Journal of psychoactive drugs最新文献

Cannabis is one of the most commonly utilized recreational drugs. However, increasing evidence from the literature suggests harmful implications on cognition. Thus, the main aim of the current review is to summarize literature findings pertaining to the impact of cannabis on neurocognitive skills, focusing on the imaging biomarkers provided by MRI. Two reviewers navigated the literature independently using four main search engines including PubMed and Cochrane. Articles were first evaluated through their title and abstract, followed by full-text assessment. Study characteristics and findings were extracted, and the studies' quality was appraised. 47 articles were included. The majority of the studies were of a case-control design (66%), and the most studied neurocognitive skill was memory (40.4%). With task-based fMRI being the most commonly utilized MRI technique, findings have shown significantly varying decreased and increased neuronal activity within brain regions associated with the cognitive tasks performed. Results suggest that cannabis users are significantly suffering from cognitive deficits. The major significance of this review is attributed to highlighting the role of MRI. Future research needs to delve more into validating the negative effects of cannabis, to enable stakeholders to take action to limit cannabis usage, to foster public health and wellbeing.

People with cancer experience higher rates of psychological dysfunction than the general population, with extreme inequity among indigenous people. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a reemerging area with promising evidence as a treatment for mental health difficulties. The current study aimed to investigate the perceptions of PAT in indigenous (Māori) and non-indigenous cancer patients in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Eighty-five cancer patients (Māori n = 32, non-Māori n = 53) completed a brief anonymous survey assessing demographics, psychological factors, and awareness and perceptions of PAT. Participants were recruited online (via social media and cancer support e-mail lists) and in person at Auckland City Hospital. Maori had significantly poorer psychological well-being than non-Māori. All participants had low awareness of this novel treatment and held largely neutral attitudes. Regression analyses revealed that predictors of more favorable attitudes toward PAT included greater awareness of psychedelics, advanced cancer stage, younger age, poorer holistic well-being, greater demoralization, and prioritizing treatment effectiveness over possible risks and uncertainty. The current study provides a foundational step in exploring perceptions toward PAT in indigenous and non-indigenous groups. These results have the potential to shape future research trials investigating PAT and further highlight the importance of indigenous involvement in the psychedelic research space.

In the past few years, psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in "magic mushrooms" (psilocybin mushrooms), has undergone decriminalization in numerous cities across the US and has been legalized in Oregon and Colorado. Proponents of psilocybin decriminalization have emphasized its therapeutic potential in treating mental health disorders. Furthermore, psilocybin mushrooms are considered the safest psychedelic option, with lower potency and a reduced risk of overdoses and emergency hospitalizations compared to other prevalent psychedelics, such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). We analyzed the impact of psilocybin reforms on public interest in psilocybin, as well as their cross-commodity effects on LSD and MDMA, utilizing extensive web-based search data. We observe a significant increase in psilocybin search volume and a notable reduction in search volume associated with LSD and MDMA. Our results are consistent nationwide across states, irrespective of their stance on psilocybin reforms. The shift in public interest toward psilocybin, which is considered the safest psychedelic, away from LSD and MDMA, carries positive implications for public health.

Emerging legal frameworks in Oregon and Colorado license facilitators to support adults receiving psychedelic services. The current legal frameworks are silent regarding facilitators' personal experience with psychedelics. An e-Delphi process recruited 36 experts with at least 5 years' experience facilitating psilocybin experiences in ceremonial settings, indigenous practices, or clinical trials. Respondents completed in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews via secure web links. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Thematic Analysis. Experts with a mean of 15.2 (SD 13.1) years' experience providing psilocybin services expressed the importance of first-hand experience with psychedelics as a qualification for the emerging workforce. One participant questioned the necessity of personal psychedelic experience. Experts suggested that personal experience may indirectly support high-quality care because it enhances facilitators' personal wellbeing, and may help facilitators understand the complexity and nature of their clients' psychedelic experiences. Novel state-legal psychedelic paradigms create a real-world opportunity to assess associations between facilitators' personal psychedelic experience and the safety and outcomes of psychedelic services.

Using data from Proyecto SALTO, a 15-year follow-up study of a cohort of Mexican American women in a low-income community in San Antonio, Texas, this study examines emerging patterns of current methamphetamine (MA) use, including opioid co-use, among this understudied population. A bivariate analysis compared individuals with and without current MA use and identified sociodemographic correlates and co-occurring mental health and substance use. A secondary analysis compared those with current MA use, opioid use, and concurrent MA and opioid use. Nineteen percent of the sample had current MA use. MA use was associated with having a lower income (OR = 7.04-1.93, SE = 1.59-5.46), residential instability (OR = 5.19, SE = 1.99), and suicidal ideation (OR = 2.62, SE = 0.93). Participants with MA use had more than four times the odds of using opioids than those without MA use. Women with concurrent MA and opioid use differed in sociodemographics and behavioral risks compared to those with only MA or only opioid use. These findings explore the social, mental health, and structural inequities that exacerbate risks and harms associated with high-risk substance use among marginalized Latino populations. Prevention and intervention strategies should adopt a holistic approach that considers and addresses polysubstance use, mental health, and the sociocultural contexts in which individuals live.

Psilocybin, a major indole alkaloid found in magic mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis), has recently drawn attention as a breakthrough therapy to treat major depressive disorder. This review aimed to summarize and identify knowledge gaps concerning their pharmacokinetic characteristics of psilocybin and its active metabolite, psilocin. Original studies related to pharmacokinetics of psilocybin conducted in vitro, animals, and humans were systematically collected from PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, from their inceptions to November 2023. Twenty articles were included in this work and assessed for study quality. A comprehensive review of the pharmacokinetics of psilocybin and psilocin in both animals and humans was performed. Psilocybin is considered a prodrug that is dephosphorylated to psilocin by alkaline phosphatase. Following ingestion, the peak psilocin plasma and brain levels were rapidly achieved in a dose-dependent manner. Psilocin is metabolized primarily through both Phase I and Phase II processes with the half-life of 2-3 hours. This review also identified lack of some pharmacokinetic related information and limitations of available research that may help direct future investigations to better understand the pharmacokinetics and improve study design including dose selection and dosage optimization.

As medical cannabis legalization expands in the United States, more parents and people of child-bearing age are becoming medical cannabis patients (MCP). This analysis uses the theory of role strain to explore how parents navigate being an MCP in Pennsylvania. Twenty four semi-structured qualitative interviews with parents from an ongoing registry study of MCP were analyzed using an a priori codebook and complemented by codes to capture emergent themes. Additionally, memowriting was utilized to refine the analysis and validate findings. Parents described their cannabis use as supportive of their parental role through the reduction of physical and psychological symptoms, improvements to mood, and increased patience with children. However, participants also reported that fear of legal consequences and stigma around their medical cannabis use put strain on their role as parents. The MCP role both supports and strains the parental role depending on context and situation. Results indicate a need for more research among parents who are MCP, especially along lines of identity and factors such as race, and ethnicity.

Young adults use cannabis and experience negative consequences at high rates. Cannabis use motives include coping, conformity, enhancement, expansion, and social. Savoring involves focusing attention on positive events to intensify positive emotions. Savoring might be differentially protective or risky when considering motives in relation to cannabis outcomes. We examined the interactions between cannabis motives and savoring on cannabis frequency and consequences. Young adults (N = 154) who used cannabis at least weekly in the past month completed self-report measures. The interaction between coping and savoring was associated with cannabis use frequency (b = -0.04, p = .001), such that coping motives were positively associated with cannabis use frequency at low levels of savoring (b = 0.80, p = .002), but negatively associated with cannabis use frequency at high levels of savoring (b = -0.80, p = .002). The interaction between coping and savoring was associated with cannabis-related consequences (b = 0.01, p < .001), such that coping motives were positively associated with cannabis-related consequences at low levels of savoring (b = 0.44, p < .001), but not at high levels of savoring (b = 0.10, p = .47). Savoring may protect against the effects of coping motives on cannabis use frequency and related consequences. While these findings are preliminary, future work should explore how a savoring intervention might improve cannabis outcomes via changes in coping motives.

Interest in and use of hallucinogens appears to be growing in the United States, yet less is known about the use of multiple hallucinogens. The aims of this study are to characterize subgroups of lifetime hallucinogen use and to identify sociodemographic correlates of these subgroups. Latent class models were fit using 2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data on a sub-sample of individuals who reported having ever used any hallucinogen (n = 17,977). A four-class model identified the following subgroup classes: Psilocybin (16%), LSD/Psilocybin (46%), Ecstasy (23%), and a fourth class (15%) labeled Multiple substances, with high probabilities of use of psilocybin, LCD, and ecstasy, in addition to moderate probabilities of use of other hallucinogens. In survey-weighted multinomial logistic regression analyses, compared to the Psilocybin class, the adjusted odds of being in the LSD/Psilocybin class increased with age-group level (AORs = 1.5-6.4, 95% CIs:1.3-8.7), and non-White participants had higher odds of being in the Ecstasy class (AORs = 1.7-3.2, 95% CIs:1.1-4.4). As policies regulating and clinical practice with hallucinogens continue to evolve, these patterns of lifetime hallucinogen use demonstrate the overlapping nature of hallucinogen experiences in the U.S. population, which has implications for expanding clinical trial inclusion criteria and establishing a baseline for future trends.

Polysubstance use is widespread among individuals who use drugs in the U.S. and can result in serious consequences. This study aims to understand frequent polysubstance use patterns among U.S. adults and compare these patterns between individuals with and without mental health (MH) conditions. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2019-2022, we identified individuals who used one of ten substances in the past year. We then applied association analysis to extract co-use patterns of substances and estimate the strength of these associations. More than 42% of individuals reported using more than one substance in the past year. The top 10 polysubstance use patterns were largely consistent between individuals with and without MH conditions, although the prevalence and association of these patterns were higher among the MH group. In both groups, the most frequently co-used substances were marijuana and prescription opioids. Among the five illicit substances examined, heroin showed the highest conditional probability of co-use with cocaine or methamphetamine. This study demonstrated that there are similarities and differences in complex polysubstance use patterns between individuals with and without MH conditions. These findings can inform the development of targeted interventions tailored to particular substances and at-risk populations.