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Morten Hesse

Aarhus University

3 papers in the library · 37 citations · publishing 2020-2025

Papers

Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography

Frontiers in Psychiatry December 10, 2020 Ove Heradstveit, Jens Christoffer Skogen, Marit Edland-Gryt et al. 19 citations

From 2014 to 2018, the proportion of Norwegian university and college students who had ever tried illicit drugs increased, from 30.8% to 36.7% among males and from 17.5% to 24.0% among females. Cannabis was the most commonly used drug in the past year (15.2%), followed by MDMA (4.0%), cocaine (3.0%), and LSD/psilocybin (2.1%). Illicit drug use rose with age, peaking between ages 23 and 28, and was higher among males than females. Use also varied by geographic region, with the highest rates in the Oslo area. The findings point to a need for addressing illicit drug use in this population.

Psychedelic discourses: A qualitative study of discussions in a Danish online forum

International Journal of Drug Policy January 19, 2023 Søren Holm, Margit Anne Petersen, Oskar Enghoff et al. 18 citations

In a Danish online forum, users discuss psychedelic substances through five dominant frameworks: recreational, therapeutic, spiritual, scientific, and performance discourses. Analysis of 1,865 posts from 154 threads revealed that participants draw on and reproduce these shared frameworks when describing and negotiating their understandings and uses of psychedelics. The findings underscore the importance of a nuanced approach to user perceptions, suggesting that drug policy and practice should account for significant variation in motives and modalities of psychedelic use.

Turning online to tune in: Psychedelic information seeking in an era of renewed psychedelic curiosity

Journal of Psychedelic Studies May 16, 2025 Oskar Enghoff, Margit Anne Petersen, Søren Holm et al.

People who have used psychedelics, whether therapeutically or non-therapeutically, and those who have never used them all strongly prefer online sources for information about psychedelics. Different groups show distinct patterns in where they get information and what types of content they access, indicating varied online social learning environments for consumption practices. Online content influences both current and potential future use, even as public attention increasingly focuses on psychedelic therapy. Public health institutions could use these online channels to engage with the psychedelic resurgence.