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Mike Tyson “died” after he smoked toad venom.

The 55-year-old former professional boxer tripped out after taking the psychedelic drug – which is collected from the Bufo Alvarius amphibian species and then dried before being turned into a crystal that is able to be smoked – for the first time, and he credits the substance for teaching him that he isn’t going to live “forever”.

He said: “I ‘died’ during my first trip. In my trips I’ve seen that death is beautiful.

“Life and death both have to be beautiful, but death has a bad rep.

“The toad has taught me that I’m not going to be here forever. There’s an expiration date.”

Prior to the first time he ever took the drug, Tyson insists he was “a wreck”, and so he puffed away on the venom for a dare.

He said: “I did it as a dare. I was doing heavy drugs like cocaine, so why not? It’s another dimension. Before I did the toad, I was a wreck.

“The toughest opponent I ever faced was myself. I had low self-esteem.

“People with big egos often have low self-esteem. We use our ego to subsidize that. The toad strips the ego.”

But toad has helped the former fighter-turned-businessman – who is working on two brands of cannabis – to turn his life around, and it has enabled him to “focus” a lot better after he used it 53 times in the last four years, during which time he has also shed 100lbs.

Speaking to The New York Post newspaper at Wonderland – a Miami conference dedicated to psychedelics, microdosing and medicine – he added: “It has made me more creative and helps me focus.

“I’m more present as a businessman and entrepreneur. People see the difference [in me]. It speaks for itself.

“If you knew me in 1989 you knew a different person. My mind isn’t sophisticated enough to fathom what happened, but life has improved.

“The toad’s whole purpose is to reach your highest potential. I look at the world differently. We’re all the same. Everything is love.”

In April, US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter said toad venom helped to keep him sober for more than a year.