The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population
In a pooled analysis of over 480,000 US adults from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002–2014), lifetime classic psychedelic use — and psilocybin use specifically — was associated with reduced adjusted odds of past‑year larceny/theft, assault, and arrests for property and violent crimes. However, lifetime psychedelic use was also associated with higher odds of past‑year drug distribution and other illicit drugs were generally linked to increased criminal odds, supporting further clinical research of classic psychedelics, including psilocybin, in forensic settings.
Authors
- Peter Hendricks
- Zachary Walsh
- Heith Copes
Published
Abstract
Criminal behavior exacts a large toll on society and is resistant to intervention. Some evidence suggests classic psychedelics may inhibit criminal behavior, but the extent of these effects has not been comprehensively explored. In this study, we tested the relationships of classic psychedelic use and psilocybin use per se with criminal behavior among over 480,000 United States adult respondents pooled from the last 13 available years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002 through 2014) while controlling for numerous covariates. Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a reduced odds of past year larceny/theft (aOR = 0.73 (0.65–0.83)), past year assault (aOR = 0.88 (0.80–0.97)), past year arrest for a property crime (aOR = 0.78 (0.65–0.95)), and past year arrest for a violent crime (aOR = 0.82 (0.70–0.97)). In contrast, lifetime illicit use of other drugs was, by and large, associated with an increased odds of these outcomes. Lifetime classic psychedelic use, like lifetime illicit use of almost all other substances, was associated with an increased odds of past year drug distribution. Results were consistent with a protective effect of psilocybin for antisocial criminal behavior. These findings contribute to a compelling rationale for the initiation of clinical research with classic psychedelics, including psilocybin, in forensic settings.
Research Summary of 'The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population'
Introduction
Hendricks and colleagues frame criminal behaviour as a persistent public-health and social problem in the United States, noting high rates of supervision, arrest, and recidivism and limited effectiveness of conventional interventions. The authors point to historical and emerging evidence that classic psychedelics (non-selective 5-HT2A agonists such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin) have produced psychological and prosocial effects in some clinical and population studies, and they summarise earlier, methodologically limited efforts that tested psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with offending populations. Against this background, the study set out to examine whether lifetime use of classic psychedelics in the general US adult population is associated with recent criminal behaviour, and whether psilocybin use specifically shows similar relationships. The authors hypothesised that lifetime classic psychedelic use, and lifetime psilocybin use per se, would be associated with a decreased likelihood of past-year criminal behaviour and therefore aimed to test these associations in a large, nationally representative dataset to inform potential clinical research in forensic settings.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
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- APA Citation
Hendricks, P. S., Crawford, M. S., Cropsey, K. L., Copes, H., Sweat, N. W., Walsh, Z., & Pavela, G. (2018). The relationships of classic psychedelic use with criminal behavior in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(1), 37-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117735685
References (12)
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