Table 3.
Psychedelic experience locations, intentions, variables, beliefs, and behavioral changes in the sample (N = 444) and in each substance specific subsample.
| Total sample (N = 444) | Cannabis (n = 166) | Opioids (n = 155) | Stimulants (n = 123) | Post-hoc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location of psychedelic experience | |||||
| Home | 260 (58.6%) | 98 (59.0%) | 93 (60.0%) | 69 (56.1%) | |
| Party | 37 (8.3%) | 20 (12.0%) | 8 (5.2%) | 9 (7.3%) | |
| Public place | 30 (6.8%) | 14 (8.4%) | 8 (5.2%) | 8 (6.5%) | |
| Concert | 34 (7.7%) | 9 (5.4%) | 12 (7.7%) | 13 (10.6%) | |
| Nature | 162 (36.5%) | 69 (41.6%) | 48 (31.0%) | 45 (36.6%) | |
| Religious | 45 (10.1%) | 19 (11.4%) | 14 (9.0%) | 12 (9.8%) | |
| Other | 34 (7.7%) | 8 (4.8%) | 16 (10.4%) | 10 (8.1%) | |
| Intention for psychedelic experience | |||||
| No serious intention, other people were using | 14 (3.2%) | 7 (4.2%) | 5 (3.2%) | 2 (1.6%) | |
| Curiosity | 73 (16.4%) | 33 (19.9%) | 24 (15.5%) | 16 (13.0%) | |
| Recreation | 231 (52.0%) | 105(63.3%) | 69 (44.5%) | 57 (46.3%) | |
| Psychological self-exploration | 269 (60.6%) | 97 (58.4%) | 94 (60.6%) | 78 (63.4%) | |
| Explore spirituality or the sacred | 180 (40.5%) | 67 (40.4%) | 65 (41.9%) | 48 (39.0%) | |
| To reduce/quit using substance*** | 60 (13.5%) | 7 (4.2%) | 32 (20.6%) | 21 (17.1%) | C < O = S |
| Psychedelic experience variables | |||||
| Psilocybin | 129 (29.1%) | 51 (30.7%) | 43 (27.7%) | 35 (28.5%) | |
| LSD | 192 (43.2%) | 82 (49.4%) | 61 (39.4%) | 49 (39.8%) | |
| Other (e.g., DMT, mescaline) | 123 (27.7%) | 33 (19.9%) | 51 (32.9%) | 39 (31.7%) | |
| Psychedelic dose | |||||
| Very low | 3 (.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (1.3%) | 1 (.8%) | |
| Low | 33 (7.4%) | 22 (13.3%) | 4 (2.6%) | 7 (5.7%) | |
| Moderate | 208 (46.8%) | 80 (48.2%) | 67 (43.2%) | 61 (49.6%) | |
| High | 146 (32.9%) | 52 (31.3%) | 58 (37.4%) | 36 (29.3%) | |
| Very high | 54 (12.2%) | 12 (7.2%) | 24 (15.5%) | 18 (14.6%) | |
| Mean age at time of experience*** | 23.7 (7.8) | 21.9 (6.0) | 25.0 (8.7) | 24.7 (8.3) | C < O = S |
| Time since experience | |||||
| 4–6 months | 72 (16.2%) | 32 (19.3%) | 18 (11.6%) | 22 (17.9%) | |
| 7–12 months | 63 (14.2%) | 32 (19.3%) | 17 (11.0%) | 14 (11.4%) | |
| 1–2 years | 112 (25.2%) | 52 (31.3%) | 34 (21.9%) | 26 (21.1%) | |
| 3–5 years | 108 (24.3%) | 30 (18.1%) | 47 (30.3%) | 31 (25.2%) | |
| 6–10 years | 50 (11.3%) | 12 (7.2%) | 23 (14.8%) | 15 (12.2%) | |
| More than 10 years | 39 (8.8%) | 8 (4.8%) | 16 (10.3%) | 15 (12.2%) | |
| MEQ total mean (SD)*** | 66.8 (20.7) | 63.0 (21.4) | 70.8 (20.6) | 66.9 (19.1) | C < O = S |
| MEQ complete mystical experience | 178 (40.1%) | 58 (34.9%) | 75 (48.4%) | 45 (36.6%) | |
| PEQ—personally meaningful | 5.2 (1.4) | 5.1 (1.5) | 5.4 (1.4) | 5.1 (1.4) | |
| PEQ—spiritual significance | 3.2 (1.4) | 3.0 (1.4) | 3.3 (1.4) | 3.1 (1.4) | |
| PEQ—challenging | 3.8 (2.3) | 4.1 (2.2) | 3.7 (2.4) | 3.4 (2.2) | |
| PEQ—psychological insight | 5.1 (1.7) | 5.1 (1.5) | 5.1 (1.9) | 5.0 (1.6) | |
| PEQ—change in well-being / life satisfaction | 2.5 (1.0) | 2.3 (1.3) | 2.7 (0.7) | 2.5 (0.9) | C < O = S |
| Proportion ranked each reason as most important for drug use reduction | |||||
| Increased belief in ability to quit | 88 (19.8%) | 26 (15.7%) | 39 (25.2%) | 23 (18.7%) | |
| Reducing stress involved with quitting | 35 (7.9%) | 12 (7.2%) | 15 (9.7%) | 8 (6.5%) | |
| Reframing quitting as a spiritual task | 58 (13.1%) | 16 (9.6%) | 27 (17.4%) | 15 (12.2%) | |
| Changing life priorities or values | 126 (28.4%) | 51 (30.7%) | 34 (21.9%) | 41 (33.3%) | |
| Increased delayed gratification | 83 (18.7%) | 39 (23.5%) | 25 (16.1%) | 19 (15.4%) | |
| Increased ability to cope with craving | 40 (9.0%) | 14 (8.4%) | 13 (8.4%) | 13 (10.6%) | |
| Other behavioral changes after psychedelic experience | |||||
| None | 23 (5.2%) | 6 (3.6%) | 9 (5.8%) | 8 (6.5%) | |
| Reduced/quit other drugs | 251 (56.5%) | 90 (54.2%) | 98 (63.2%) | 63 (51.2%) | |
| Started using other drugs | 41 (9.2%) | 14 (8.4%) | 16 (10.3%) | 11 (8.9%) | |
| Improved diet | 261 (58.8%) | 95 (57.2%) | 98 (63.2%) | 68 (55.3%) | |
| Worsened diet | 12 (2.7%) | 4 (2.4%) | 4 (2.6%) | 4 (3.3%) | |
| Increased exercise | 255 (57.4%) | 89 (53.6%) | 93 (60.0%) | 73 (59.3%) | |
| Decreased exercise | 11 (2.5%) | 8 (4.8%) | 2 (1.3%) | 1 (0.8%) | |
| Improved relationships | 343 (77.3%) | 123 (74.1%) | 129 (83.2%) | 91 (74.0%) | |
| Worsened relationships | 25 (5.6%) | 12 (7.2%) | 7 (4.5%) | 6 (4.9%) | |
| Improved career | 252 (56.8%) | 92 (55.4%) | 91 (58.7%) | 69 (56.1%) | |
| Worsened career | 23 (5.2%) | 10 (6.0%) | 9 (5.8%) | 4 (3.3%) |
LSD, Lysergic acid diethylamide; DMT, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine; MEQ, Mystical Experience Questionnaire; PEQ, Persisting Effects Questionnaire. ***p < .001.