Associations between psychedelic use and cannabis use disorder in a nationally representative sample

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is a growing public health concern.
• Psychedelics are being explored for substance use disorder treatment.
• The link between naturalistic psychedelic use and CUD is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between past-year use of specific psychedelic compounds and past-year CUD.
• To examine if psychedelic use predicts disordered cannabis use in a nationally representative sample.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2019, 2021-2022).
• Employed survey-weighted multivariable logistic regressions.
• Examined associations between CUD and use of classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote, DMT) and non-classic psychedelics (ketamine, MDMA).

Main Results:

• Past-year LSD use and lifetime psilocybin use were associated with increased rates of past-year CUD (aRR range: 1.89-2.04).
• These associations persisted for moderate-to-severe CUD (aRR range: 1.65-2.07).
• Past-year LSD use predicted specific CUD symptoms (aRR range: 1.45-1.73).

Conclusions:

• Findings indicate a relationship between psychedelic use and disordered cannabis use.
• Certain psychedelic substances may serve as indicators of increased risk for maladaptive cannabis use.
• Further research is needed to clarify these complex relationships.