A high dose of psilocybin, given under supportive conditions to hallucinogen-naïve adults who regularly participate in religious or spiritual activities, produced acute perceptual changes, subjective experiences, and labile moods including anxiety. It also increased measures of mystical experience. Two months later, volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance and attributed sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior to it, consistent with ratings by community observers. The ability to prospectively occasion such experiences allows rigorous scientific investigation of their causes and consequences.
Among young men entering compulsory military service in Asturias, Spain, between 1995 and 1999, lifetime use of MDMA was 10.9%, past-year use 7.8%, and past-month use 4.5%, ranking fifth among illicit drugs ever tried. Once MDMA was used, reuse was common: 71% of ever-users had used it in the past year, and 41% in the past month. MDMA users had more extensive drug histories than non-users. Those who used MDMA in the past year scored higher on Neuroticism and Psychoticism subscales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-A and reported greater sensation seeking.