Objective

Are individuals who use hallucinogens self-medicating their mental illness and are they more likely to abuse other illegal substances?

Design, setting, participants

Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) database was queried for correlations with hallucinogen use. Using age group as a control variable, different variables were run through a crosstab in order to find significant data pointing to the implications of hallucinogen use.

Results

The data from the crosstab analysis showed three key findings about hallucinogen use: Those with mental illness or substance abuse issues were substantially more likely to use hallucinogens, the hallucinogen use greatly increased with the pandemic along with further mental health issues, and those who used hallucinogens were more significantly likely to abuse other illegal substances, primarily in a younger population.

Conclusion

The positive correlation between mental health issues and hallucinogen use emphasizes the need for better mental health services, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The positive correlation between hallucinogen use and other drug use indicates the widespread drug abuse problem, especially within a younger population in which drugs pose a larger neurological threat.