Hamilton's Pharmacopeia

Hamilton embarks on a quest to answer the most important question in ethnoherpetological history and along the way, he finds the power of love as he heads to Mexico to discover the origins and usage of a psychoactive toad.

From the greenhouses of Thai cactophiles to the Tamaulipan thornscrub, Hamilton traces the history of peyote with the help of a Native American peyotist.

Hamilton investigates the pharmacology and traditional uses of Kratom, a Thai tree with opioid-containing leaves.

Hamilton travels across North America to study how and why DMT exists in the environment and the laboratory.

Hamilton heads to India to see industrial Ketamine synthesis, and speak with therapists and luminaries in an attempt to understand the role of dissociative anesthetics in society.

Hamilton meets an unsung hero of the psychedelic underground and hears a tragic tale of MDMA synthesis and chemiluminescence.

Hamilton ascends the Carpathian Mountains, microscope in hand, to learn how Europeans use Amanita muscaria, and uncovers the chemistry behind a mushroom-inspired pharmaceutical.

Deep in the Andean highlands of Peru, Hamilton becomes the apprentice of a local shaman, learning how to use the night-blooming San Pedro cactus as a medicine.