Alternative healthcare practices using psychedelic “plant medicines,” such as ayahuasca, challenge current prohibition and mainstream healthcare frameworks. Despite the criminalization of ayahuasca's active component, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), Australian ayahuasca dietero networks have developed sophisticated healthcare systems with systematic assessment processes, safety mechanisms, and...
While research on novel therapeutic applications of ketamine is expanding, particularly in controlled settings, there is limited exploration of its consumption related to self-treatment of psychiatric conditions. This study investigated the characteristics of people who use ketamine and psychedelics for self-treatment of psychiatric conditions, providing insight into patterns of use within this...
Background Following Australia’s landmark 2023 decision to approve psilocybin and MDMA for clinical use, psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is beginning to emerge within regulated mental health settings. This study investigates psychologists’ views on the relevance of psychedelic therapists’ lived-living experience (LLE) with psychedelics. While discussion around LLE is growing, little is known...
Psychedelics are theorized to enhance emotional openness and interpersonal attunement, but their effects in sexual contexts - particularly among those with a history of sexual trauma - remain underexplored. This study investigated whether individuals who had used psychedelics to cope with or overcome sexual trauma (Psy-CST) reported different experiences of sexual communication and emotional...
Methamphetamine use disorder, associated with significant morbidity and mortality, has limited effective treatments. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy shows promise, but data on its safety and efficacy in this population are limited. This exploratory study describes the demographic, substance use, and mental health characteristics of people who used methamphetamine and psychedelics and the...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms have long been used for their psychoactive effects, but emerging evidence suggests that certain lignicolous ("wood-loving") species may also induce a distinct toxidrome known as "wood-lover paralysis" (WLP). WLP is characterised by transient weakness following mushroom ingestion, but its aetiology and prevalence remain poorly understood. In this paper, we present...
Despite high-dose 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) drug alerts being distributed, no research has been conducted as to changes in use in response. This study aimed to determine if: (i) high-dose MDMA drug alerts, and (ii) varied descriptions of dose, effects and actions to reduce harm were associated with intentions to reduce the initial MDMA dose in a hypothetical scenario. Australians...
Ketamine's popularity has surged globally in the past decade, especially among young men. Emergency department visits due to its toxicity remain relatively rare, often linked to co-occurring use of other substances. Using data from the Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2018, this study explored the correlates associated with lifetime and past-year ketamine use, and estimated the socio-demographic...
Drugs sold on cryptomarkets are thought to have lower levels of adulteration and higher strength compared with those sourced off-line. The present study aimed to determine whether cryptomarket and off-line-sourced 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine (MDMA), cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) differed in adulteration and strength. A between-groups design...
The recreational use of LSD, a synthetic psychedelic drug, has surged in recent years, coinciding with a renewed research focus on its potential psychotherapeutic properties. This study aims to describe the experiences and perceptions of individuals engaging in LSD use for the first time, derived from a large international sample. This study utilised 2018 Global Drug Survey data collected from...
INTRODUCTION: This study explores how individuals self-treat psychiatric conditions with psychedelics outside medical guidance bridging the gap in understanding unregulated therapeutic use. AIMS: The primary objective was to extract specific factors underlying the effects of psychedelics, exploring their relationship with the need for medication, particularly for mental health conditions like...
INTRODUCTION: Prohibited drugs in unregulated markets may be adulterated, resulting in increased risks for people who use drugs. This study investigated levels of drug adulteration and substitution of drugs purchased in Australia from cryptomarkets. METHODS: Data were collected from a darknet forum called Test4Pay from 1 September 2022 to 23 August 2023. Posts were included if they reported the...
Drug use and trading are typically social activities; however, supply through cryptomarkets can occur without any in-person social contact. People who use drugs alone may be at higher risk of experiencing harms, for example, due to lack of others who may call for emergency assistance. Alternatively, cryptomarkets may be a source of harm reduction information and drugs with better-known content...
Prohibited drugs in unregulated markets are often adulterated, resulting in increased risks for consumers. This study investigated levels of drug adulteration and substitution in drugs purchased by Australians from cryptomarkets.Methods.Data were collected from the Dread subforum /d/Test4Pay from 1/9/2022 to 23/8/2023. Posts were included if they reported the results of drug samples submitted...
Abstract Background and Aims Both Peyote and San Pedro cacti contain mescaline, a classical psychedelic eliciting mystical and visual effects, but only Peyote is a vulnerable species. We sought to address the questions 1; do people who use Peyote substitute with San Pedro, and vice versa, and; 2. how popular is the use of wild harvested mescaline cactus compared with the use of cultivated...
Abstract Background Despite the proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in recent years, there are many gaps in our understanding of the phenomena. Current methodologies still fail to provide timely and scientifically reliable knowledge between controlled trials and online data reports that lack analytical confirmation of the reported substances. This study tests a new online,...
Purpose Following deaths and hospitalisations in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, related to the unwitting consumption of a combination of 25C-NBOMe and 4-FA, a community-led unauthorised drug checking service was rapidly established at a subsequent music festival. We aim to demonstrate the value of community-led drug checking, even when conducted in less-than-ideal conditions, by describing...
Digital drugs, or binaural beats claimed to elicit specific cognitive or emotional states, are a phenomenon about which little is known. In this brief report, we describe demographic and drug use correlates of binaural beat use, patterns of use, reasons for use and methods of access. The Global Drug Survey 2021 was translated into 11 languages; 30 896 responses were gathered from 22 countries....
Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) may be used as an alternative to natural cannabis; however, they may carry a greater risk of problematic use and withdrawal. This study aimed to characterise the withdrawal symptom profile of SCRAs and compare their profile of effect with high-potency herbal cannabis. Global Drug Survey data (2015 and 2016) were used to access a clinically...
Colorimetric reagent kits can provide information about the compounds present in drug samples. This study aimed to identify patterns and correlates of colorimetric reagent kit use, as well as behavioural outcomes of testing, amongst people who use illegal stimulants in a context that lacks permanent government-sanctioned drug checking services. Australians residing in capital cities who...
Background: Microdosing psychedelics is the practice of taking small, sub-hallucinogenic doses of lysergic acid diethylamide or psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Despite its surging popularity, little is known about the specific intentions to start microdosing and the effects of this practice. Aims: First, we aimed to replicate previous findings regarding the subjective benefits and challenges...
Background: Microdosing psychedelics – the practice of taking small, sub-hallucinogenic doses of substances like LSD or psilocybin-containing mushrooms – is becoming increasingly popular. Despite its surging popularity, little is known about the effects of this practice. Aims: This research had three main aims. First, we attempted to replicate previous findings regarding the subjective benefits...
Ecstasy users in the electronic dance music scene are at high risk for using ecstasy adulterated with new psychoactive substances and/or methamphetamine. We examined self-reported testing of ecstasy among users in this scene. We surveyed individuals (aged 18-40 years) entering electronic dance music parties in New York City in 2017. Past-year ecstasy users (n = 351) were asked if they had...
The term 'double dropping' refers to a person consuming two drugs simultaneously, typically two ecstasy pills. This practice has been reported in numerous countries, including Australia; however, the prevalence and correlates of double dropping among ecstasy users is unknown. Double dropping is particularly risky when adulteration of 'ecstasy' with novel substances and higher dosages of MDMA in...
Introduction and Aims: Polysubstance users are a high-risk population for negative health-related consequences. Although some studies have described harm reduction strategies adopted by polysubstance users, studies have not examined their effectiveness in minimising health-related consequences. We aimed to identify dosing-related harm reduction strategies in a sample of polysubstance-using...