A porn star has been charged with reckless homicide after he used toad venom to cure a photographer's cocaine addiction

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A porn star has been charged with reckless homicide after he used toad venom to cure a photographer's cocaine addiction
A Colorado river toad which is native to southern US and northern Mexico and emitsGetty Images
  • Nacho Vidal, 40, hosted a spiritual ceremony at his home in Enguera, Spain on July 28, 2019.
  • It was hosted in order to to try and cure fashion photographer, Jose Luis Abad's cocaine addiction.
  • He was charged for supplying the toad's psychedelic venom and failing to take reasonable precautions.
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A Spanish porn star has been charged with reckless homicide after a man died during a mystical ritual involving psychedelic toad venom.

Nacho Vidal, whose real name is Ignacio Jordà González, 47, hosted a spiritual ceremony at his home in Enguera, Spain, on July 28, 2019, according to a statement from the court in Xàtiva, Valencia.

It involved burning the scales of a Colorado River toad and inhaling its venomous vapors in a botched attempt to cure fashion photographer Jose Luis Abad's cocaine addiction, The Times reported.

In a video from Abad's phone, he is seen doing so for 20 seconds, crying and contorting his body, with beating on a tambourine and bells ringing in the background, according to Las Provincias.

After his face and chest turn blue, Vidal begins administering first aid and tells the cameraman, his cousin, to call an ambulance.

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He was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter last May following an 11-month investigation by Spain's La Guardia Civil, CNN noted.

According to the court statement, proceedings against his cousin and another person involved, both of whom were not identified, were dropped because they had no "control of the situation."

Vidal was also charged because he supplied the psychedelic drug and failed to control the amount that the victim inhaled.

The judge added that he had failed to take any precautions in the ceremony going wrong and noted that the substance was not recognized as a medicine by Spanish health authorities.

The porn star's lawyer, Daniel Salvador, told CNN last June that the death was a "tragic accident" and that his client was not responsible.

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If found guilty, Vidal could face up to four years in prison under section 142 of the Spanish penal code.

The Colorado River toad, also known as the Sonoran Desert or Bufo alvarius toad, is found across the southern US and northern Mexico.

It secretes a chemical called 5-MeO-DMT, causing its hallucinogenic effects, according to the Addiction Center. Once inhaled, the venom can produce a high in 15 seconds that lasts between 20-40 minutes.

Describing his first experience of it on YouTube, Vidal said: "My body turned into light, the light formed part of the ground, the sky, the plants, nature, the universe. I was the universe. I was everything."

Nacho Vidal has worked in the porn industry for 26 years and describes himself as "one of the most important exponents."

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