Characterizing Psilocybin Use Motivations and Effects Among Older Adults Accessing State-Regulated Psilocybin Services
Ximena A. Levander, Ryan Cook, Devin Gregoire, Kaishin Lin, Benjamin H Han
August 18, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.17605/osf.io/rtgm7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Population | Older adults (>=60 years old) using state-regulated psilocybin services, compared with younger adults (<60) |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Duration | 1-week, 1-month and 3-month follow-up |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key findings | The study seeks to describe reasons for seeking services, prior psychedelic experience, and dose among older adults, and to compare mental health and safety outcomes across age cohorts at follow-up points. No findings are reported in the abstract. |
Abstract
There has been growing public and research interest in the use of psychedelics, particularly psilocybin. There is limited data on psilocybin use patterns, motivations for use, safety, and efficacy in older adults (>or= 60 years old) as older adults tend to be excluded from clinical trials. However, older adults may seek out psilocybin through state-regulated or naturalistic settings for self-treatment of mental health conditions, end-of-life distress/grief, or general well-being. Despite this, there are limited data to inform how psilocybin effects may be different compared to younger adults due to physiological effects of aging, the presence of co-occurring conditions, and/or the concomitant use of medications. This study seeks to describe the reasons for seeking services, prior psychedelic and psilocybin experience(s) (if any), and psilocybin dose used during session among older adults (> or =60) in state-regulated services. This study also seeks to examine differences in outcomes (mental health and safety/adverse events) at 1-week, 1-month and 3-month between age cohorts (> or =60 vs <60 years old).
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels Healthy volunteers | 2019 | Observational cohort | n = 8 |
| Increased spontaneous MEG signal diversity for psychoactive doses of ketamine, LSD and psilocybin Humans | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. USA adult respondents from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2012) | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 190,000 |
| Prediction of Psilocybin Response in Healthy Volunteers Healthy volunteers | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 409 |