Voice of the Psychonauts: Coping, Life Purpose, and Spirituality in Psychedelic Drug Users
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs July 1, 2011 Levente Móró, Katalin Simon, Imre Bárd et al. 138 citations
People use psychoactive drugs in many ways, but most research focuses on problematic use, leaving nonproblematic use poorly understood. Natural psychedelics like mescaline and psilocybin have historically been used in spiritual and self-enhancement contexts. In a survey of 667 psychedelic users, other drug users, and nonusers, those who used psychedelics to gain self-knowledge reported fewer drug-related problems and scored higher on measures of coping and spirituality. Although spirituality is a vague term, a spiritually-oriented approach to drug use may protect against problems. The authors suggest that using psychedelics for self-knowledge could serve as a training ground for personal growth, but more qualitative research is needed to confirm long-term benefits.