Welcome to the first Longevity Medical Clinic Online Journal!Here you will find health and medical news, the very latest in leading edge technologies, and my opinions and comments from a modern medical perspective. I find this very neat! I just love the idea of a place where I get to rant about whatever I choose. Who wouldn't? So here it is:The subject today is Toad Venom. I know, this is not the hottest topic on your mind. But remember, I get to rant on whatever I choose! I read an article today about a 35 year-old fellow in New York City who died after eating what was purported to be an aphrodisiac made from toad venom. This stuff is being sold under a host of names such as "Chinese Rock, Jamaican Stone, Love Rock, etc. The word on the street is that this stuff is an aphrodisiac and hallucinogen. They take toad venom, mix it with an organic resin and sell it to people with more ready cash than brains. Some folks smoke it, others lick it, a few totally stupid people, like the fellow who died, swallow it. Taking toad venom into your body in any form is a really bad idea. It will not make you horny! It may make you hallucinate since it is a neurotoxin, and it will poison your brain. And I guess some people might enjoy being poisoned. In fact their toxic and malfunctioning brain may even think they have been transformed into a great and irresistible lover. But the abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, heart damage, the possibility of dropping your IQ 50 points or even dying seem to be major drawbacks to me. I am not a toad expert, but I do have some passing knowledge on Genus Buffo in my mental trivia bank, so for those of you who are curious, here is what little I do know about this subject.

There are something over 200 types of toad in Genus Buffo on the planet. Most of them are toxic to some degree and many are fatal to anything that eats them, (except for a few types of snake that are immune to the toxins.) The toads secrete venom from a series of glands on their skin. The biggest glands are on their backs close to their ears. Yes, toads have ears. But there are also smaller venom glands closer to the hips and on what would be the calves and forearms if they were people. Any human that touches these parts of their bodies can absorb enough venom to get very sick or even die. So naturally the self-destructive among us cannot wait to get this stuff in their system.Sometimes I wonder....Is there intelligent life on Earth?JNM