Naturalistic use of psychedelics is associated with longitudinal improvements in anxiety and depression during global crisis times.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) June 18, 2025 Maria Bălăeţ, William Trender, Annalaura Lerede et al. 2 citations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, six common patterns of drug use emerged in a large citizen science cohort. Most drug-using groups had worse average mental health scores than drug-naive individuals at all timepoints, and those who increased their drug use saw their mental health worsen over time. However, people who used both psychedelics and cannabis showed average improvements in depression, anxiety, and overall mental health from before the pandemic to January 2022, becoming comparable to the drug-naive group. Cannabis-only users did not show this improvement; their worse mental health scores persisted. These findings suggest that beneficial effects of psychedelics on mood and anxiety may extend beyond controlled conditions.