medRxiv Preprint Server
May 23, 2026
Lisa Maria Jöbstl, Bente Lubahn, Ebru Kaya et al.
preprint
A subset of individuals who use classic psychedelics outside clinical settings reports persisting adverse effects, including hallucinogen persisting perception disorder, depersonalization/derealization disorder, anxiety, and depression. Despite growing non-clinical use, few medical services are equipped to address these complications. The authors highlight a delay in attention to these persisting adverse effects relative to enthusiasm for therapeutic potential.
Nervenheilkunde
February 1, 2026
Dimitris Repantis, Michael Koslowski, Felix Betzler et al.
Psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD have undergone a remarkable history, from early psychiatric applications through recreational use and prohibition in the 1970s to their current rediscovery in clinical trials. MDMA has been evaluated for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder for about 15 years. Treatment closely combines pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy.
Nervenheilkunde
June 1, 2024
Ricarda Evens, Tomislav Majić
Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD are being reinvestigated for treating psychiatric disorders. After acute effects subside, post-acute effects—divided into subacute and long-term phases—play a key role in their therapeutic potential. Subacute effects include the psychedelic "afterglow": well-being, lightness, deeper self-connection, increased openness to interpersonal encounters, and reduced repetitive rumination. However, complications can also arise, including frequent headaches, and less commonly depressive and anxiety symptoms, sleep disturbances, dissociative symptoms, visual perceptual disturbances, and psychotic syndromes. In some cases, these complications may develop into persistent mental disorders requiring psychiatric-psychotherapeutic care.
Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie
April 1, 2024
Stefan Borgwardt, Tomislav Majić, Mihai Avram et al.
Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, and 5-MeO-DMT are attracting renewed psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, and neuroscientific interest, driven by recent clinical trials suggesting therapeutic benefits for treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, and existential distress in life-threatening physical illness. Despite these promising effects, the substances carry unique risks due to the phenomenology of their central nervous system effects, the temporal dynamics of their psychological impacts, and their biological action profile, distinguishing them from many other psychoactive drugs.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 24, 2020
Timo Torsten Schmidt, Simon Reiche, Caroline L. C. Hage et al.
preprint
Kambô, the secretion of the Giant Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor), is ritually used by Amazonian ethnicities against bad luck in hunting and has spread to Western urban centers, often alongside ayahuasca. A retrospective study of 22 anonymous users (mean age 39 years, 45.5% female) assessed acute and subacute psychological effects with standardized questionnaires. Acutely, participants reported mild to moderate psychological effects without psychedelic-type perceptual or thinking distortions. Persisting effects were predominantly positive and pleasant, with surprisingly high personal and spiritual significance. Subacute and long-term effects overlapped with the 'afterglow' phenomena following serotonergic psychedelics.
Current topics in behavioral neurosciences
January 1, 2026
Ricarda Evens, Abdo Uyar, Tomislav Majić
The period after using classic psychedelics often includes an 'afterglow' of elevated mood, well-being, and openness, linked to changes in brain connectivity and neuroplasticity. However, responses vary widely; some people experience negative effects like anxiety, mood swings, depression, perceptual changes, or psychosis. These issues can be reduced through psychedelic integration practices, peer support, or professional mental health care when needed. Managing complications involves ensuring safety, mobilizing resources, supporting psychological processing, addressing maladaptive interpretations, monitoring symptoms, and sometimes using pharmacotherapy or disorder-specific treatments. This chapter outlines strategies for a nuanced harm-reduction framework for research, clinical, and non-clinical settings.
The International journal on drug policy
April 1, 2022
Antonia Bendau, Leonard Viohl, Moritz Bruno Petzold et al.
During the early COVID-19 pandemic, use of party drugs (stimulants, dissociatives, GHB/GBL) shifted substantially. Among 1,231 users surveyed, 48.0–64.8% ceased or decreased use, 11.9–25.5% maintained, and 23.6–29.1% increased consumption. MDMA/ecstasy showed the strongest decrease; GHB/GBL and dissociatives the highest increase. Price, quality, and supply remained mostly unaffected. Mood-related motivations (e.g., feeling exhilarated or high) were common before and during the pandemic, but social and mood-related reasons declined while coping with boredom rose. 16.4–35.6% found drug use helpful for pandemic-related stressors, which was linked to increased consumption. The findings suggest that users who increased use as a coping strategy may need targeted preventive measures.