Racial Differences in Naturalistic Psychedelic Use - Motivations for Use, Communication with Health Care Providers, and Outcomes.
Nicolas G. Glynos, Mallet R Reid, Jacob S. Aday, Daniel J. Kruger, Kevin F. Boehnke, Stephanie Lake, Philippe Lucas
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs April 22, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2025.2491381 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 4,372 |
| Population | People using psychedelics in North America |
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Healthcare People of color Psychedelics Race Mental health treatment Medical research Patient demographics |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | People of Color were equally motivated to use psychedelics with a trained healthcare provider and reported similar effectiveness, suggesting lack of trust may not fully explain their underrepresentation in PAT research. |
Abstract
People of Color have been under-included in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) research. Researchers have argued that systemic issues resulting in harms to communities of color like the War on Drugs and recurrent exposure to discrimination in healthcare settings may reduce their willingness to engage in PAT research. However, there are no empirical data regarding People of Color's trust or willingness in using psychedelics with support of trained healthcare providers. Therefore, we analyzed data from a large-scale survey of people using psychedelics to explore interactions between People of Color and healthcare providers in North America. The sample included 3,547 White people, 448 People of Color, and 377 Multiracial people. A lower proportion of People of Color consumed psychedelics with the support of a trained provider but an equal proportion had disclosed psychedelic use to primary care providers. Further, People of Color were equally motivated to use psychedelics with a trained healthcare provider, used psychedelics to treat similar issues, and similarly reported psychedelics as effective with other groups. Our findings suggest that lack of trust may not fully explain the underrepresentation of People of Color in PAT research, and future studies should investigate other barriers to People of Color's inclusion in PAT research.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Substance use predictors of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior in the United States: The role of psychedelics and rarely used drugs Journal of Psychopharmacology April 16, 2026
- Classic Psychedelics for Chronic Pain: A Critical Review of the Literature and Practical Advice for Clinicians. Drugs June 4, 2026
- Treatment of major depressive disorder and treatment resistant depression with 5-MeO-DMT: Impact of 25 years of non-traditional public scientific communication and education on clinical development and commercialization Psychedelics April 25, 2026
- Development of a mandarin version of the five dimensional altered states of consciousness (5D-ASC) rating scale. Drug Science, Policy and Law 2026
- Perceptions and Attitudes on Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy among Underrepresented People with Cancer. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management September 18, 2026
Cites 19
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
- Emotional breakthrough and psychedelics: Validation of the Emotional Breakthrough Inventory. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 11, 2019
- Long-term effects of psychedelic drugs: A systematic review Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 16, 2020
- Inclusion of people of color in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: a review of the literature BMC Psychiatry July 31, 2018
- A Meta-Analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 12, 2020
and 14 more in the library