Table 2.
Epidemiology of mescaline use in the total sample (N = 452).
| Characteristic/variable | Total sample |
|---|---|
| N = 452 | |
| M (SD) or % | |
| Types of mescaline ever ingested (could select more than one) | |
| Synthetic | 31% |
| San Pedro | 66% |
| Peyote | 36% |
| Extracted | 27% |
| Partial extraction | 23% |
| Other columnar cacti | 12% |
| Unsure | 2% |
| Types of mescaline you have the most experience with | |
| Synthetic | 17% |
| San Pedro | 48% |
| Peyote | 18% |
| Extracted | 8% |
| Partial extraction | 7% |
| Other columnar cacti | 1% |
| Unsure | 1% |
| Age first ingested mescaline (n = 451) (years) | |
| Younger than 18 | 13% |
| 18–20 | 24% |
| 21–23 | 17% |
| 24–26 | 14% |
| 27–30 | 10% |
| 31–40 | 11% |
| 41–50 | 8% |
| Older than 50 | 4% |
| Route of administration | |
| Swallowed | 97% |
| Snorted | 1% |
| Smoked/vaporized | <1% |
| Injected | <1% |
| Sublingual | 2% |
| Rectal | <1% |
| Number of lifetime uses of mescaline (n = 448) | |
| 1 | 22% |
| 2 | 10% |
| 3 | 14% |
| 4–10 | 31% |
| 11–20 | 9% |
| 21 or more | 14% |
| Frequency of use during past 5 years | |
| More than once a month | 3% |
| Less than once each month | 3% |
| Less than once per month but more than once per year | 23% |
| About once per year | 10% |
| Less than once per year | 60% |
| Main reason for consuming mescaline | |
| Explore/connect | 74% |
| Treatment/healing | 8% |
| Other (e.g. recreation) | 18% |
| Location | |
| Indoors | 43% |
| Outdoors | 47% |
| Other (e.g. festival) | 10% |
| Who administered the mescaline (could select more than one) | |
| Self-administration | 78% |
| Shamanic practitioner | 23% |
| Other (e.g. peer and friend) | 8% |
| How often do you take more than one dose in a session | |
| Never | 55% |
| Sometimes | 29% |
| Frequently | 6% |
| Always | 10% |
| Average number of doses consumed in a session (N = 447) | |
| 1 | 69% |
| 2 | 15% |
| 3 | 9% |
| 4 or more | 7% |
| How often consumed mescaline at the same time as other substances | |
| Never | 44% |
| Once or twice | 32% |
| More than a few times | 16% |
| Always or almost always | 8% |
| Ever experienced craving for mescaline | |
| Yes | 9% |
| How far in advance do you typically plan before a mescaline session | |
| No planning | 18% |
| A few days | 26% |
| A week | 26% |
| One month | 24% |
| More than size months | 6% |
| Source of mescaline | |
| Purchased | 42% |
| Gifted | 14% |
| Grew/found | 26% |
| Other | 18% |
| Changes in frequency of use in the past year | |
| Decreased | 51% |
| Stayed the same | 39% |
| Increased | 10% |
| How many times tried to reduce consumption (N = 448) | |
| 0 | 97% |
| 1 or more | 3% |
| How many times tried to quit consuming (N = 445) | |
| 0 | 97% |
| 1 | 3% |
| How many times tried to increase consumption (N = 444) | |
| 0 | 60% |
| 1 | 19% |
| 2 | 5% |
| 3 | 4% |
| 4 or more | 13% |
| When was the last time consumed | |
| Within the past month | 14% |
| Between 1 and 6 months ago | 19% |
| Between 6 and 12 months ago | 12% |
| More than 1 year ago | 55% |
| Ever arrested or in trouble with the law because of mescaline | |
| Yes | 1% |
| Every been in therapy/psychiatric services as a result of mescaline | |
| Yes | <1% |
| Ever sought medical treatment as a result of mescaline | |
| Yes | 0% |
| What are the potential psychological or spiritual applications of mescaline (could select more than one) | |
| Personal growth | 90% |
| Spiritual growth | 87% |
| Psychotherapeutic work | 81% |
| Enhancing cognitive abilities | 61% |
| Enhancing creative abilities | 76% |
| Number of other people during session (also using mescaline) | 4.7 (1.1) |
| Number of other people during session (not also using mescaline) | 1.4 (5.6) |
Variables may not be equal to 100% due to the rounding error. N is varied due to participants choosing “prefer not to answer” on specific items.