Overview
- University of Ulm pharmacologist and toxicologist Holger Barth issued a public warning ahead of Halloween about attempts to get high by consuming toad secretions.
- Barth said the secretions contain heart‑active toxins comparable to digitalis glycosides from foxglove, posing serious cardiotoxic dangers.
- Reports indicate the practice, documented in Australia and the United States, is now appearing in Europe with cases in Germany.
- Users reportedly ingest the substances by licking toads, drinking a decoction made from toad skin, or smoking the material.
- Effects can begin about 30 minutes after exposure, ranging from euphoria and sensory changes to nausea and vomiting, with high doses risking sharp blood‑pressure increases, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest.