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.
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.