# An esoteric hallucinogen's 'superstar' adherents — retained record

> Retained news record from news:semafor.

Canonical: https://highsignal.app/data/records/0bc5e6fe064f7607

[← sources](https://highsignal.app/data)


source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:semafor)  published 2026-08-09 14:57 ingested 2026-08-10 07:22

[original source ↗](https://www.semafor.com/article/08/09/2026/an-esoteric-hallucinogens-superstar-adherents)

## retained text



```
The Ego Trip by Kimon de Greef.
South African journalist Kimon de Greef takes readers to the Sonoran desert in the southwestern US, where a powerful yet obscure drug has attracted evangelists including journalist Michael Pollan and the Navy SEAL who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden.
Devotees inhale a milky toad venom containing the psychoactive compound called 5-MeO-DMT — also known as the “God molecule.” The Ego Trip is a “sharp-eyed investigation of one of the lesser-known corners” of hallucinogens, the fanatics it entices, and the “psychedelic superstars” it elevates, Kirkus Reviews wrote. Buy The Ego Trip from your local bookstore.
```



document fetched 2026-08-10 07:22 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/08/09/2026/an-esoteric-hallucinogens-superstar-adherents