Addiction
June 7, 2023
Katherine M Keyes, Megan E. Patrick
42 citations
From 2018 to 2021, past-year use of non-LSD hallucinogens (such as psilocybin) among US young adults aged 19–30 doubled from 3.4% to 6.6%, while LSD use remained stable around 4%. Males were nearly twice as likely as females to use non-LSD hallucinogens, and use was lower among Black participants and those without a college-educated parent. The findings suggest growing use of these substances in a population that may be vulnerable to their effects.
The International journal on drug policy
May 1, 2023
Joseph J Palamar, Austin Le, Charles M Cleland et al.
41 citations
Among people attending electronic dance music parties in New York City nightclubs and festivals, self-reported use of several drugs changed from 2017 to 2022. Past-year and past-month use of psilocybin mushrooms, ketamine, poppers, synthetic cathinones, and novel psychedelics increased, while past-year heroin use and past-month cocaine, novel stimulant, and nonmedical benzodiazepine use decreased. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds of using mushrooms, poppers, and 2C series drugs rose, whereas the odds of using cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, methamphetamine, novel stimulants, and prescription opioids nonmedically fell. These trends in a sentinel population can inform public health surveillance.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
May 1, 2024
Joseph J Palamar, Nicole D. Fitzgerald, Thomas H Carr et al.
9 citations
Seizures of psilocybin mushrooms by U.S. law enforcement rose sharply between 2017 and 2022, suggesting increasing availability. The number of seizures grew from 402 in 2017 to 1,396 in 2022, a 368.9% increase, with the Midwest accounting for the most seizures (36.0%) and the West next (33.5%). The total weight seized rose from 226.0 kg to 844.0 kg, a 2,749.7% increase; the West had the greatest total weight (1,864.2 kg, 42.6%) followed by the South (1,831.9 kg, 41.8%). Significant increases occurred in all four U.S. regions. The authors call for more prevention and harm reduction education.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 21, 2023
Caroline Rutherford, Austin Le, Joseph J Palamar et al.
2 citations
Among nightclub and festival attendees at electronic dance music events in New York City, summer is associated with higher odds of using LSD and psilocybin (shrooms), independent of long-term increases in psilocybin use. Across 15 seasons from summer 2017 through fall 2022, surveys of 3,935 adults found that summer raised the odds of LSD use more than 2.5 times and psilocybin use more than 1.6 times compared to the average across all seasons. Cocaine and ecstasy use decreased over the study period without seasonal variation. The findings suggest summer as a key time for disseminating harm-reduction information for psychedelic users.
Drug and Alcohol Review
February 26, 2026
Katherine M Keyes, Yvonne Terry-Mcelrath, Megan E. Patrick
About 1 in 15 young adults in the United States reported microdosing hallucinogens in the past year, with 73% of those who used hallucinogens engaging in microdosing. Microdosing was strongly linked to other substance use: among microdosers, 72% reported 10 or more occasions of past-year alcohol use and 86% reported 3 or more occasions of past-year cannabis use. Odds ratios for other substance use among microdosers ranged from 2.53 for past-month cigarette use to 37.73 for heavy cannabis use. Few demographic differences emerged, though Black respondents were less likely to microdose than White respondents.