Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2022
Grant Jones, Matthew K. Nock
60 citations
Lifetime use of MDMA/ecstasy or psilocybin is linked to lower odds of suicidal thinking and psychological distress, while LSD use is linked to higher odds of suicidal thinking. Among 484,732 U.S. adults surveyed from 2008 to 2019, MDMA/ecstasy use was associated with 10% lower odds of past-year suicidal thinking and 12% lower odds of suicidal planning. Psilocybin use was associated with 22% lower odds of past-month psychological distress and 10% lower odds of past-year suicidal thinking. LSD use was associated with 7% higher odds of past-year suicidal thinking. These non-causal associations suggest potential therapeutic value but require experimental confirmation.
Scientific Reports
April 7, 2022
Grant Jones, Jocelyn A. Ricard, Joshua Lipson et al.
56 citations
People who have used psilocybin at some point in their lives have 30% lower odds of having opioid use disorder, based on data from a large U.S. national survey. No other classic psychedelic substances—such as LSD, peyote, or mescaline—showed a similar association. Psilocybin use was also linked to lower odds of meeting seven of the 11 diagnostic criteria for opioid use disorder. These findings suggest psilocybin may hold promise as a treatment, but clinical trials are needed to establish causality.
Scientific Reports
October 10, 2022
Grant Jones, Matthew K. Nock
46 citations
Lifetime use of MDMA or psilocybin is associated with lower odds of psychological distress and suicidality among White individuals, but these protective associations are far fewer for racial and ethnic minorities. Analyzing data from over 484,000 participants in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008–2019), race and ethnicity significantly moderated the links between psychedelic use and mental health outcomes. The findings highlight the need for further research on how identity factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual/gender minority status influence the effects of psychedelic substances.
Scientific Reports
February 16, 2022
Grant Jones, Matthew K. Nock
44 citations
Lifetime use of peyote, but not other classic psychedelics, is associated with more than 50% lower odds of cocaine use disorder (CUD) in a nationally representative U.S. sample of 214,505 adults from the 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Peyote also reduced odds for seven of 11 specific CUD criteria, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 0.26 to 0.47. Other psychedelics (mescaline, psilocybin, LSD) showed either no association or increased odds of CUD. The authors suggest that third variables such as demographic or personality profiles of peyote users may explain the association, and call for longitudinal studies to test temporal links.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2022
Grant Jones, Matthew K. Nock
40 citations
Lifetime use of MDMA/ecstasy was associated with 16% lower odds of a major depressive episode (MDE) over a person's lifetime, the past year, and severe past-year MDE. Psilocybin use was linked to 10% lower odds of a past-year MDE and 13% lower odds of a severe past-year MDE. Other illegal or misused substances either showed no association with MDE or were linked to increased odds. The findings come from a large US sample and suggest a potential protective relationship, but experimental studies are needed to test causality.
Scientific Reports
June 22, 2022
Grant Jones, Joshua Lipson, Matthew K. Nock
31 citations
Lifetime use of psilocybin, peyote, or mescaline is associated with lower odds of current nicotine dependence, while lifetime LSD use is linked to higher odds. Analyzing 214,505 participants from the 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, multivariable logistic regression showed psilocybin use corresponded to reduced odds of nicotine dependence (adjusted odds ratio 0.87–0.93). Peyote and mescaline use also reduced odds on multiple subdomains of the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (adjusted odds ratio 0.79–0.91). LSD use was associated with increased odds (adjusted odds ratio 1.17–1.24). These observational findings suggest potential for tryptamine and phenethylamine psychedelics in smoking cessation research, but causal relationships require experimental testing.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2022
Grant Jones, Matthew K. Nock
30 citations
Lifetime use of psilocybin was linked to lower odds of arrest for seven of eleven crime categories, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 0.30 to 0.73. Peyote use was associated with reduced odds of motor vehicle theft (aOR = 0.30) and driving under the influence (aOR = 0.52), while mescaline use was associated with reduced odds of drug possession or sale (aOR = 0.51). Most other substances showed no relationship or were linked to higher odds of arrest. The findings suggest classic psychedelic substances may be associated with lowered criminal behavior, but further research is needed to explore causal or third-variable explanations.
Scientific Reports
December 19, 2022
Grant Jones, Diego Arias, Matthew K. Nock
18 citations
Lifetime psilocybin use among U.S. adolescents aged 12-17 was associated with 15-23% lower odds of suicidal thinking, planning, and attempts, while LSD use was linked to 20-35% higher odds of these same outcomes. MDMA/ecstasy, peyote, and mescaline showed no significant associations with suicidal thoughts or behaviors. These findings come from a nationally representative sample of 262,617 adolescents surveyed between 2004 and 2019. The results suggest that individual classic psychedelics have distinct relationships with adolescent suicide risk, highlighting the need for further research to clarify these links.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
August 24, 2023
Grant Jones, Patrick Mair, Maha Al-Suwaidi et al.
10 citations
Lifetime psilocybin use is associated with lower odds of arrest for property crime, assault, serious violence, and miscellaneous crimes in a large US sample. However, race and ethnicity moderate these associations: psilocybin conferred reduced odds of at least one crime arrest outcome for White, Indigenous, Asian, and Multiracial participants, but not for Black or Hispanic participants. The authors suggest that structural factors such as systemic racism may underlie these differences and call for intersectional research on sociodemographic factors, psychedelic use, and crime.
JMIR Formative Research
August 16, 2023
Grant Jones, Felipe Herrmann, Matthew K. Nock
7 citations
A digital music-based mindfulness intervention significantly reduced race-based anxiety in middle-to-low-income Black Americans. The web-based study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design with five participants and featured contributions from a meditation teacher and a former presidential speechwriter. State anxiety decreased substantially after the intervention, with Tau-U effect sizes ranging from -0.75 to -0.38. Feasibility and acceptability were high, with participants rating their likelihood of recommending the intervention at 98 out of 100 on average. The intervention was designed to overcome common barriers to mindfulness treatments for Black Americans, such as high costs, time commitments, and limited cultural relevance.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 24, 2024
Grant Jones, Jocelyn A. Ricard, Matthew K. Nock
5 citations
Hypertension disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities. Using National Survey on Drug Use and Health data (2005–2014), the authors examined whether race and ethnicity modify the association between psilocybin use and past-year hypertension. Hispanic identity moderated this association. Non-Hispanic White individuals who used psilocybin had 17% lower odds of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio: 0.83), but no such protective association appeared for other racial or ethnic groups. The results indicate that the relationship between psychedelics and hypertension may differ by race and ethnicity, warranting further longitudinal and clinical research.