User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study
This survey study (n=626) investigated user perceptions of the benefits and harms of using LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, cannabis, ketamine, and alcohol. Overall, LSD and psilocybin were regarded as having the most positive impact on wellbeing, and the least harms in terms of physical and mental health.
Authors
- Robin Carhart-Harris
- David Nutt
Published
Abstract
Introduction
This study used a web-based questionnaire to investigate user perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use. Over 600 forms were submitted.
Methods
Users were asked to comment on the acute and prolonged effects of different drugs and to provide more specific information on how particular drugs have harmed and/or helped them.
Results
Subjects reported relatively less harm associated with the classic hallucinogens, LSD and psilocybin, than other drugs specifically focused on in the questionnaire (MDMA, cannabis, ketamine and alcohol). A wide-range of benefits was reported, including: help with mood disorders, addictions and migraine as well as more general long-term improvements in wellbeing. Symptoms of hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder were reported by a number of subjects and these were most closely associated with use of LSD; however, few users regarded these effects as troubling. Eighty-one per cent of users reported having had a ‘spiritual experience’ on a hallucinogenic drug and over 90% considered ‘access to the unconscious mind’ to be a specific property of the classic hallucinogens.
Discussion
With caution, these findings support recent calls for a systematic investigation of the therapeutic potential of the classic hallucinogens and highlight the scope for empirical investigations of spiritual and psychodynamic phenomena.
Research Summary of 'User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study'
Introduction
Despite widespread recreational and ceremonial use of hallucinogenic drugs, systematic data on users' own perceptions of the benefits and harms associated with use were sparse at the time of this study. Early controlled clinical research had demonstrated therapeutic potential for LSD and psilocybin in supportive settings, but the subjective experience of recreational users — who constitute the large majority of hallucinogen-using individuals — had not been formally characterised through structured questionnaire methodology. This study employed a web-based questionnaire to investigate recreational and occasional users' perceptions of the acute and prolonged effects, benefits, and harms of six drugs: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, cannabis, and alcohol, with particular focus on perceived therapeutic potential and long-term effects on wellbeing.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compounds
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Nutt, D. J. (2010). User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study. Journal of Substance Use, 15(4), 283-300. https://doi.org/10.3109/14659890903271624
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