Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
June 1, 2026
Gabrielle Smith, Timothy Piatkowski, Jason Ferris et al.
1 citation
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...
BMJ
February 3, 2026
Adam Winstock, David Nutt, Caroline S Copeland
Without parallel public health action, reclassifying ketamine risks being a symbolic gesture rather than a strategy to reduce harm, write Adam Winstock, David Nutt, and Caroline Copeland
Journal of sex research
January 16, 2026
Mason Levey, Benjamin Bonenti, Timothy Piatkowski et al.
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...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
2025
Karen P Barrios, Dean J Connolly, Jason Ferris et al.
17 citations
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...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
August 1, 2024
Luke Baxter, Cheneal Puljević, Tim Piatkowski et al.
3 citations
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...
J Psychopharmacol
July 29, 2024
Claire Walker, Timothy Piatkowski, Jason Ferris et al.
4 citations
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...
The International journal on drug policy
2024
Leigh Coney, Amy Peacock, Aili Malm et al.
2 citations
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...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
August 19, 2023
Liam Engel, Monica J Barratt, Jason Ferris et al.
7 citations
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...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 6, 2023
Emma I Kopra, Jason Ferris, Adam Winstock et al.
62 citations
Background: Growing numbers of people are using psychedelics for personal psychotherapy outside clinical settings, but research on such use is scarce. Aims: This study investigated the patterns of use, self-reported outcomes and outcome predictors of psychedelic ‘self-treatment’ of mental health conditions or specific worries/concerns in life. Methods: We use data from the Global Drug Survey...
Translational Psychiatry
September 6, 2022
Tabea Schoeler, Jason Ferris, Adam Winstock
48 citations
Cannabis, a widely used psychoactive substance, can trigger acute cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms (CAPS) in people who use cannabis (PWUC). To assess rates and correlates of CAPS requiring emergency medical treatment, we analyzed data from an international sample of PWUC (n = 233,475). We found that 0.47% (95%CI 0.42; 0.52) PWUC reported lifetime occurrence of CAPS, defined as the...
Drug and Alcohol Review
July 1, 2022
Monica J Barratt, Alexia Maddox, Naomi Smith et al.
19 citations
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....
Journal of Psychopharmacology
June 7, 2022
Emma I Kopra, Jason Ferris, James Rucker et al.
42 citations
Background: Recreational lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) use is growing in popularity amid increasing research interest on psychedelics and their possible therapeutic potential yet; the potent psychotropic effects of LSD may result in adverse reactions and behaviour. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the 12-month incidence and nature of LSD-related adverse experiences resulting in...
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2022
Sam Craft, Jason Ferris, Monica J Barratt et al.
19 citations
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...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
April 7, 2022
Emma I Kopra, Jason Ferris, Adam Winstock et al.
65 citations
Background: Psilocybin-containing mushrooms are used for recreational, spiritual, self-development and therapeutic purposes. However, physiologically relatively nontoxic, adverse reactions are occasionally reported. Aims: This study investigated the 12-month prevalence and nature of magic mushroom-related adverse reactions resulting in emergency medical treatment seeking in a global sample of...
Drug Science Policy and Law
2022
Plinio Ferreira, Adam Winstock, Anne Katrin Schlag et al.
9 citations
The recent surge in recreational (non-medical) use of nitrous oxide (N 2 O, also known as ‘laughing gas’) often by inhaling it from balloons, has attracted the attention of some politicians with calls to control its possession under the United Kingdom (UK) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (currently selling, but not possession, for recreational use is controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
October 8, 2020
Rotem Petranker, Thomas Anderson, Larissa J. Maier et al.
57 citations
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...
April 12, 2020
Rotem Petranker, Thomas Anderson, Larissa J. Maier et al.
14 citations
preprint
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...
March 1, 2020
Adam Winstock, James W. Rucker
29 citations
Abstract Psychedelics and hallucinogens represent some of the most commonly used drugs in the world, with a history of use steeped in spirituality, counter-culture, and more recently latent therapeutic potential. Sharing a common mechanism of action at the 5-HT2a receptor, drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, while they can rarely induce significant short-term...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 1, 2020
Adam Winstock, J. Ferris
Background: Nitrous oxide (N2O) has been used in clinical and recreational settings for over 150 years. Through inactivation of the Vitamin B12 dependent enzyme, methionine synthase, N2O can lead to the development of peripheral neuropathy. This study sought to determine the relationship between the exposure and risk of neurological symptoms in the largest ever sample of users. Design: Data are...
Drug Science Policy and Law
2020
Jec Anthony, Adam Winstock, Ja Ferris et al.
9 citations
It is well documented that psychedelic drugs can have a profound effect on colour perception. After previous research involving psychedelic drug ingestion, several participants had written to the authors describing how symptoms of their colour blindness had improved. The Global Drugs Survey runs the world’s largest annual online drug survey. In the Global Drugs Survey 2017, participants...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 7, 2018
Balázs Szigeti, Adam Winstock, David Erritzøe et al.
17 citations
BACKGROUND: Neuroimaging studies imply that the regular use of ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), the major constituent of ecstasy pills, alters the brain's serotonergic system in a dose-dependent manner. However, the relevance of these findings remains unclear due to limited knowledge about the ecstasy/MDMA use pattern of real-life users. AIMS: We examined the representativeness of...
Scientific Reports
February 28, 2018
Will Lawn, Jaime E. C. Hallak, José A. Crippa et al.
3 citations
A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.
Scientific Reports
November 3, 2017
Will Lawn, Jaime E. C. Hallak, José Alexandre S. Crippa et al.
78 citations
Abstract Ayahuasca is a natural psychedelic brew, which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Its potential as a psychiatric medicine has recently been demonstrated and its non-medical use around the world appears to be growing. We aimed to investigate well-being and problematic alcohol use in ayahuasca users, and ayahuasca’s subjective effects. An online, self-selecting, global survey examining...
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
May 1, 2017
Leigh Coney, Larissa J. Maier, Jason Ferris et al.
18 citations
Abstract Objective This study aimed to describe self‐reported patterns of use and effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogues (AL‐LAD, 1P‐LSD, and ETH‐LAD) and the characteristics of those who use them. Methods An anonymous self‐selected online survey of people who use drugs (Global Drug Survey 2016; N = 96,894), which measured perceived drug effects of LSD and its analogues. Results...
The American Journal on Addictions
August 1, 2016
Joseph J Palamar, Monica J Barratt, Jason Ferris et al.
49 citations
Although new psychoactive substances (NPS) continue to emerge at a rapid rate, US national surveys only measure the use of non-specific categories of NPS and are not designed to access high-risk populations. In this paper we report lifetime use of specific NPS (of 58) and examine correlates of use among a high-risk population: nightlife attendees. The self-selected sample from the Global Drug...