Lifetime use of psilocybin, tryptamine, and ketamine increased among U.S. adults from 2002 to 2019, while mescaline use declined. Among people aged 26 and older, use of most plant-based hallucinogens and dissociative agents rose, but adolescents and young adults showed decreases. Overall, use of these substances remains rare. The findings are based on nationally representative data from over one million respondents aged 12 and older.
From 2008 to 2019, past-year LSD use increased more among US adults with major depression (from 0.5% to 1.8%) than among those without depression (from 0.2% to 0.8%), a difference-in-difference of 0.8 percentage points. The increase was especially pronounced in adults aged 18–34 with depression and in those with annual household incomes below $75,000. The findings suggest that growing clinical interest in hallucinogens may be accompanied by rising nonmedical LSD use among people with depression, particularly younger adults and those with lower incomes. Clinicians are advised to discuss harm reduction and potential benefits with patients who use LSD in unsupervised settings.