Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
May 18, 2026
Kevin H. Yang, Miranda Rasmussen, Kush V. Bhatt et al.
1 citation
Recent literature suggests potential associations between hallucinogen use and valvular heart disease (VHD) due to prolonged activation of serotonin 5-HT2B receptors, which may lead to valvular fibrosis – a condition also linked to drugs including fenfluramine and pergolide. Despite these concerns, epidemiological studies exploring this association are lacking. This exploratory analysis...
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
May 4, 2026
Kevin H. Yang, Nora Satybaldiyeva, Wayne Kepner et al.
1 citation
IntroductionMicrodosing involves consuming low doses of psychoactive substances, typically between 1/5th and 1/20th of a recreational dose. Despite increasing public attention to cannabis and psychedelics amid evolving drug policies, epidemiologic data on microdosing remain limited.MethodsA cross-sectional, web-based survey (Characterizing the Epidemiology of Cannabidiol Use Survey) of 1,523...
Journal of Affective Disorders
March 15, 2025
Kevin H. Yang, Wayne Kepner, Charles M Cleland et al.
19 citations
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...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 3, 2025
Wayne Kepner, Patricia Dionicio, Katie Bailey et al.
3 citations
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...
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
June 10, 2024
Eric C. Leas, Nora Satybaldiyeva, Wayne Kepner et al.
10 citations
Interest in psilocybin-containing mushrooms is increasing in the U.S., with 12.3% of U.S. adults reporting use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in 2022, up significantly from 11.4% in 2021.1 This makes psilocybin-containing mushrooms the most commonly used hallucinogenic substance. This growing interest in psilocybin-containing mushrooms has also sparked a new commercial market for other...
Journal of Addiction Medicine
Kevin H. Yang, Wayne Kepner, Anamika Nijum et al.
11 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (also known as "ecstasy" or "Molly") has regained attention in recent years for its efficacy in treating posttraumatic stress disorder, and the drug was granted breakthrough therapy designation for such use by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017. However, little is known about the current epidemiology of recreational ecstasy/MDMA use. We...