial subject
Review: Covering a groundbreaking psychedelic substance that is actually found in human cerebrospinal fluid, Rick Strassman tells a first-person story of his research on the profoundly mysterious substance dimethltryptamine (DMT). We learn the political, medical, and ethical obstacles that surround the creation of Strassman's research program in 1990's America. Also explored are a far-ranging array of puzzling questions: foremost, WHY does this tryptamine compound exist naturally within the brain? Is DMT flooded into serotonin receptors to help mediate trauma, meditation, and near-death experiences? If so, why? And could DMT yield a framework for defining consciousness? The topics are explored through the vivid experiences of research volunteers at the University of New Mexico and the sincere, contemplative hypotheses of the author. This is a nicely crafted book which nimbly treads a thin line between restraint and enthusiasm, between cold objectivity and speculation. At the end, the reader is left with many intriguing puzzle pieces. "The Spirit Molecule" is perhaps the first title to break ground on what might be a Pandora's Box of the upcoming century.
Rating:
Summary: Pries the lid off the coffin of human psychedelic research
Review: Detailed, very accessible description of Strassman's studies of the effects of intravenously administered DMT in human volunteers in a clinical setting. He describes his research protocols, his struggle to obtain government approval, and the volunteers' reports of their DMT experiences, with clarity and compassion. The book raises questions about the nature and purpose of mystical experiences, the similarity between externally induced experiences of death and rebirth, alien contact, and spiritual enlightenment and naturally occurring experiences, and the role of DMT (which occurs naturally in the body) in these types of experiences. Strassman discusses the limitations of the biomedical model in understanding these experiences, as well as the risks and benefits of using DMT as a research tool. Open-minded scientists, those on a spiritual path, therapists, and dedicated "psychonauts" will find much to ponder in this book. It enlarges the scope of rational discussion about psychedelics, and goes a long way toward dispelling the fear, ignorance, and stigma that have hampered psychedelic research for the last 30 years. The addition of an index would have been helpful, but other than that this book exceeded my expectations and deepened my sense of wonder about the nature of consciousness and the spirit.
Rating:
Summary: A Bold Study of Chemicals and Consciousness
Review: Dr. Strassman describes his research with dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a very powerful psychedelic drug that can produce very profound experiences that go beyond the explanations of our current scientific model. In this bold treatise he explains how this simple chemical induces mystical states that were previously reserved for religion and the occult. Not since Robert Monroe and his Institute's "Hemi-Sync" sound technology have I seen such potential to facilitate such events.I was relieved to read that this Doctor of Psychiatry didn't reduce these extraordinary experiences of the volunteers down to creative imaginations, and I was impressed with his mature methods of studying a psychedelic drug. This isn't Timothy Leary tuning us in so that we can drop out. This is a scientist who is sincerely searching for something that can enhance our lives in areas such as creativity, therapy, and spirituality. Dr. Strassman has a good grasp of our culture's perceptions about drugs and he not only discards the militaristic attitude against drug use, but also the naive acceptance that they are always beneficial. His clear insights allow this book to have a wide appeal to a mature audience. Hopefully, as he states, this research will at least be the start of more open discussions of practical applications of psychedelics.
Rating:
Summary: An essential read for the entheonaut
Review: Dr. strassman's book was one of the first I read when I decided to embark upon an entheogenic spiritual path. I highly recommend it to those considering entheogens as spiritual agents and catalysts.
Dr. strassman is to be commended on at least two counts. He dared to apply for permission to study psychedelics under controlled scientific conditions. Second, as a Buddhist he dared to propose to a close-minded Buddhist community that psychedelics could be a useful agent for spiritual growth.
This is a wonderful book for those first considering embarking upon an entheo-based spiritual path. It is one thing to read the largely unfiltered experiences of people who experience DMT on the Erowid experience vaults ( www.erowid.org ) and quite another to read the experiences as recounted by subjects in a controlled scientific experiment. This book marvelously demonstrates the similarity of various persons' "contact" experiences. I call them "contact" experiences because the world of DMT is a world of sentience, of other beings, of contact with (sometimes terrifyingly) alien minds.
A whole host of interesting spiritual, theological and philosophical questions are raised by these experiences. People sometimes describe the DMT experience as more "real" than waking daily life. What then is the "primary" reality, when dualistic mundane consciousness appears more a dream than the psychedelic experience? And the DMT experience comprises a world of myriad beings, of many "spirits", all alive and communicative. Does the well populated and diverse animate universe of the DMT experience suggest that the pantheistic and animistic world of the aboriginal shaman describes the noetic spiritual world better than the simple God/Devil Heaven/Hell model handed to us by Christianity? Further, the common experience of contact with apparently nonhuman minds seems to throw us into new territory not really mapped out by any conventional spiritual path (though Hinduism and shamanistic paths seem to be the best fits for these visions).
Dr. strassman's book is also valuable as a diary of one researcher's attempts to fulfill the nearly impossible conditions that the government imposes on researchers attempting to do work on prohibited psychoactives. This book should serve to discourage all but the most determined scientists from doing further research on psychedelics, at least in the United States. In this age of neurochemistry, the pharmaceutical industry is devoting increasing money to research into brain chemistry. If the United States is to retain its economic lead, these unreasonable restrictions on research into potent brain agents must come to an end. If they do not, we will increasingly lose scientific talent to Europe and Asia (just as is happening already due to our bans on stem cell research).
On the downside Dr. strassman's book is not a handbook to the entheogenic path for the practitioner. The intravenous mode of DMT delivery that he uses is not available to the layman. And, the clinical settings that Dr. strassman was forced to use were highly inappropriate and unconducive to a positive entheogenic experience.
Those who are about to undertake a DMT experience should be in a comfortable, safe place; have a sitter; and use a precisely controlled dose. I do not trust the commonly used path of smoking DMT or working with it through the medium of ayahuasca, because of the difficulty of proper dosing. I believe that the most common cause of terrifying or negative experiences with most psychedelics is due to overdose, and bad set (mindset) and setting (environment). I would like to see intravenous DMT become available to laymen, so that DMT dosing can be more precisely controlled.
Overall, this book is a valuable and lasting contribution to 20th and 21st century human understanding of the psychedelic experience, and essential reading for every walker of this spiritual path.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting.
Review: I found this book well written, documented, and enjoyable. If you like this book check out "Into the Void" by zoe7. The book is only available through his web site and takes self experimentation to a hight level. www.zoe7.com
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Scientific Story
Review: I have yet to fully read this book but I have to give it 5 stars based on the sheer importance of the subject matter. The book talks about DMT, a very powerful drug. The interesting thing about this is that this compound is also found in the human body. People who were under the influence of this drug afterwards gave similar, if not exact, stories as those people who have had an NDE. DMT has been found in elevated levels in people who had an NDE and also people who are schizophrenic. Now this begs the question, are NDE's just a chemical reaction in the brain and nothing more(no afterlife)? Or can DMT, a chemical that can be produced in labs, be used to communicate and interact with other realms besides our own? Either way, I think this book is extremely important and I think more research(and books) should be done on DMT instead of it being treated like any other illegal drug.
Rating:
Summary: An absorbing journey to other worlds
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Dr Strassman. Once begun I could not stop. I was fascinated to learn how much time and effort went into the project and the results of it.
I found Dr Strassman's views to be professional and balanced. As he writes in the book, no one will be entirely pleased by his conclusions but I liked the way in which he remained an impartial observer.
I feel that I have gained valuable insights into myself and many of my life experiences as a result of just reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Irrelevant mumbo-jumbo
Review: I was sorely disappointed by this tome. It consists of a very padded series of annecdotal trip reports, followed by some nebulous and unsubstantiated speculation on the role of DMT in the brain as a facilitator of birth and death. As a doctor, he appears to pay scant regard for the physical and mental health of his subjects. Ethical and regulatory approval for in-vivo research with psychedelic compounds is hard enough to get without crap like this. Stick to science, not this New-Age waffle. Waste of money. Do not buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: This is a fascinating tale of a scientist trying to squeeze what can't be described scientifically (save mundane things like what DMT does to your blood pressure, etc.) into an acceptable scientific research program. Strassman is definitely more bolted down than Leary, though Strassman, without being judgmental, learns what he can from the Leary psychedelic research disaster at Harvard in the early 60s. The book is well-written and, above all, sincere. Strassman really wanted to see if short DMT experiences could a) be legally studied and b) be useful. It is a tale of persistence: getting university and government permission, getting research funding, getting "human grade" DMT, trying to get an adequate setting, trying to dot every "i" and cross every "t" possible so that his research was above board. Interestingly, he explains how psychedelics are really difficult to study in the scientific/clinical setting (which we already knew - but the scientific community is, after all, the legitimizing agency of chemical tools for psychological and other uses)and can also threaten the organized religious community (in this case, a particular sect or branch of Zen Buddhism that Strassman adheres to - I would suspect, however, that you could generalize from Strassman's experience to other religious organizations). Strassman comes across as genuinely curious, compassionate, and determined in his efforts to find out if psychedelics can evolve from their sordid recent past to an acceptable tool for insight, inspiration, creativity, or as an aid for helping to solve personal problems. This text will probably be one of the classics of psychedelic literature (though that's not for me to say!). If you are seriously interested in psychedelic research you will want to have this book on your bookshelf.
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