Chris Cantelmo

Sage Christopher Glenn Cantelmo (19 June 1962 - 24 November 2019) was an American biochemist and religious leader known for founding the spiritual movement Cantelmoism. He spent 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry and claimed to have cured his brain cancer using the psychedelic drug DMT, which became the foundational belief of his movement. Cantelmo promoted his ideas centered on spiritual enlightenment, healing, and altered physics primarily through Reddit, where he gained notoriety by lavishly giving away awards to users. His movement attracted both devoted followers and widespread criticism for its pseudoscientific claims.^[1]

Chris Cantelmo was born on 19 June 1962. Very little is known about Cantelmo's early life. He was a high school valedictorian and he graduated from Yale University. He has said that he tried hallucinogens as a teenager. He spent 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry.^[2][3] Cantelmo ran three HPLC companies; the last one was called GL Sciences. Cantelmo has claimed that he suffered from depression and anxiety his whole life. He owned a ranch in Los Angeles and has also mentioned having two kids.^[1]

In 2013, Cantelmo was diagnosed with brain cancer and had supposedly cured himself by vaping Dimethyltryptamine, a powerful hallucinogenic compound.

Cantelmoism, the spiritual movement founded by Cantelmo, was rooted in the belief that DMT had the potential to cure illnesses such as brain cancer and unlock higher states of consciousness. Cantelmo promoted his ideas through online platforms, particularly Reddit, where he gained a small but devoted following (often by giving away money) and gained thousands of followers.^[4]

The core tenets of Cantelmoism revolved around the use of DMT as a sacrament and a pathway to divine insight. Cantelmo claimed that his own experiences with the substance allowed him to access profound spiritual truths and heal his own mental and physical ailments. He described these revelations as proof of the interconnectedness of all life and the existence of a higher universal consciousness. Cantelmo's teachings mostly centered around the spiritual, psychical, and psychological benefits of DMT but also included other radical beliefs, such as a belief that certain laws of physics were incorrect, aliens are already on earth and predictions about the future.^[5][6]

Cantelmo's movement attracted significant attention but also considerable skepticism and criticism. Critics accused him of promoting pseudoscience and exploiting vulnerable individuals seeking alternative treatments for serious illnesses. His online presence often became a battleground between supporters, detractors, and concerned observers—so much so that it began to attract attention from all corners of the internet. In 2019, Alex Hall, an author and content creator, flew out to Los Angeles to film a documentary on Cantelmo’s extraordinary claims and eclectic lifestyle. However, Hall ultimately chose not to release the footage.^[1]

• Cantelmo believed schizophrenia should be encouraged and that schizophrenic's hallucinations are real.
• Cantelmo claimed that DMT is the cure for "all your diseases," including cancer and atheism.
• Cantelmo promoted sungazing.
• Cantelmo said that Einstein's Mass–energy equivalence formula, ${\displaystyle E=mc^{2}}$, is incorrect, and that it is supposed to be ${\displaystyle E=4/3\pi mc^{3}}$, and that the second law of thermodynamics is also incorrect.
• Cantelmo claimed that there will be an upcoming apocalyptical war.
• Cantelmo claimed that DMT and ayahuasca are vaccines to protect people from an imminent extraterrestrial attack.
• Cantelmo is allegedly God and a messiah in Cantelmoism.
• Cantelmo claimed to have special access to the spiritual world.^[7]

On November 24, 2019, Cantelmo was found dead on a hiking trail in LA with stab wounds, his death was ruled a suicide.^[8]

While Cantelmoism did not achieve mainstream acceptance, it sparked discussions about the intersection of science, spirituality, and the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics. Cantelmo remains a polarizing figure, remembered both as a visionary by his supporters and as a controversial promoter of unscientific ideas by his critics.^[9]

• DMT GOD: Prepare Yourself in 8 Days (2019). ISBN 1084133245

• List of messiah claimants
• Religion and drugs
• Religion and schizophrenia
• Terry A. Davis