Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020
Analysis of 3,364 Global Drug Survey 2020 respondents who self-treated with LSD (n=1,996) or psilocybin mushrooms (n=1,368) found broadly favourable self-reported changes across 17 wellbeing and symptom items—largest effects on insight and mood—although 22.5% reported negative effects. Higher intensity, prior advice-seeking, use of psilocybin and treating PTSD predicted better averaged outcomes, while younger age, high intensity and LSD use predicted more negative effects, suggesting potential benefit but a higher adverse-event frequency than in clinical settings and informing safer community practice and clinical research.
Authors
- James Rucker
- Kim Kuypers
- Allan Young
Published
Abstract
Background
Growing numbers of people are using psychedelics for personal psychotherapy outside clinical settings, but research on such use is scarce.
Aims
This study investigated the patterns of use, self-reported outcomes and outcome predictors of psychedelic ‘self-treatment’ of mental health conditions or specific worries/concerns in life.
Methods
We use data from the Global Drug Survey 2020, a large online survey on drug use collected between November 2019 and February 2020. In all, 3364 respondents reported their self-treatment experiences with lysergic acid diethylamide ( N = 1996) or psilocybin mushrooms ( N = 1368). The primary outcome of interest was the 17-item self-treatment outcome scale, items reflecting aspects of well-being, psychiatric symptoms, social-emotional skills, and health behaviours.
Results
Positive changes were observed across all 17 outcome items, with the strongest benefits on items related to insight and mood. Negative effects were reported by 22.5% of respondents. High intensity of psychedelic experience, seeking advice before treatment, treating with psilocybin mushrooms and treating post-traumatic stress disorder were associated with higher scores on the self-treatment outcome scale after averaging values across all 17 items. Younger age, high intensity of experience and treating with LSD were associated with increased number of negative outcomes.
Conclusions
This study brings important insights into self-treatment practices with psychedelics in a large international sample. Outcomes were generally favourable, but negative effects appeared more frequent than in clinical settings. Our findings can help inform safe practices of psychedelic use in the community, and inspire clinical research. Future research can be improved with utilisation of prospective designs and additional predictive variables.
Research Summary of 'Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020'
Introduction
Psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin have a long history of use for healing, and recent decades have seen a resurgence of clinical research and rising public interest in their therapeutic potential. Kopra and colleagues note that much contemporary use nevertheless occurs outside formal clinical settings — in informal, underground, retreat or community contexts — and that outcomes observed in tightly controlled clinical trials may not generalise to these naturalistic self-administered practices. The authors also highlight that users' mindset and environment ('set and setting') and the presence or absence of interpersonal support are central determinants of psychedelic experiences and their risks and benefits. This study uses data from the Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2020 to examine patterns and outcomes of self-treatment with LSD or psilocybin-containing mushrooms. The investigation aims to describe how people self-treat (including dose-intensity proxies and whether advice was sought), to report self-rated positive and negative outcomes across multiple domains, and to identify predictors of those outcomes with respect to demographics, treatment patterns and the condition or problem treated. The analysis focuses specifically on respondents who indicated either LSD or psilocybin mushrooms as the substance they found most useful for self-treatment within the past year.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
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- APA Citation
Kopra, E. I., Ferris, J. A., Winstock, A. R., Kuypers, K. P., Young, A. H., & Rucker, J. J. (2023). Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 37(7), 733-748. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811231158245
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