Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2024
Brian S Barnett, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N Dewey et al.
20 citations
From 2015 to 2019, the proportion of Americans who perceived 'great' risk in trying LSD fell from 70.5% to 64.8%, a statistically significant linear decline. Lower perceived risk was associated with later survey year, personal LSD use, younger age, higher education, male gender, identifying as a sexual minority, and past-year psychological distress. Higher perceived risk was linked to identifying as Black or Hispanic, past-year suicide attempt, and having children at home. Among respondents under 18, Hispanic identity showed no association, and male gender was linked to higher perceived risk. Most Americans still perceive great risk in trying LSD.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
February 1, 2024
Jeremy Weleff, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N. Dewey et al.
8 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) use in the United States increased by 47% from 2015 to 2019, rising from 0.59% to 0.87% of the population. Among people with past-year hallucinogen use disorder, the proportion of LSD users did not significantly increase. Factors associated with LSD use included easier access to LSD, lower perceived risk of trying it, low income, fewer children in the home, recent contact with drug sellers, and, among adults 18 and older, a past-year suicide attempt. No associations were found with unemployment, arrest history, or psychological distress. Over the study period, LSD users became more likely to be ages 26–34 and married, and lifetime methamphetamine users also increased their LSD use. LSD remains uncommon and does not appear to be a major public health burden.
Psychiatry research
June 1, 2025
Jeremy Weleff, Alejandra Pulido-Saavedra, Ardavan Mohammad Aghaei et al.
4 citations
A systematic review of clinical studies on psychedelics for opioid use disorder found few completed trials using serotonergic psychedelics; most investigated ibogaine or ketamine. The evidence is limited by weak study designs focused on opioid withdrawal, few double-blind or placebo-controlled trials, and considerable methodological heterogeneity that makes comparisons across compounds difficult. Most studies had a high risk of bias, mainly due to lack of randomization, blinding, and blinded outcome assessment. The review outlines these limitations and steps to improve the quality of future research in this area.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2026
Brian S Barnett, Akhil Anand, Jeremy Weleff et al.
Among US adults who first used LSD at least 5 years ago, only 4.2% reported using it in the past year. Past-year use dropped sharply with time since first use, from 14.4% among those who started 5 years ago to 0.1% among those who started 46–50 years ago. Factors linked to past-year use included being male, never married, living in poverty, higher education, lifetime stimulant use, recent contact with drug sellers, having sold illegal drugs, perceiving LSD as lower risk and more available, and a past-year suicide attempt. Having children at home, living in a small metro area, and more years since first use were linked to lower odds. Perceived risk and availability showed the strongest associations.
Psychedelic Medicine
December 30, 2025
Brian S. Barnett, Akhil Anand, Tatiana Falcone et al.
Between 2015 and 2019, past-year LSD use rose 43% among heterosexual individuals, 58% among bisexual individuals, and 106% among lesbian/gay individuals in the United States. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people were 3.3 to 4.4 times more likely to report past-year LSD use than heterosexual people, depending on the year. Living in poverty, being divorced versus married, living in a small metropolitan area versus a non-metropolitan area, and a past-year suicide attempt were unique correlates of LSD use for heterosexual individuals compared with LGB individuals. The findings suggest a need for targeted harm reduction strategies based on sexual identity.
Current addiction reports
January 1, 2025
Anahita Bassir Nia, Yalda Farahmand, Garret Griffith et al.
A review of trials on psychedelics for opioid use disorder (OUD) found no studies directly comparing different types of psychotherapy or testing psychedelics with versus without concurrent psychotherapy. Most research on alleviating opioid withdrawal symptoms did not include psychotherapy. The few studies on ketamine and LSD for opioid use and abstinence used a psychedelic-assisted therapy model. There is insufficient high-quality evidence to determine whether concurrent psychotherapy is necessary in psychedelic trials for OUD. Future trials should explore the interplay between psychedelic treatment and psychotherapy.
medRxiv
December 26, 2022
Jeremy Weleff, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N. Dewey et al.
preprint
Lysergic acid (LSD) use in the United States rose by 47% from 2015 to 2019, from 0.59% to 0.87% of the population. However, among people reporting past-year hallucinogen use disorder, there was no significant proportional increase in LSD users. Correlates of LSD use included increased access, lower perceived risk, Asian race, low income, fewer children at home, history of selling drugs, recent drug solicitations, lack of religious influence on decisions, and past-year suicide attempt among adults. No associations were found with unemployment, arrest history, psychological distress, or sexually transmitted infections. The proportion of pregnant, married, and 26–34-year-old LSD users increased, as did LSD use among lifetime methamphetamine users.
Psychedelic Medicine
March 1, 2026
Brian S. Barnett, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N. Dewey et al.
Between 2015 and 2019, about 13% of U.S. respondents reported that LSD was fairly or very easy to obtain, based on a national survey of 281,464 people. Perceived availability increased slightly over the period, especially among males, bisexual individuals, those with past-year serious psychological distress, people with hallucinogen use disorder, and those who saw trying LSD as lower risk. Factors linked to higher perceived availability included being bisexual, having higher education, and lifetime use of alcohol, marijuana, or hallucinogens. Older age and identifying as Asian or Black were linked to lower perceived availability. Identifying as Black was associated with a decreasing trend in perceived availability.