Demographic Characteristics and Frequency of Use among Current Users of Classic Hallucinogens

Abstract

Little is known about the demographic characteristics of classic hallucinogen users and few investigations address the frequency of their use. This study used five years of data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual, nationally representative, cross-sectional survey, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States government, to examine age, gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, income, education, employment status and health status and among low, medium, and high frequency users of classic hallucinogens ( N = 1323). Results indicated classic hallucinogen users were most likely to be White males between 18 and 25 years old, who had never been married, had some college, were employed full-time, had a family income less than $20,000 per year, and were in very good health. High frequency hallucinogen users were more likely to be males in the “Other” racial/ethnic category who were less well educated, and less healthy, but they did not differ from other users in age, marital status, family income, or employment. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.