Changed Substance Use After Psychedelic Experiences Among Individuals in Canada

Introduction

Psychedelics have re-emerged in clinical research as potential treatments for a range of psychiatric conditions, with recent trials reporting marked improvements in depressive symptoms after one or two doses of psilocybin combined with psychotherapy. Earlier studies and meta-analyses have also suggested therapeutic potential for substance use disorders (SUDs), for example reductions in alcohol misuse after LSD or psilocybin-assisted interventions and high smoking cessation rates in small open-label psilocybin studies. Concurrently, policy changes in parts of North America and new regulatory pathways (for example Health Canada’s Special Access Program) have increased access to psychedelics outside traditional research settings, raising questions about population-level effects on other substance use. Boehnke and colleagues set out to characterise patterns of naturalistic psychedelic use in Canada and to examine self-reported changes in the use of other substances following psychedelic experiences. They hypothesised that participants would most commonly report reductions in alcohol and tobacco use, and they also explored demographic and use-related factors associated with self-reported decreases in other drug or medication use.