Hallucinogen use among young adults ages 19-30 in the United States: Changes from 2018 to 2021

Personality traits explain the relationship between psychedelic use and less depression in a comparative study

Interest in psychedelics is increasing due to the potential for improved mental health and quality of life. However, adverse effects on mental health are still a concern. Personality traits have been suggested to both influence the psychedelic experience and mental health, and even be changed by psychedelic use. The present study describes for the first time a national sample of Swedish psychedelic users (n = 400) compared to a sex and age-matched control-group of non-users (n = 400) regarding mental health variables (depression, insomnia, problematic alcohol and drug use, and dissociation) and personality (Big Five). Data was collected in an online survey including individuals from 16 years of age who had at least one psychedelic experience. The main results reported psychedelic users as less depressed (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9) (d = - 0.29) and having more use of drugs (Drug Use Disorders Identification Test; DUDIT) (d = 1.27). In the Big Five personality traits, openness differed notably (d = 1.72), and the between-group effects in PHQ-9 were explained by lower neuroticism. Our findings reveal that psychedelic users report less depression and higher drug use, and this is partly due to personality traits. These results have implications on how we view psychedelic users and the use of psychedelic drugs.

National and regional trends in seizures of shrooms (psilocybin) in the United States, 2017-2022

BACKGROUND

Psilocybin, the principle psychoactive component in "shrooms", is regaining acceptance in therapeutic settings, leading to media coverage of medical benefits associated with use. Possession is also becoming increasingly decriminalized throughout the United States. There is a lack of data on prevalence of shroom use, but trends in law enforcement seizure data can provide one indicator of shroom availability in US communities. We determined whether seizures of shrooms have shifted between 2017 and 2022.

METHODS

This study examined national and regional trends in counts and total weight of shroom seizures reported to High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas in the US between 2017 and 2022 (N=4526).

RESULTS

There were 402 seizures in 2017 compared to 1396 in 2022 with the plurality occurring in the Midwest (36.0%), followed by the West (33.5%). Between 2017 Quarter 1 (Q1) and 2022 Quarter 4 (Q4), the number of seizures increased by 368.9% (AQPC=7.0; 95 CI: 5.9-8.1) and there were significant increases in all four regions. In terms of weight, 226.0kg was seized in 2017 vs. 844.0kg in 2022, and the greatest total weight in seizures was in the West (1864.2kg, 42.6%), followed by the South (1831.9kg, 41.8%). Between 2017 Q1 and 2022 Q4, the total weight seized in the US increased by 2749.7% (AQPC=6.2, 95% CI: 0.3-12.4) and there were significant increases in all four regions.

CONCLUSIONS

Seizures of shrooms have increased, suggesting that availability may be escalating; thus, increases in prevention efforts and harm reduction education are warranted.

Trends in hallucinogen-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations in California, USA, from 2016 to 2022

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Hallucinogens encompass a diverse range of compounds of increasing scientific and public interest. Risks associated with hallucinogen use are under-researched and poorly understood. We aimed to compare the trends in hallucinogen-associated health-care use with alcohol- and cannabis-associated health-care use.

DESIGN, SETTING AND CASES

We conducted an ecological study with publicly available data on International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis codes associated with emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations from the California Department of Healthcare Access and Information (HCAI). HCAI includes primary and secondary ICD-10 codes reported with ED or hospital discharge from every non-federal health-care facility licensed in California, United States, from 2016 to 2022.

MEASUREMENTS

ICD-10 codes were classified as hallucinogen-, cannabis- or alcohol-associated if they were from the corresponding category in the ICD-10 block 'mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use'.

FINDINGS

Observed hallucinogen-associated ED visits increased by 54% between 2016 and 2022, from 2260 visits to 3476 visits, compared with a 20% decrease in alcohol-associated ED visits and a 15% increase in cannabis-associated ED visits. The observed hallucinogen-associated hospitalizations increased by 55% during the same period, from 2556 to 3965 hospitalizations, compared with a 1% increase in alcohol-associated hospitalizations and a 1% increase in cannabis-associated hospitalizations. This rise in hallucinogenic ED visits was significantly different from the trend in cannabis-associated (P < 0.001) and alcohol-associated (P = 0.005) ED visits. The hallucinogen-associated hospitalizations trend also significantly differed when compared with cannabis- (P < 0.001) and alcohol-associated (P < 0.001) hospitalizations.

CONCLUSIONS

Hallucinogen-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations in California, USA, showed a large relative but small absolute increase between 2016 and 2022.

The Rising Use of LSD among Business Managers

BACKGROUND

Although studies have demonstrated that the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is on the rise in the United States, it remains unclear how this trend looks across the hierarchical ladder of the American workforce. This is relevant given that LSD is increasingly being touted as a means of boosting creativity and performance, with mounting anecdotal evidence that business managers in particular are turning to it for inspiration and insight.

METHODS

Using pooled cross-sectional data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2006-2014) on 168,920 adults in the United States employed full-time (weighted = 117,270,940), this study investigates how temporal trends in past year LSD use differ among business managers and non-managers.

RESULTS

The results suggest that the prevalence of past year LSD use increased over time at a greater rate among business managers than non-managers and that this difference cannot be accounted for by changes in business managers' perceived risk of LSD use or general substance use relative to non-managers.

CONCLUSIONS

The study's findings indicate that temporal trends in past year LSD use depend on employees' hierarchical rank in their organization and suggest that business managers, regardless of gender, are becomingly increasingly interested in the potential competitive advantages that LSD may offer.