The epidemiology of mescaline use: Pattern of use, motivations for consumption, and perceived consequences, benefits, and acute and enduring subjective effects

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Abstract

Background:

Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive phenethylamine found in several cacti and historically used ceremonially by Indigenous and Latin American populations. Broader recognition of its possible therapeutic value in Western science began in the 1950s; however, knowledge of the safety profile of mescaline and the extent of its use remains limited. The primary aim of this study is to examine the epidemiology of mescaline use among English-speaking adults.

Methods:

About 452 respondents completed a web-based survey designed to assess their previous experience with mescaline (subjective effects, outcome measures, and mescaline type used).

Results:

Most respondents reported that they had consumed mescaline infrequently (⩽once/year), for spiritual exploration or to connect with nature (74%). A small number of respondents reported drug craving/desire (9%), whereas very few reported legal (1%), or psychological problems (1%) related to its use, and none reported seeking any medical attention. Overall, respondents rated the acute mystical-type effects as “ moderate,” ego-dissolution and psychological insight effects as “ slight,” and challenging effects as “ very slight .” Most respondents reported that they used Peyote and San Pedro in their most memorable mescaline experience. Overall, the intensity of acute mescaline effects did not differ between mescaline types. About 50% of the sample reported having a psychiatric condition (i.e. depression, anxiety, etc.), and most (>67%) reported improvements in these conditions following their most memorable experience with mescaline.

Conclusion:

Findings indicate that the mescaline in any form may produce a psychedelic experience that is associated with the spiritual significance and improvements in the mental health with low potential for abuse.

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Most cited references 85

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Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.

R R Griffiths, W A Richards, U McCann … (2006)

Although psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes, little is known scientifically about its acute and persisting effects. This double-blind study evaluated the acute and longer-term psychological effects of a high dose of psilocybin relative to a comparison compound administered under comfortable, supportive conditions. The participants were hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual activities. Two or three sessions were conducted at 2-month intervals. Thirty volunteers received orally administered psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) and methylphenidate hydrochloride (40 mg/70 kg) in counterbalanced order. To obscure the study design, six additional volunteers received methylphenidate in the first two sessions and unblinded psilocybin in a third session. The 8-h sessions were conducted individually. Volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. Study monitors rated volunteers' behavior during sessions. Volunteers completed questionnaires assessing drug effects and mystical experience immediately after and 2 months after sessions. Community observers rated changes in the volunteer's attitudes and behavior. Psilocybin produced a range of acute perceptual changes, subjective experiences, and labile moods including anxiety. Psilocybin also increased measures of mystical experience. At 2 months, the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior consistent with changes rated by community observers. When administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences. The ability to occasion such experiences prospectively will allow rigorous scientific investigations of their causes and consequences.

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Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study

Robin L Carhart-Harris, Mark Bolstridge, James Rucker … (2016)

Psilocybin is a serotonin receptor agonist that occurs naturally in some mushroom species. Recent studies have assessed the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for various conditions, including end-of-life anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and smoking and alcohol dependence, with promising preliminary results. Here, we aimed to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of psilocybin in patients with unipolar treatment-resistant depression.

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Psychedelics.

David E. Nichols, Eric Barker (2016)

Psychedelics (serotonergic hallucinogens) are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood and affect numerous cognitive processes. They are generally considered physiologically safe and do not lead to dependence or addiction. Their origin predates written history, and they were employed by early cultures in many sociocultural and ritual contexts. After the virtually contemporaneous discovery of (5R,8R)-(+)-lysergic acid-N,N-diethylamide (LSD)-25 and the identification of serotonin in the brain, early research focused intensively on the possibility that LSD and other psychedelics had a serotonergic basis for their action. Today there is a consensus that psychedelics are agonists or partial agonists at brain serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptors, with particular importance on those expressed on apical dendrites of neocortical pyramidal cells in layer V. Several useful rodent models have been developed over the years to help unravel the neurochemical correlates of serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor activation in the brain, and a variety of imaging techniques have been employed to identify key brain areas that are directly affected by psychedelics. Recent and exciting developments in the field have occurred in clinical research, where several double-blind placebo-controlled phase 2 studies of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in patients with cancer-related psychosocial distress have demonstrated unprecedented positive relief of anxiety and depression. Two small pilot studies of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy also have shown positive benefit in treating both alcohol and nicotine addiction. Recently, blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography have been employed for in vivo brain imaging in humans after administration of a psychedelic, and results indicate that intravenously administered psilocybin and LSD produce decreases in oscillatory power in areas of the brain's default mode network.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Psychopharmacol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Psychopharmacol

Journal ID (publisher-id): JOP

Journal ID (hwp): spjop

Title: Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)

Publisher: SAGE Publications (Sage UK: London, England )

ISSN (Print): 0269-8811

ISSN (Electronic): 1461-7285

Publication date (Electronic): 5 May 2021

Publication date (Print): March 2022

Volume: 36

Issue: 3

Pages: 309-320

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

[2 ]College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

[3 ]Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

[4 ]University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA

[5 ]Department of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

[6 ]Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

[7 ]Habituating to Wholeness, Lakewood, CO, USA

[8 ]Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK

Author notes

[*]Dr. Malin Vedøy Uthaug, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands. Email: malin.uthaug@ 123456maastrichtuniversity.nl

[*]Dr. Johannes G Ramaekers, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands. Email: j.ramaekers@ 123456maastrichtuniversity.nl

Author information

Malin Vedøy Uthaug https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7903-1325

Alan K Davis https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-8893

Sean B Dolan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1828-9589

Johannes G Ramaekers https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4553-376X

Article

Publisher ID: 10.1177_02698811211013583

DOI: 10.1177/02698811211013583

PMC ID: 8902264

PubMed ID: 33949246

SO-VID: 2e475fdc-bcc6-4735-80e1-f1dfb129c3d7

License:

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Lficense ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ( https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).