An Assessment of Psychedelic Knowledge Among People Using Psychedelics Naturalistically

ABSTRACT

Identifying gaps and strengths in psychedelic-related knowledge is key to developing effective, evidence-based education to inform appropriate use of and harm reduction practices for psychedelics in the naturalistic use landscape. The current study piloted an assessment instrument with questions on legal status, therapeutic potential, and side effects of psychedelics among people reporting current psychedelic use. We recruited participants (N = 1435) at a psychedelic advocacy event and through psychedelic interest groups on social media. Respondents completed a brief survey of psychedelic use and psychedelic knowledge. Items assessed basic knowledge of various topics surrounding psychedelics, such as legal status, active compounds, and known therapeutic efficacy based on the clinical trial literature. Respondents who had used greater numbers of different psychedelics, with higher levels of education, lower age, greater frequency of psychedelic use, identifying as male, used high doses (vs. microdosing only), identifying as Caucasian/White, and with greater annual household income answered more questions correctly. Most respondents exhibited high knowledge of psychedelics, though there is also a demonstrated need for education and outreach, especially in under-represented communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychedelics
• LSD
• psilocybin
• DMT
• knowledge
• therapeutic use

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to the respondents for their time and willingness to participate in this study and to anonymous consultants who provided us with feedback on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data that support these findings are available from the corresponding author (DJK) upon request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2022.2142709

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.