Priorities for psychedelic research among people who use psychedelics

Area of Science:

• Psycho-pharmacology and Consciousness Studies
• Sociology of Health and Medicine

Background:

• Academic and industry psychedelic research is largely clinical or focused on medicalization.
• Growing public and research interest necessitates understanding broader community priorities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and document the research priorities of the general psychedelic community.
• To compare community priorities with those of institutional researchers.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous online survey of 1192 U.S. adults with past psychedelic use in 2022.
• Thematic analysis of open-ended responses on research priorities.
• Comparison with topics from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) workshop.

Main Results:

• Seven major research domains identified by users: therapeutic efficacy, non-clinical use best practices, safety, broader understanding, desirable outcomes, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and research best practices.
• Overlap exists, but user priorities include non-clinical use and societal/cultural issues.
• Institutional researchers emphasized molecular, neurological, and clinical research.

Conclusions:

• Psychedelic user priorities extend beyond clinical applications to encompass non-medical use, safety, and societal impacts.
• A divergence exists between user-driven and institution-driven psychedelic research agendas.
• Future research should consider the multifaceted priorities of the broader psychedelic community.