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.
A Hungarian online community called Daath, run by the 'Hungarian Psychedelic Community' since 2001, provides peer-led harm reduction services for users of hallucinogenic and related substances. The website serves about 1200 visitors daily and has over 8000 registered members. Daath offers online services such as a discussion board and an Ecstasy pill database, along with offline activities like field testing of Ecstasy pills and a documentary film about psychedelics. The community operates with a strong commitment to harm reduction without promoting drug use. The review outlines Daath's history, growth, guidelines, and activities over the past decade, and discusses future challenges and trends in harm reduction.