Naturalistic Use of Mescaline Is Associated with Self-Reported Psychiatric Improvements and Enduring Positive Life Changes
This survey study (n=452) found that the use of mescaline led to improvements in scores on clinical conditions for those suffering from clinical conditions (anxiety 80%, depression 86%, PTSD & AUD 76%). Those who scored higher on acute mystical experience (MEQ30), ego dissolution, and psychological insight had larger improvement than those who scored lower.
Authors
- Johannes Ramaekers
- Alan Davis
- Gabrielle Agin-Liebes
Published
Abstract
Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid that has been used as a sacrament by Indigenous populations in spiritual ritual and healing ceremonies for millennia. Despite promising early preliminary research and favorable anecdotal reports, there is limited research investigating mescaline’s psychotherapeutic potential. We administered an anonymous online questionnaire to adults (N = 452) reporting use of mescaline in naturalistic settings about mental health benefits attributed to mescaline. We assessed respondents’ self-reported improvements in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alcohol and drug use disorders (AUD and DUD). Of the respondents reporting histories of these clinical conditions, most (68-86%) reported subjective improvement following their most memorable mescaline experience. Respondents who reported an improvement in their psychiatric conditions reported significantly higher ratings of acute psychological factors including mystical-type, psychological insight, and ego dissolution effects compared to those who did not report improvements (Cohen’s d range 0.7 - 1.5). Many respondents (35-50%) rated the mescaline experience as the single or top five most spiritually significant or meaningful experience(s) of their lives. Acute experiences of psychological insight during their mescaline experience were associated with increased odds of reporting improvement in depression, anxiety, AUD and DUD. Additional research is needed to corroborate these preliminary findings and to rigorously examine the efficacy of mescaline for psychiatric treatment in controlled, longitudinal clinical trials.
Research Summary of 'Naturalistic Use of Mescaline Is Associated with Self-Reported Psychiatric Improvements and Enduring Positive Life Changes'
Introduction
Psychiatric disorders such as mood, anxiety-spectrum, and substance use disorders are highly prevalent, contribute substantially to global disease burden, and are often resistant to existing treatments or limited by access disparities. Earlier research on classic serotonergic psychedelics (for example psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca) has shown promise for several conditions including major depression, existential distress, PTSD, and addiction, and clinical benefit has been linked to acute psychological factors such as mystical-type experiences and psychological insight. Mescaline is a naturally occurring phenethylamine and serotonin-2A/2C agonist found in peyote and San Pedro cacti; it has a long ceremonial history and has been reported anecdotally to reduce psychiatric symptoms, but systematic research on its therapeutic potential and mechanisms is sparse. Agin-Liebes and colleagues set out to explore whether naturalistic mescaline use is associated with self-reported improvements in depression, anxiety, PTSD, and alcohol or drug misuse, and to examine which acute subjective effects (mystical-type experience, psychological insight, ego dissolution, and challenging experiences) and enduring effects are associated with those reported improvements. The study used an anonymous international online survey to characterise patterns of use, acute phenomenology, and persisting changes following respondents' most memorable mescaline experience, with a particular focus on potential mechanisms that might relate to clinical improvements.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
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- APA Citation
Agin-Liebes, G., Haas, T. F., Lancelotta, R., Uthaug, M. V., Ramaekers, J. G., & Davis, A. K. (2021). Naturalistic Use of Mescaline Is Associated with Self-Reported Psychiatric Improvements and Enduring Positive Life Changes. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 4(2), 543-552. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00018
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