Does getting high hurt? Characterization of cases of LSD and psilocybin-containing mushroom exposures to national poison centers between 2000 and 2016
Journal of Psychopharmacology September 5, 2018 James B. Leonard, Bruce D. Anderson, Wendy Klein‐schwartz 85 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin-containing mushrooms (PcMs) are serotonergic hallucinogens used recreationally. A retrospective analysis of 5,883 PcM and 3,554 LSD exposures reported to U.S. poison centers from 2000 to 2016 found that users are primarily male adolescents and young adults (13–29 years). The most common clinical effects were hallucinations (45.8% PcM, 37.4% LSD), agitation (24.1% PcM, 42.4% LSD), and tachycardia (18.0% PcM, 38.6% LSD). Serious effects such as hyperthermia, seizures, coma, increased serum creatinine, and cardiac arrest were infrequent. Most patients were treated and released from the emergency department; LSD use more often required medical admission. Moderate effect was the most frequent outcome.