Identifying Three Psilocybin Use Patterns by Frequency and Quantity

Patterns of psilocybin use in nonclinical settings are not well described in the literature. Psilocybin use can involve infrequent, large (i.e., macro) doses that produce hallucinogenic effects. In addition, some people report psilocybin use at particularly small (i.e., micro), sub-perceptual doses. Given the heterogeneity in reported use metrics, we sought to determine whether there are identifiable patterns of psilocybin use based on participants' self-described typical use frequencies and quantities and to describe how demographic characteristics are associated with each pattern of use.

Participants were recruited from online communities via Reddit.com. We used latent profile analysis to discern psilocybin use patterns defined by frequency and quantity of use. The analytic sample consisted of 664 participants (75.6% U.S. residents; 83.1% White; 67.2% male).

The chipper profile (18%) was associated with approximately 1 to 4 annual uses and using between 0.75 g and 1.0 g of dehydrated, psilocybin-containing mushrooms. The tripper profile (64%) was associated with approximately 2 to 6 annual uses and self-reported use quantities between 2 and 4 g. The micro-doser profile (18%) was related to substantively higher psilocybin use frequencies than the other profiles (between 2 and 4 times a week) and a lower range of preferred quantities (between 0.25 g and 0.75 g). In addition, profiles differed by certain demographic measurements, lifetime psilocybin use, and timing of psilocybin use.

Psilocybin use in nonclinical settings is heterogeneous. We identified three profiles that differed on frequency and quantity of use and their associated demographic characteristics. Next steps are to identify factors that affect one's likelihood of experiencing particular use outcomes and to explore use variability.