The researchers developed a 655-question survey in collaboration with clinicians and academic researchers. The survey focused on 11 common psychedelic drugs and collected data on various aspects such as sociodemographic characteristics, general drug use, psychedelic drug-specific use, motivations for use, access sources, and intense positive and challenging psychedelic experiences.
The survey was distributed online to individuals aged 19 years or older with past or current use of psychedelic drugs. The final sample consisted of 2,384 individuals, with a majority of women and an average age of 38.4 years. The survey revealed that over 90% of the sample had used a dose of psychedelic drugs high enough to produce a “trip,” and psilocybin was the most commonly used psychedelic drug.
The main motivations reported for using psychedelic drugs were for fun, spiritual or personal exploration, mental well-being, and personal growth. Some respondents also reported using psychedelic drugs to reduce the use of other substances.
Regarding the experiences of respondents who had used psychedelics, about 82% of them reported having intense positive experiences and feeling a sense of connectedness. However, over half of the respondents (52%) also had intense challenging experiences, which included confronting difficult emotions and troubling hallucinations. Interestingly, despite the challenging experiences, 55% of respondents found some good emerging from them, such as resolving challenging situations or emotions and gaining insights.
The researchers observed that the motivations for using psychedelics influenced the type of experiences individuals had. Personal exploration was associated with intense positive experiences, while managing trauma, reducing substance use, and boredom were associated with intense challenging experiences.
The study also revealed the patterns of co-use of psychedelics with other substances. MDMA and psilocybin were commonly co-used with alcohol and cannabis when the intent was recreational, while ayahuasca and ibogaine were typically used for therapeutic or spiritual purposes, with practically no co-use with other substances.
The researchers acknowledged limitations, such as the self-selected sample and potential over-representation of people with positive experiences. Further investigation is needed to explore factors like frequency of use and social/environmental settings to better understand psychedelic experiences.
The findings of this study have the potential to inform future clinical studies and policy debates surrounding psychedelic drugs. The researchers plan to continue their research and have launched the Global Psychedelic Survey (GPS) to gather data from international respondents and assess cross-jurisdictional differences in patterns of psychedelic use.
Stephanie Lake and Philippe Lucas authored a study titled “The Canadian Psychedelic Survey: Characteristics, Patterns of Use, and Access in a Large Sample of Individuals Who Use Psychedelic Drugs.”
