The Sonoran desert toad’s glands release a secretion that produces a psychedelic experience when it is dried and vaporized. Image: Mario Krpan via Getty Images

A powerful psychedelic compound best associated with the Sonoran desert toad ( Incilius alvarius ) has been recreated in a lab and transformed into a fast-acting nasal spray. A recent clinical trial outlined this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) suggests this spray could help people with treatment resistant depression, without the often less pleasant element of psychedelics. In the study, a single squeeze of the spray eased patients’ depressive symptoms with benefits lasting throughout the eight week trial.

Crucially, those long-term benefits (which have also been observed in other psychedelic research ) didn’t require enduring an all-day mystical trip. Most patients were cleared for release less than two hours after taking the spray. Thankfully, the approach also eliminates the need to fondle a toxic amphibian.…