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Young Adults’ Use of Non-LSD Hallucinogens Increasing
Past-year use of non-LSD hallucinogens among young adults between the ages of 19 and 30 nearly doubled, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan and Columbia University.
Findings, based on data from the Monitoring the Future survey, were published in the journal Addiction.
Use of non-LSD hallucinogens within the past year among the study population was 3.4% in 2018. By 2021, that figure climbed to 6.6%. Use of LSD remained around 4% throughout the study period.
“While non-LSD hallucinogen use remains substantially less prevalent than use of substances such as alcohol and cannabis, a doubling of prevalence in just 3 years is a dramatic increase and raises possible public health concerns,” study co-author Megan Patrick, research professor in the Survey Research Center at U-M’s Institute for Social Research and co-principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future study, said in a news release.
Other findings from the study included the following:
- Rates of non-LSD hallucinogens among 19- to 30-year olds were greater for males.
- Young White adults used such substances more frequently than Black study participants.
- Non-LSD hallucinogen use was more likely among individuals whose parents had a college education—a proxy for socioeconomic status.
- Asked how often they used LSD and other hallucinogens such as mescaline, peyote, psilocybin, or PCP within the past 12 months, survey participants’ responses ranged from 0 times to 40 or more. Psilocybin was the most frequently used non-LSD drug listed.
The survey used to collect data did not ask participants whether their non-LSD hallucinogen use was for a therapeutic or medical reason.
“The use of psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs for a range of therapeutic uses is increasing, given accumulating yet still preliminary data from randomized trials on clinical effectiveness,” said Katherine Keyes, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School and lead author of the study, said in the release. “With increased visibility for medical and therapeutic use, however, potentially comes diversion and unregulated product availability, as well as a lack of understanding among the public of potential risks.”
Keyes added that because approved therapeutic use of psychedelics under the observation of a trained professional remains uncommon within the US, “the trends we observe here are undoubtedly in nonmedical and nontherapeutic use.”
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