simple short acting tryp's don't really form tolerance like normal long duration ones.
MET Tolerance: What the Evidence Suggests
Based on these anecdotal reports and general pharmacological principles, here's a synthesis of what's going on with MET (N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine) and tolerance:
The Anecdotal Pattern is Consistent
All five posts you've quoted point the same direction:
MET appears to share DMT's low-tolerance profile. Specific claims include:
• "I didn't notice much" tolerance even after redosing same-day (
boywonder, 2006)
• Ability to redose "again, and again, and again" without significant tolerance buildup (
Dondante, 2006)
• Explicit framing that "simple short acting tryp's don't really form tolerance like normal long duration ones" (
Help?!?!, 2013)
• Direct claim that MET has "much less considerable tolerance affliction than other tryptamines" (
Help?!?!, 2017)
Why This Makes Pharmacological Sense
The likely mechanism tying these together is
receptor kinetics tied to duration of action, not just chemical similarity to DMT:
1.
Rapid dissociation from 5-HT2A: DMT and MET are both fast-onset, short-duration tryptamines. The leading hypothesis for
acute tolerance (tachyphylaxis) to classical psychedelics involves 5-HT2A receptor internalization/desensitization, which requires sustained receptor occupancy. Drugs like LSD (which binds very tightly and has long duration) show pronounced acute tolerance; DMT, which clears quickly, doesn't give receptors time to desensitize significantly before the drug is gone.
2.
MET's pharmacokinetics mirror DMT's: Since MET is also smoked/vaped and metabolized quickly (similar duration profile to DMT, as boywonder noted: "pretty much identical to DMT in duration"), it likely doesn't maintain receptor occupancy long enough to trigger the same desensitization cascade that slower-acting tryptamines (like psilocin from oral psilocybin, or LSD) do.
Bottom Line
The limited evidence (anecdotal, n=5 forum posts, not controlled studies) suggests
MET's short duration and rapid clearance likely confer it the same "tolerance-resistant" property as DMT, probably for the same underlying pharmacokinetic reason (insufficient receptor dwell-time to trigger desensitization) rather than because of unique structural features of MET itself. This hasn't been formally studied in animals/humans the way DMT has (per your citations 27-29), so it remains an inference from user reports rather than an established pharmacological fact.
Claude Sonnet via arena.ai
*
"it is difficult to produce tolerance to DMT in animals and humans,[11] [27–29]"
Ayahuasca: pharmacology, safety, and therapeutic effects. dos Santos R.G., Hallak J. E.C. 2025. CNS Spectrums, 30, 1:e2. 10.1017/S109285292400213X
The pharmacology of Ayahuasca
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11 Gillin, JC, Kaplan, J, Stillman, R, et al. The psychedelic model of schizophrenia: the case of N,N-dimethyltryptamine. Am J Psychiatry. 1976;133:203–208.
27 Cole, JM, Pieper, WA. The effects of N,N-dimethyltryptamine on operant behavior in squirrel monkeys. Psychopharmacologia. 1973;29:107–112.
28 Gillin, JC, Cannon, E, Magyar, R, et al. Failure of N,N-dimethyltryptamine to evoke tolerance in cats. Biol Psychiatry. 1973;7:213–220.
29 Kovacic, B, Domino, EF. Tolerance and limited cross-tolerance to the effects of N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and lysergic acid diethylamide-25 (LSD) on food-rewarded bar pressing in the rat. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1976;197:495–502.
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