Department of Psychology, Florida State University, USA; Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: zech@psy.fsu.edu.
2 papers in the library · 9 citations · publishing 2025
Lifetime psilocybin use and past-year LSD use are associated with higher rates of cannabis use disorder (CUD) among U.S. adults. Analyzing nationally representative data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015–2019, 2021–2022), the study found that people reporting use of these psychedelics had roughly double the risk of meeting DSM-5 criteria for CUD, including moderate-to-severe forms, after accounting for sociodemographic factors. Past-year LSD use also predicted three of eleven specific CUD symptoms among cannabis users. The findings indicate that naturalistic use of certain psychedelics may signal greater risk of maladaptive cannabis use, rather than supporting therapeutic benefits.
Increases in meaning in life, agreeableness, mindfulness, and extraversion are the psychological changes most strongly linked to future improvements in well-being after naturalistic psychedelic use. Increases in mindfulness, emotional stability, and extraversion are most associated with later reductions in anxiety, while increased self-esteem is most tied to decreased depression. Mindfulness was the only variable ranking among the top three predictors for all three outcomes—well-being, anxiety, and depression. These differing psychological changes may explain the mental health benefits observed after psychedelic use.