Journal of psychoactive drugs最新文献

Psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) are psychedelic compounds with therapeutic potential for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. However, their relevance to endurance athletes, who face particular psychological and physical stressors, remains underexplored. This study combines a conceptual overview with cross-sectional survey data from Brazilian endurance athletes. Twenty-eight participants completed a questionnaire addressing mental health, use of supplements, medications, and psychoactive substances, as well as perceptions and attitudes toward psychedelics and psychedelic therapies. The mean age was 37 ± 10 years. Women more frequently reported pharmacological treatment for depression or anxiety. Overall, 64% reported a lack of mental health support in their athletic environments; 11% had prior psychedelic experience, while 79% expressed openness to psychedelic therapies if legal and supervised. However, 61% were unaware of existing evidence for psychedelics in treating mental health conditions. Their potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties were similarly unrecognized and unexpected. Misconceptions were common: 78% believed psychedelics to be addictive. Despite this, attitudes toward their therapeutic potential were generally positive. These findings reveal unmet mental health needs, significant knowledge gaps, and widespread misconceptions among endurance athletes, suggesting the value of targeted, evidence-based education to support informed consideration of psychedelic therapies.

Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychoactive brew, has gained increasing attention for its potential health benefits; however, no previous research has investigated its use in Portugal. This study aims to evaluate the health status, lifestyle behaviors, and psychosocial well-being of Portuguese ayahuasca users, comparing their self-reported health indicators with population norms. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 203 Portuguese adults who have participated in ayahuasca ceremonies. Participants completed validated measures assessing general health status, mental health, coping strategies, and social support. Results were compared to national health survey data. Ayahuasca users perceive their health as good or very good, with lower rates of chronic disease and obesity compared to the general population. Participants also report greater physical activity levels, lower alcohol consumption, and enhanced psychological well-being. A substantial proportion of users attributed positive lifestyle changes, reductions in substance use, and lower reliance on prescription medication to their ayahuasca experiences. Results reinforce previous research linking ayahuasca use to health and well-being, showing that ceremony attenders in Portugal display a range of beneficial lifestyle behaviors and health indicators. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to better understand the causal pathways linking ayahuasca use to health outcomes and explore potential public health implications.

Psychedelic experiences have been associated with improved quality of life, but many studies rely on samples of enthusiasts, raising concerns about selection bias. This study examined whether self-reported quality-of-life impact differed between a convenience sample of psychedelic enthusiasts and a general population sample recruited through Prolific, and whether sample differences persisted after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation, and personality. A total of N = 1,182 participants (N = 583 enthusiasts; N = 599 general sample) with prior psychedelic experience completed an online survey assessing perceived impact, contextual factors, motivation for use, and Big Five personality. Between-group differences were analyzed using Welch's t-tests, Pearson´s chi-squared tests and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests. A Type III ANCOVA was used to assess whether sample differences in quality-of-life impact remained after controlling for relevant covariates. Enthusiasts reported significantly greater quality-of-life impact (d = 0.84), higher openness, extraversion and agreeableness, more favorable mindsets and settings, and a higher frequency of personal growth motives. In the ANCOVA, sample membership was the strongest predictor of quality-of-life impact, followed by setting, motivation, openness, and mindset. These findings provide empirical clarification of how enthusiast-leaning recruitment strategies can shape reported outcomes in psychedelic research. Results underscore the need to consider sampling frames when interpreting reported benefits and to prioritize representative recruitment in future psychedelic research.

Overdose in California is highly racialized, with Black Californians experiencing excessive mortality. People experiencing homelessness (PEH) report high rates of fentanyl-stimulant co-use and drug-related harm. There is limited research examining structural racism and intersectional violence of policing, homelessness, and overdose throughout the lifespan of Black people. POLY HOME is a qualitative study among PEH who fentanyl and stimulants in San Francisco, California, examining how housing status shapes drug-related harm and engagement with overdose prevention, services, and treatment. We analyzed baseline and life history interviews from 26 Black participants. They reported experiences of physical and psychological violence and associated trauma resulting from the criminal legal system during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Black participants reported viewing the police less as a community resource than as a form of potential community harm, leading participants to avoid emergency services and law enforcement during life-threatening events. Increased policing and involuntary displacements increased overdose risk. Our findings elucidate how systemic issues in policing and the criminal legal system contribute to overdose risk among Black PEH. Programs and policies are needed that reduce criminal legal involvement for Black PEH and address how experiences of structural racism across the lifespan impact overdose vulnerability in later life.

Expanding regulation and increased use of psychedelic substances requires surveillance of behaviors and health outcomes in the United States. Widely comprehendible terminology is important for surveys. The objective of this study was to determine what psychedelic terminology is preferred among adults who used a psychedelic in the past 12 months. A cross-sectional survey measuring psychedelic use behaviors was administered. A rank-order question was included to assess preferences for seven terminology options ranked first to seventh. Median rank scores (lower medians indicating higher preference) were calculated across subgroups defined by age, education, and level of experience with psychedelic substances. A total of 2,306 respondents were included in the final sample. Among the total sample, specific substance names (e.g., psilocybin, ayahuasca) were most preferred (median rank = 3; 24.3% ranked first), followed by "psychedelics" (3; 19.4%). Other terms that ranked lower included by effect (3; 15.0%), "medicines" (4; 16.2%), "hallucinogen" (4; 13.7%), "entheogens" (5; 8.5%), or something else (6; 2.9%), and patterns were consistent across subgroups. Broader recommendations for terminology use are proposed to assist further survey development.

Research has established that life stress may elevate the likelihood of challenging experiences with psychedelics, which may be linked to poorer outcomes from psychedelic use. Studies have highlighted the importance of therapeutic support, but questions remain about the type of effective support and its specific contribution. We examined the contribution of therapeutic-like contexts and support on the relationship between life stress and challenging psychedelic experiences and between challenging experiences and psychological outcomes. An online survey was conducted in an international sample (N = 1,867) of psychedelic users. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the moderating roles of therapeutic-like context and support on presumed links between life stress and challenging psychedelic experiences and between challenging experiences and outcomes. Data generally supported theorized associations among stressful life events, challenging psychedelic experiences, therapeutic-like context/support, and psychological outcomes. Therapeutic-like context mitigated the association of stressful life events with challenging experiences and the association of challenging experiences with coping, but not other associations. Interaction effects indicated that the degree of therapeutic-like support moderated the association of challenging experiences with valence, impact on coping, and impact on well-being. In other regression models, therapeutic-like support maintained significant independent effects, but interaction effects were not found. Therapeutic-like context and support were found to moderate links between life stress and challenging psychedelic experiences and between challenging experiences and outcomes. These findings may be relevant to clinical uses of psychedelics in therapeutic contexts and harm reduction practices in naturalistic contexts.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals experience disproportionately high rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, and discrimination, yet remain underrepresented in psychedelic research. This prospective, naturalistic study explored the impact of an ayahuasca retreat experience on mental health, quality of life, and spiritual well-being among SGM participants. Participants attended a seven-day ayahuasca retreat and completed assessments across six time points from 2-4 weeks pre-ceremony to 2-3 months post-ceremony. Findings revealed significant reductions in depression and anxiety scores, alongside increases in spiritual well-being and quality of life, particularly within the first month following the retreat. Participants consistently described the experience as highly meaningful and spiritually significant, with many identifying the ceremony as among the most meaningful of their lives. Benefits were further supported by reports of positive behavioral changes, including improved interpersonal relationships and reduced substance use. Adverse effects were minimal and transient. Importantly, this study addresses the historical gap in the literature and highlights the need to reconceptualize psychedelic spaces as inclusive and reparative for queer communities. Given the historical misuse of psychedelics in conversion therapy, these findings mark a critical step in reclaiming psychedelics for SGM healing, empowerment, and identity affirmation.

While cannabis use is associated with subjective sleep improvements, studies employing objective sleep measures (e.g. actigraphy) demonstrate mixed relations. Based on social cognitive theory, it is possible that positive sleep-related cannabis expectancies (i.e. beliefs that cannabis will improve sleep) may modify self-reported sleep outcomes. This daily-level study examined agreement between subjective and objective sleep measures and evaluated whether positive sleep-related cannabis expectancies augmented discrepancies between subjective and objective sleep outcomes on cannabis use days. Individuals endorsing regular cannabis use and sleep motives (N = 23) completed baseline measures on cannabis use, sleep, and expectancies, followed by up to seven days of diaries and continuous actigraphy (n = 155 days). Diary and actigraphy agreement was poor for wake after sleep onset and sleep onset latency, moderate for total sleep time, and excellent for fall asleep time and wake-time. Expectancies were associated with overestimated diary total sleep time and this association was amplified on cannabis use days. Tendencies to self-report earlier diary fall asleep time on cannabis use days and later time on nonuse days were amplified as expectancies increased. Sleep-related cannabis expectancies may bias self-reported sleep, highlighting the need to account for such beliefs in future research examining cannabis-sleep relations with subjective measures.

LGBTQ+ people experience elevated cannabis risk attributable to chronic minority stress. A paucity of knowledge of how lifetime traumatic experiences contribute to hazardous cannabis use among LGBTQ+ college students hinders the identification of targeted clinical intervention points. This study characterizes LGBTQ+ college cannabis use and underlying lifetime trauma risks. Cross-sectional online survey data was collected from 322 college students at a northeastern university (M_age = 19.04 ± 1.39 years; 47% assigned male at birth, 53% assigned female at birth; 27% LGBTQ+, 77% cisgender-heterosexual; 84% white). LGBTQ+ college students exhibited greater lifetime trauma (t[315] = -5.90, p < .001, d = -.79) and hazardous cannabis use (t[304] = 2.18, p = .03, d = .30) compared to cisgender-heterosexual counterparts. Lifetime traumatic experiences emerged as a risk mechanism for hazardous cannabis use (b = 0.74, SE = 0.35, p = .04, 95% CI [0.28, 1.31]) and negative cannabis consequences (b = 0.53, SE = 0.24, p = .03, 95% CI [0.18, 0.92]) for LGBTQ+ college students. Findings highlight LGBTQ+ college students as a risk group for cannabis use, potentially explained by elevated rates of lifetime traumatic experiences. Despite the need for longitudinal replication, this theory-driven analysis provides important preliminary findings to inform future research and tailored intervention.

Indigenous to West Africa, akuamma seed (Picralima nitida) is used in traditional medicine and demonstrates opioidergic activity. Little is known about its role in management of pain or other ailments among people in the United States. This study presents findings from a web-based survey conducted between December 2023 and July 2024. Summary statistics characterized individuals reporting lifetime akuamma seed use, including demographics, substance use history, pain severity, and motivations. Between-group comparisons were conducted for those with and without lifetime akuamma seed use. Among 369 participants, 28 (7.6%) reported lifetime akuamma seed use. Those with lifetime akuamma seed use were older (44.7 years, p = .04), females (64.3%, p = .004), or currently disabled (32.1%, p < .001). They reported less alcohol (p = .033), more kava (78.6%, p = .001) and Delta-8 THC (71.4%, p < .001) use; all had tried kratom. Those who had tried akuamma seed indicated greater pain severity and reported use for pain management and opioid substitution; 60.7% reported pain relief from akuamma seed. No participants met DSM-5 criteria for akuamma seed-related substance use disorder modified. Akuamma seed may be used in the United States alongside other unscheduled psychoactive substances, particularly, psychoactive botanical-derived products. Additional research is needed to evaluate safety, efficacy, and health outcomes associated with akuamma seed.