Psychedelic Poaching: Rare DMT Acacia trees

Rare Acacia in habitat, likely cut down by DMT poachers. Photo by Liam Engel.

While many species of Acacia contain DMT, some DMT containing Acacia are common and weedy, while others are very few in number and vulnerable to extinction.

Some of Australia’s rarest psychedelic Acacia trees are harmed by people cutting them down to make DMT. This is dangerous and unsustainable, as well as an impractical and wasteful. The DMT poachers doing this could benefit from some simple lessons in ecology, botany and chemistry.

This new video documents ethnobotanist Dr Liam Engel’s trip to a site of vulnerable Acacia poaching. Enjoy the in-situ footage of this special population while you prepare yourself for a painful conclusion.

How can you help protect psychedelic Acacia? It’s pretty simple.

• Confirm the source

• Avoid wild Acacias

• Mindful harvest

• Avoid Acacia

• Read the Conseracacian flyer and spread the word

It has been estimated that there are roughly only 4000 of these trees in the wild. On this short trip alone, Liam noted at least 40 trees that had been cut down. Even if only one percent of this species’ population was killed, this is a significant impact.

If you are interested in psychedelic Acacia species, we’d rather you learn about more common species like Acacia floribunda, Acacia acuminata or Acacia longifolia. Read the Reference Guide to Common Wattles for a deeper dive on this topic.