PSYCHEDELICS DO NOT CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE IN THE TREATMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

Background: The classic serotonergic psychedelics LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline are not known to cause brain damage and are considered non-addictive. Clinical studies do not suggest that psychedelics cause long-term mental health problems. Psychedelics have been used in the Americas for thousands of years. Over 30 million people currently living in the U.S. have used LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline.

Objective: To assess the association between lifetime use of psychedelics and current mental health in the adult population.

Method: Data extracted from the 2001-2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health consisted of 130,152 respondents, randomly selected to be representative of the adult population in the United States. The standardized screening measures for mental health from the previous year included severe psychological distress (K6 scale), mental health treatment (inpatient, outpatient, medication, needed but not received), symptoms of eight psychiatric disorders (panic disorder, major depressive episode, mania, phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and non-affective psychosis), and seven specific symptoms of non-affective psychosis. We calculated weighted odds ratios using multivariate logistic regression, controlling for a range of sociodemographic variables, illicit drug use, risk behavior,

Results: 21,967 respondents (13.4% weighted) reported lifetime use of psychedelics. There were no significant associations between lifetime use of any psychedelics, lifetime use of specific psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote), or LSD use in the past year and increased rates of any of the mental health outcomes. Instead, in several cases, the use of psychedelics has been associated with a lower rate of mental health problems.

Conclusion: We did not find the use of psychedelics to be an independent risk factor for mental health problems.