Paul Christiansen

2 papers in the library · 33 citations · publishing 2020-2026

Papers

Perceived harm, motivations for use and subjective experiences of recreational psychedelic ‘magic’ mushroom use

Journal of Psychopharmacology July 17, 2020 Carl Roberts, Isaac Osborne-Miller, Jon C. Cole et al. 33 citations

Both people who have used magic mushrooms and those who have not perceive mushrooms as less dangerous than heroin, cocaine, prescription painkillers, GHB, ecstasy, tobacco, and alcohol. However, those without experience rate mushrooms as significantly more dangerous than users do, and they expect more negative intoxication effects. Users expect greater entactogenic, prosocial, aesthetic, and mood effects, as well as perceptual alterations. Motivations for use predict expected effects—for example, using mushrooms for personal psychotherapy is linked to expecting increased entactogenic and decreased negative effects. The findings align with data on low actual harm but conflict with legal classifications.

DOI: 10.1177/0269881120936508 Psilocybin Ecstasy Harm Mushroom poisoning +3

Associations Between Psilocybin Use Motives and Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioural Self-Stigma.

Substance use & misuse March 28, 2026 Graeme Knibb, Ruby Ward, Paul Christiansen et al.

People who use psilocybin for therapeutic or personal growth reasons tend to experience less self-stigma—the internalization of negative societal beliefs—while those who use it for social recreation tend to experience more self-stigma. In a survey of 239 people with prior psilocybin experience, three distinct motives emerged: social recreation, experiential enhancement, and therapeutic growth. Greater therapeutic growth motives were linked to lower self-stigma across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions, and also to more frequent psilocybin use. Social recreation motives predicted higher self-stigma. Experiential enhancement showed no significant association with self-stigma. The results suggest that why people use psilocybin may shape how they internalize stigma, with implications for other substances and for clinical use.

DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2026.2643418 Full text Psilocybin Motivation Psychedelics Self-stigma