Recent increasing interest in hallucinogens has underscored the critical gaps in our understanding of their adverse health effects and healthcare usage over time. The current study aimed to examine changes in emergency department (ED) visit rates involving hallucinogens, clinical outcomes of visits and the characteristics of individuals with ED visits involving hallucinogens. Repeated...
Serotonergic psychedelics are increasingly investigated as treatments for affective disorders. Concerns persist regarding their potential to induce hypomania or mania, particularly in individuals with bipolar spectrum vulnerability. Whether these substances precipitate transient mood switches or contribute to persistent bipolar illness or diagnostic transition remains unclear. We conducted a...
IntroductionThe use of psychedelics has increased in Canada in recent years. Although non-medical psilocybin use is prohibited under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, we previously documented the emergence of grey-market brick-and-mortar psilocybin retailers. This study examined changes in the number, composition, and geographic distribution of Canadian psilocybin retail stores between...
Serotonergic psychedelics are re-emerging as therapeutic candidates across psychiatry, particularly for treatment-resistant depression. Their rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, alongside evidence for neuroplastic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic modulation, have prompted interest in whether they could address depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs)....
Hallucinogen use for both recreational and medical purposes is rapidly increasing globally, raising concerns about potential adverse effects. This study examined the risk of incident mania or bipolar disorder (BD) diagnosis associated with having an emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization involving hallucinogens. We used a population-based cohort study of all individuals aged 14-65...
Serotonergic psychedelics and 3,4-methylendioxtmethamphetamine (MDMA) are promising treatments for mental disorders with a continuously evolving evidence base. We searched Pubmed/Scopus/clinical trial registries up to 08july2025 for double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing MDMA or serotonergic psychedelics in patients with mental disorders. Primary outcomes were change in...
Background: Results from contemporary clinical trials of serotonergic psychedelic therapies have led to an increasing focus on their potential clinical use across mental disorders. However, studies examining mechanisms of clinical response to psychedelic therapy in psychiatric populations are limited. This review aimed to synthesize evidence from studies examining biomarkers of clinical...
Background: Suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths present a major and tragic public health concern. Recent trials of psilocybin therapy (PT) have shown promise in treating treatment-resistant depression and have found a reduction in suicidal ideation. Given the growth of PT research, there is a need to further understand its effect on suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths. Objective: To...
Psychedelics are increasingly used in the general population, yet they are associated with increased risk of psychosis in a minority of users that can experience psychedelic-induced psychosis (<1 % in controlled trial settings). In contrast, the evidence regarding the treatment of psychedelics-induced psychosis remains to date scarce. We conducted a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review...
Abstract Objectives We conducted a scientometric analysis on mind–body interventions to assess themes and trends in recent decades, providing insights for prospective research directions. Our systematic search, completed on 1 November, 2023, encompassed the Web of Science Core Collection and focused on scientific publications related to contemplative practices: Mindfulness, Yoga, Qi-gong,...
Importance There is growing societal interest in and use of psilocybin. While psilocybin in Canada is illegal outside of clinical trials, there have been anecdotal reports of increasing access via unregulated online purchases and retail dispensaries. Objective To describe access to and the characteristics of psilocybin dispensaries across Canada and the health claims and warnings made on...
Background: Although clinical trials involving psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy have not observed short-term increases in the risk of death, limited data exist on mortality associated with hallucinogen use outside of controlled trial settings. We sought to determine whether people with an emergency department visit or hospital admission involving hallucinogen use were at increased risk of...
Persons with schizophrenia are excluded from psychedelic-assisted therapy due to concerns about the risk of triggering or worsening psychosis. However, there is limited meta-analytic data on the risk of psychedelic-induced psychosis in individuals with pre-existing psychotic disorders. We conducted a systematic review, meta-analysis, and overview of reviews to assess the incidence of...
Interest in and use of hallucinogens has been increasing rapidly. While a frequently raised concern is that hallucinogens may be associated with an increased risk of psychosis, there are limited data on this association. To examine whether individuals with an emergency department (ED) visit involving hallucinogen use have an increased risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD)....
Key Points Question Were the liberalization of medical cannabis and the legalization of nonmedical cannabis in Canada associated with changes in the population-attributable fraction of cannabis use disorders associated with schizophrenia? Findings In this population-based cohort study comprising 13 588 681 individuals, the population-attributable fraction of cannabis use disorder associated...
Psychedelics are a group of psychoactive substances that produce complex and subjective changes to consciousness and carry unique safety considerations. There is a growing body of work investigating the use of psychedelics in mental health treatment alongside increasing socio-cultural and political acceptance. This rapid evolution has prompted corporations to fund psychedelic clinical trials,...
We conducted a scientometric analysis to outline clinical research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our primary objective was to perform a broad-ranging scientometric analysis to evaluate key themes and trends over the past decades. Our secondary objective was to measure research network performance. We conducted a systematic search in the Web of Science Core Collection up to 15 August...
Psilocybin is increasingly studied for its antidepressant effect, but its optimal dosage for depression remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and a dose-response meta-analysis to find the optimal dosage of psilocybin to reduce depression scores. Following our protocol (CRD 42022220190) multiple electronic databases were searched from their inception until February 2023, to identify...
A scientometric analysis was realized to outline clinical research on psychedelics over the last century. Web of Science Core Collection was searched up to March 18, 2022, for publications on psychedelics. Network analyses and bibliometrics were combined, to identify research themes and trends with Bibliometrix and CiteSpace. The primary aim was to measure research trends evolution over time,...