OPT-IN

Ohio Psychedelic Therapy & Integration Network

OPT-IN follow-up brief · Unbecoming screening · October 2026

5-MeO-DMT in 2026: where things stand for Ohioans

Watch the film: rent it at unbecoming.movie ($9.99, 72 hours)

Unbecoming (2026, directed by Patrick Moreau) follows two people over six months through a supervised protocol built on neuroscience, contemplative practice and 5-MeO-DMT, and it stays with them through the weeks afterward, when integration begins. Neuroscientist Christof Koch, psychedelic researcher Robin Carhart-Harris, Indigenous medicine guardian Hector Martinez and Tibetan Buddhist monk Charok Lama all appear in it. We screened it on October 3 in Upper Arlington, and the conversation afterward showed how much curiosity there is about this medicine.

We hold that curiosity alongside two facts. The protocol in the film is a paid program in Kelowna, British Columbia, run by Nicholas and Fehren Kusmich; Nicholas is one of the film's executive producers, and the program's own site says the featured scientists do not endorse it. And 5-MeO-DMT is among the most potent psychedelics people use, with no legal access in the United States outside clinical trials. We meet clients where they are, with accurate information and without judgment, and we help them integrate whatever they choose.

The short version

  • 5-MeO-DMT has been Schedule I federally since January 2011, and in Ohio. No state program covers it, including Oregon's and Colorado's.
  • No 5-MeO-DMT drug is FDA-approved. Two companies are running late-stage programs for treatment-resistant depression, and any approval is years away.
  • Ohioans who seek it go to Canada or Mexico, work with underground facilitators, or source it themselves.
  • We can offer preparation, harm reduction and integration; we cannot supply, dose or refer to an illegal source.

Federal

The FDA picture

In drug development, 5-MeO-DMT goes by mebufotenin, and two versions are in trials for treatment-resistant depression. GH Research's inhaled GH001 came off an FDA clinical hold in January 2026, and the company is targeting a global Phase 3 start in late 2026. BPL-003, a nasal spray, is headed into Phase 3 after an FDA meeting earlier this year, and Eli Lilly completed its purchase of the developer, AtaiBeckley, on September 11, 2026.

An approval would cover one pharmaceutical product, for one diagnosis, given in a clinic with monitoring. It would not make toad secretion or any other 5-MeO-DMT legal. Neither program has Phase 3 results yet.

Ohio

How that lands here

Today: possessing a Schedule I hallucinogen in less than the bulk amount is a fifth-degree felony (up to 12 months and a $2,500 fine), and selling or making it carries more serious charges. Ohio has no program and no city decriminalization. Colorado's decriminalization law names DMT, which is a different compound, so it doesn't cover 5-MeO-DMT either.

After an approval: under Ohio law (R.C. 3719.43), a federal rescheduling applies to Ohio's controlled-substance schedules automatically, so an approved product could reach Ohio clinics without a new state law. Everything else would stay Schedule I. Counselors, social workers and other non-prescribers would most likely work in preparation, monitoring and integration roles.

The paths clients are taking

Each path carries its own protections and risks. Ask about each one without judgment; clients rarely tell us about something they expect to be shamed for.

Clinical trials

Legal · limited

The only legal route in the U.S. Trials enroll a small number of people with specific diagnoses and screen them closely.

Know: search ClinicalTrials.gov for "mebufotenin" or "5-MeO-DMT" to find sites. Legitimate trials don't charge participants for the study drug.

Canada

Unscheduled · unregulated

Canada's drug law doesn't list 5-MeO-DMT, so personal possession isn't prohibited, while selling or distributing it is illegal. Paid programs, including the one in Unbecoming, operate there.

Know: ask who does the medical screening, who is in the room, how touch and consent are handled, and what happens in an emergency. Never travel home with it.

Mexico

Widely offered · unregulated

Retreats offer toad and synthetic sessions openly. Training, screening and medical backup range from careful to nothing at all.

Know: ask whether they use synthetic or toad secretion, how they measure the dose, and how far away the nearest hospital is.

Underground facilitators

Unlicensed · in Ohio

Some facilitators are experienced and careful, and there is still no license, complaint process or oversight.

Know: a facilitator should be able to tell you the dose in milligrams, where the substance came from, and what they do if someone stops breathing well or vomits.

Toad secretion

Conservation concern

Demand has driven poaching of the Sonoran Desert toad. Dried secretion varies widely in strength and carries other compounds, including bufotenin.

Know: the synthetic molecule is chemically identical and easier to dose, and many harm-reduction groups favor it for safety and for the toad.

Self-sourcing & self-dosing

Felony in Ohio

Active doses are a few milligrams, so an eyeballed or "pinch" dose can be far stronger than intended.

Know: no one should use it alone. A milligram scale, a sober sitter, and lying down somewhere safe before it starts all help, and possession carries real legal exposure.

Any route

Harm-reduction essentials

  • Never with MAOIs: combining 5-MeO-DMT with ayahuasca, Syrian rue or other harmala sources, or with MAOI antidepressants, has caused serious toxicity and deaths.
  • Fast and overwhelming: inhaled, it takes effect within seconds and can cause vomiting, loss of motor control or brief unconsciousness. The person should already be lying down, with a sober sitter who knows the recovery position.
  • Screening: heart disease, blood pressure problems, bipolar disorder, psychosis and current crisis all raise the risk. Medications should be reviewed with a prescriber.
  • Consent and touch: agree beforehand on what touch is okay, and that "stop" means stop.
  • Integration: the film spends most of its time on the weeks afterward, and so do we; that is where our work comes in.

Fireside Project (free peer support, during or after): 62-FIRESIDE (623-473-7433)

Trouble breathing, chest pain, seizure or no response: 911 · Crisis: 988

For Ohio clinicians

Staying inside our scope

  • Can: educate, explore a client's plans, offer harm-reduction information, help them prepare, and do integration afterward.
  • Can't: supply, procure, handle or dose 5-MeO-DMT or toad secretion, attend an illegal session, or refer to a specific underground provider.
  • Document the conversation as harm reduction and informed consent, including the legal risks the client has been told about.
  • When unsure, consult your licensing board's guidance, your ethics code and a colleague. This brief is education, not legal advice.

After the film

Questions to keep talking about

  1. What stayed with you from Unbecoming, and what questions did it leave you with?
  2. What does good integration support look like for someone coming home from a 5-MeO-DMT experience?
  3. How do we talk with a client about a program they first saw in a film made by the people who run it?

Prepared by OPT-IN, the Ohio Psychedelic Therapy & Integration Network, as a follow-up to the Unbecoming community screening on October 3, 2026. Current as of October 23, 2026. Educational only: not medical or legal advice, and not an endorsement of illegal use or of any program shown in the film. Laws and timelines change quickly.

Sources: Unbecoming (official site); The D-Word film listing; Awaken with 5 (protocol featured in the film); DEA final rule placing 5-MeO-DMT in Schedule I (75 FR 79296); Ohio R.C. 2925.11; Ohio R.C. 3719.43; Mind Medicine Law, 5-MeO-DMT guide (Colorado); GH Research, FDA lifts GH001 hold (Jan. 5, 2026); OINDP News, Lilly to acquire AtaiBeckley and BPL-003; Lilly completes AtaiBeckley acquisition (Sept. 11, 2026); ClinicalTrials.gov: mebufotenin; Psychedelic Law Canada, 5-MeO-DMT; Shen et al., harmaline and 5-MeO-DMT interactions; HALI Foundation, Bufo: the toad, the science and the risks; Psychedelics Today, toad conservation; Fireside Project; 988 Lifeline.