How to Smoke DMT for Beginners in 5 Easy Steps

Before you smoke DMT, reflect on why it is that you want to take this substance. What is the purpose of your experience?

Your mindset entering into the DMT realm is essential to the quality of your experience. If you are terrified and paranoid going into it, chances are you will not have a good time. We highly recommend that you take time to reflect on whether you are ready for this experience. Meditate if you can, and perhaps journal. Learn as much about the substance as you possibly can.

Remember, it is okay not to be ready.

If you have never taken a psychedelic such as LSD or psilocybin, we suggest you start with one of these, as DMT is sometimes described as a psilocybin trip multiplied by 1000. The purpose is to learn to let go to the powers of a psychedelic. If you don’t let go, chances are you will not have a good experience.

Again, there is no rush to try DMT. Ensure that you are in the right frame of mind before dabbling in the food of the gods.

For some, this will be the hardest step. Across most of the West and the world, DMT is a highly illegal substance. So much so, that your greatest risk in smoking it may be the legal risk.

Obviously, Spotlight can not help you source your DMT, but to the best of your ability, try to get it from a trusted source. As DMT, when smoked, comes in the form of a white crystal or powder (though it can also be tan or beige), it is possible an immoral dealer could add other addictive substances to the powder. Again, ensure that your source is trustworthy.

If you cannot be 100% sure of the quality of your DMT, to be safe, you should buy a test kit. There are two main types of tests. The first will determine whether what you have is actually DMT, and the second can determine if the supply has been contaminated by fentanyl.

While the test liquid can be relatively expensive at around $50 for what essentially amounts to a lifetime supply —the fentanyl strips are much cheaper at a few dollars a strip— we highly suggest you make this investment. If nothing else, it will help put your mind to ease before smoking the DMT.

To learn more about testing DMT, visit this site, this site, or this site. You can also buy test kits through these websites (this is not a paid promotion).

Once you have put yourself in the right mindset and acquired and tested your DMT, it is time to find a responsible and trusted trip sitter. This should be a person that knows that what you are doing is safe, and who won’t freak out if you start having a bad experience. If possible, it would be best if this person had previous DMT or psychedelic experience, but of course this is not always possible. The key thing is that they are a calming presence that can hold your hand or hug you if you need it, and can wait out the experience with you. Again, make sure this person is someone you trust.

Once you have put yourself in the right mindset and acquired and tested your DMT, and found a trip sitter, it’s time to smoke!

Ensure that you have a pleasant and familiar setting. Perhaps play some calming music, and have a blanket or something to snuggle with nearby. Though the experience only lasts around 15 minutes, it is still essential that your setting is conducive to a good trip.

The best smoking device to use is a glass freebase pipe (sometimes referred to as a “crack pipe”). Put a screen in the pipe, then place the DMT crystals evenly over the center of the screen. Here it is essential to note that you are not trying to burn the DMT, but rather liquify and vaporize it. Therefore, do not touch the flame to the pipe, but rather bring it very close and let the heat from the flame do the work. You may have to experiment with the distance of the torch to ensure it is close enough to melt the crystals, but not so close it burns them. Gently rotate the pipe back and forth to gain an even melt. Ensure you use a butane torch lighter for better control.

Alternatively, you can use a cannabis pipe or bong, using the “sandwich” technique. This means placing the DMT between two thick layers of a burnable herb, such as mint (some people also use cannabis). Gently light the top of the herb on fire and slowly inhale. The purpose here is that when the herb burns, the DMT under the herb is heated enough to vaporize, without burning itself. Then, the melted DMT is vaporized before it drains through the layer of herb beneath it.

When it comes to dose levels, we will use guidelines presented by MAPS.

5 – 10 mg will cause a pleasant buzz throughout the body, with little or no visual colors

15 – 25 mg will elicit visualizations, patterns and simple forms

25 – 35 mg will cause the patterns to dissolve into stronger and more distinct images

35 – 60 mg will cause the full-blown effects, and may carry your consciousness to another “universe”

Now, when you are smoking it can be very difficult to judge how many milligrams you are vaporizing and inhaling, so it is practical to use a simple rule of thumb. Taking one hit from your pipe or water bong will elicit seeing pleasant colors and body sensations. Two hits will cause the patterns to dissolve and cause an intense hallucination —here it is common for people to experience entering a “tunnel” or portal, or perhaps experience a sensation of freefalling. The third hit should be enough to elicit the full effects, also known as a “breakthrough” experience. Here, people have been said to “break through” the tunnel, and enter an entirely different universe where autonomous beings can be interacted with.

Before taking your first hit, take several deep breaths to slow down your breathing. Then, for each hit, slowly inhale, hold the smoke in for at least 5 seconds, and exhale. Take the next hit immediately. You will feel the effects of each hit almost instantaneously. After your second hit, it may be difficult to continue, so make sure you discuss with your trip sitter beforehand whether you intend to go for a full breakthrough experience. Taking the third hit, immediately after the second, can be a daunting task as you will already be experiencing intense hallucinations —despite having only started smoking less than 10 seconds previously.

If it is your first time (or any other time for that matter) there is no shame in stopping before a full breakthrough experience. Also important to note is that you can start with a small amount and build up to a larger dose the same day, as any tolerance you build up dissipates within half an hour.

Once you smoke, make sure you put the pipe down immediately, or you may drop it. Your trip sitter may need to help you with this.

Enjoy the trip!

Once your experience is finished, the work begins. Often during your travels in the DMT universe you may learn important life lessons, though it can be hard to make sense of them and apply them to your life. This process is called integration.

Try to write down your thoughts after the experience is over, though capturing it in words may be nigh on impossible. Talk through the experience with your trip sitter, and reflect on what transpired over the coming months. Sometimes a lesson learned in the DMT space can take months or even years to make sense.

Ideally, you would be able to discuss it with a trained psychotherapist, though for most people that may be impossible. Fortunately, a service called the Fireside Project exists, which you can call or talk with through their app. Fireside can help you integrate your experience through talking with their volunteers. You (or your trip sitter) can also call them during the experience, to help walk you through it.

Remember, you are not taking DMT just to get high. This is an extremely powerful hallucinogen, and its lasting effects on your life can be profound. It is essential that you integrate the experience into your life.