Spanish pornstar Nacho Vidal has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a man died at Vidal's home in Valencia during a supposed "mystic ritual" involving toad venom last July.

According to Spanish police, the victim, a photographer named Jose Luis Abad, died after inhaling the poison of an endangered North American toad. The "mystic ritual" reportedly happened at Vidal's home near the southern city of Valencia in July last year. Claiming innocence, Nacho Vidal has allegedly stated that the incident was an unfortunate accident. The Colorado River toad, known as bufo alvarius, secretes a powerful toxin from its glands, to defend itself against predators in Mexico and south-western US states, where it is found in the Sonoran Desert. According to reports, the natural substance, identified by chemists as 5-MeO-DMT, is said to induce an intense psychedelic state when consumed by users, earning it the nickname the God molecule. A study from 2019 also suggested that "the substance may have therapeutic properties, such as easing anxiety and depression, but acknowledged there was a limited understanding of its effects in humans."

The Spanish police reportedly stated that Nacho Vidal, who has apparently featured in hundreds of pornographic movies, had been under investigation for 11 months over the death of Jose Luis Abad. Vidal has a history of promoting the use of the toad's venom in his YouTube videos. Despite investigators claiming that the ritual was sometimes performed in order to provide medicinal benefits, a police statement mentioned, "But the apparently harmless ancestral ritual posed a serious health risk, attracting people who were easily influenced, vulnerable or who were seeking help for illnesses or addictions using alternative methods."

Vidal's lawyer, Daniel Salvador, has denied the involvement of his client in any illegal activities and stated that the photographer had previously tried that substance and wanted to try it again in a "comfortable" environment. Adding that Vidal was very upset by the death of this person, Salvador reportedly said, "With all due respect to the dead man and his family, Nacho maintains that the consumption (of the venom) was completely voluntary."