Psilocybin use has increased in the US alongside promising therapeutic potential for depression, raising concerns that individuals may forgo conventional mental health treatment for unsupervised psilocybin use. However, no nationally representative studies have examined whether psilocybin use is associated with differential treatment utilization or perceived unmet need for mental health care...
Ketamine is increasingly prescribed in an off-label manner to treat psychiatric disorders, raising concerns about direct-to-consumer advertising and the proliferation of clinics offering ketamine for at-home use without direct medical supervision. We aimed to identify and characterize clinics advertising ketamine for psychiatric conditions online in the New York metropolitan area (New York, New...
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a rule in which they intend to place the psychedelic phenethylamines 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. We investigated the epidemiology of use and availability of these substances. We investigated national trends in seizures of these compounds...
Ketamine-related poisonings and law enforcement seizures have been increasing in the United States, but population surveys suggest that recreational use has been rare with trends being relatively stable. This study aimed to estimate trends and correlates of use among nightclub attendees-a population known for high prevalence of party drug use. Adults entering randomly selected nightclubs in New...
'Tusi', also known as 'tusibí' or 'pink cocaine', is a drug concoction which previously emerged in Latin America and Europe and has recently acquired popularity in the United States (US). Consumers are often unaware that Tusi contains a mixture of ketamine and other drugs, and the concoction can be confused with 2C/2C-B (ring-substituted phenethylamines/4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine) or...
Ketamine's potential for treating depression has drawn increased clinical interest in recent years. However, despite growing therapeutic use, recreational use among individuals with depression remain underexplored. We analyzed data from the 2015-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health focusing on adults in the US. Trends in past-year ketamine use, overall and by depression status, were...
Little is known about ecstasy/MDMA use among Asian American and Pacific Islander populations. Research is important because AAPIs face unique cultural factors that may influence use. We estimated the prevalence and correlates of lifetime ecstasy/MDMA use based on a representative sample of US AAPI adults aged ≥18 from the 2015-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. An estimated 5.1% of...
Off-label prescribing of ketamine to treat psychiatric disorders has been increasing, as has recreational use and availability of illicit ketamine. It is important to examine trends in ketamine-related poisonings to inform public health efforts. We examined data from poisonings (exposures) involving ketamine reported to Poison Centers in the US between 2019 and 2023 (n = 1519). Annual trends...
Disease-a-month : DMMarch 1, 2025Andrew M Farrar, Isabelle H Nordstrom, Kaitlyn Shelley et al.7 citations
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; commonly referred to as "ecstasy" or "molly") is a substituted amphetamine drug that is used recreationally for its acute psychoactive effects, including euphoria and increased energy, as well as prosocial effects such as increased empathy and feelings of closeness with others. Acute adverse effects can include hyperthermia, dehydration, bruxism, and...
Tusi, also known as "pink cocaine," has emerged across nightlife scenes in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the United States (US). Tusi is typically a drug mixture containing ketamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Due to tusi's inconsistent chemical makeup, surveillance and harm reduction efforts have proven difficult for researchers and consumers alike. This review...
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...
Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]) is a drug commonly used by people who attend electronic dance music (EDM) events at nightclubs and dance festivals. Drug checking has gained popularity in recent years to test for adulterants, but epidemiology studies are needed to estimate potential shifts in prevalence of drug checking to further inform harm reduction efforts. Adults entering...
This Viewpoint discusses changes in the use of ketamine as a medical therapeutic and a recreational substance, the potential risks of use, and the need for increased research and surveillance.
A drug concoction called tusi has emerged in Latin America and in Europe and is now beginning to acquire popularity in the United States. "Tusi" is a phonetic translation of "2C," a series of psychedelic phenethylamines. The concoction is also sometimes referred to as "pink cocaine" as it typically comes in the form of pink powder. However, despite its name, the concoction rarely contains 2C...
It is largely unknown whether adverse effects experienced from recreational drug use affect willingness to use again. This study determined whether adverse effects from select party drugs affect reported willingness to use again in the next month among a high-risk population-people who attend electronic dance music parties at nightclubs or dance festivals. Adults (age ≥ 18) entering...
Few epidemiological studies have focused on seasonal variation in the use of common psychedelics and party drugs among nightclub and festival attendees, typically those who attend electronic dance music (EDM) events. We sought to determine whether the use of different drug types varies seasonally within this population. Across 15 seasons from summer 2017 through fall 2022, we surveyed 3,935...
The use of ketamine, a controlled dissociative anesthetic, has become more widespread in recent years with recreational/nonmedical use increasing and ketamine becoming more widely available in clinics to treat depression. We examined recent trends in adverse effects related to ketamine use. US National Poison Control data were examined, focusing on ketamine exposures among those aged ⩾13...
Drug use is prevalent among people who attend electronic dance music (EDM) parties at nightclubs or festivals. This population can serve as a sentinel population to monitor trends in use of party drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) that may diffuse through larger segments of the population. We surveyed adults entering randomly selected EDM parties at nightclubs and dance festivals in...
There is renewed interest in the clinical application of hallucinogenic substances to treat a range of psychiatric conditions. However, there is mixed evidence regarding how use of such substances outside of medical settings relates to psychological distress, depression, and suicidality. We examined data from a US representative sample of noninstitutionalized adults from the 2015-2020 National...
Dance festivals have been shown to be high-risk events for use of drugs such as ecstasy/MDMA and possible adverse effects associated with use. However, few studies have examined what makes festivals such risky environments. We aimed to determine festival-specific risk factors for adverse outcomes related to drug use. In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 key informants in North America who...
Abstract Objective The number of novel psychedelic phenethylamines and tryptamines has continued to increase, but little academic research has focused on the effects of these substances. We sought to determine and compare the subjective effects of various substances. Methods We conducted in‐depth interviews with 39 adults (75.4% male and 87.2% White) who reported experience using psychedelic...
Ecstasy (MDMA, Molly) is among the most prevalent drugs used by people who attend electronic dance music (EDM) events; however, little recent research has examined diffusion of ecstasy in this high-risk population. Methods: 1,020 EDM event-attending adults (aged 18-40) were surveyed in NYC in 2018 using time-spacing sampling. Participants were asked about past-year ecstasy use, and those...
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...
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...
Background and Objectives The popularity of tryptamines such as N,N ‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT) appears to be increasing in the United States (US), but epidemiologic literature on prevalence of use is scant. This paper aims to determine trends in prevalence and correlates of past‐year tryptamine use among a nationally representative sample of young adults in the US. Methods Participants in the...