Over 30 million psychedelic users in the United States.

Area of Science:

• Psychopharmacology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Psychedelic substances, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline, and peyote, have a history of use in various cultural and therapeutic contexts.
• Understanding the prevalence of psychedelic use is crucial for public health initiatives, harm reduction strategies, and informing policy.
• Previous epidemiological data on lifetime psychedelic use in the US population, particularly by age demographics, requires updated estimation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the lifetime prevalence of psychedelic use in the United States population by age category.
• To identify specific age groups with the highest rates of lifetime psychedelic consumption.
• To provide updated epidemiological data on the use of substances like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a large-scale 2010 US population survey.
• Included 57,873 individuals aged 12 years and older in the analysis.
• Estimated lifetime prevalence of use for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline, and peyote, stratified by age group.

Main Results:

• Approximately 32 million individuals in the US reported lifetime psychedelic use in 2010.
• 17% of adults aged 21 to 64 years reported lifetime psychedelic use (22% of males, 12% of females).
• The highest rate of lifetime psychedelic use was observed in the 30 to 34 age group (20% overall; 26% of males, 15% of females).

Conclusions:

• Lifetime psychedelic use was a significant phenomenon in the US in 2010, particularly among young to middle-aged adults.
• The 30-34 age bracket exhibited the peak prevalence for lifetime use of psychedelics.
• Findings highlight the need for age-specific public health considerations regarding psychedelic substance use patterns.