ObjectiveTo describe patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) among Danish 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) ("Ecstasy") and hallucinogen users.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 98 active MDMA and/or hallucinogen users recruited through homepage advertisements, flyers, and word of mouth in Denmark. Lifetime and recent substance use and SPU at...
Introduction and aimsSimultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) is a common phenomenon, yet little is known about its role in substance use initiation.Design and methodsIn the present study, 226 cannabis users completed structured interviews about their substance use history. For each substance ever used, participants provided details of their age of first use, th...
Psychoactive drug use shows great diversity, but due to a disproportionate focus on problematic drug use, predominant nonproblematic drug use remains an understudied phenomenon. Historic and anecdotal evidence shows that natural sources of "psychedelic" drugs (e.g., mescaline and psilocybin) have been used in religious and spiritual settings for centuries, a...
BackgroundBetween 2002 and 2005 fresh or unprepared psilocin-based 'magic' mushrooms were legal to possess and traffic in the UK, and commercial sales demonstrated a significant market for this hallucinogenic drug. During and after this time there has been relatively little analysis concerning how magic mushroom users accounted for their drug use, nor on the...
Salvia divinorum is a hallucinogenic plant with ethnopharmacological and recreational uses. It differs from classic serotonergic hallucinogens such as LSD and psilocin in both phenomenology and potent agonist activity of the active component salvinorin A at κ-opioid receptors. Awareness of S. divinorum has grown recently, with both an increase in its public ...
AimsTo describe and assess trends in the use of hallucinogens and other adjunct drugs over a 5-year period.DesignRepeated-measures cross-sectional survey.Setting and participantsAnnual magazine-based survey targeting people who use drugs in dance contexts.MeasurementsLifetime use prevalence (ever used); age of first use; current use prevalence (any use withi...
Psychedelic drugs such as LSD and psilocybin are often claimed to be capable of inducing life-changing experiences described as mystical or transcendental, especially if high doses are taken. The present study examined possible enduring effects of such experiences by comparing users of psychedelic drugs (n = 88), users of nonpsychedelic illegal drugs (e.g., ...
We report the case of a 25-year-old, hepatitis C-infected man, who presented with severe rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure, and later developed posterior encephalopathy with cortical blindness after the ingestion of magic mushrooms. Conventional respiratory and cardiovascular support including mechanical ventilation, continuous veno-venous hemodialysis ...
Recreational Ecstasy/MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users often take a variety of psychoactive drugs, but there is little empirical data on how these drug consumption patterns change with greater experience of Ecstasy. The aim of this study was to compare the polydrug usage patterns reported by non-Ecstasy users, novice Ecstasy users, moderate Ecst...
This study was performed on a representative sample of the Danish population in order to investigate the connection to the use of psychoactive drugs and quality of life (QOL) by way of a questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire was mailed in February 1993 to 2,460 persons aged between 18 and 88, randomly selected from the CPR (Danish Central Register), ...
AimsTo describe the patterns of drug use at dance (rave) events in terms of prevalence, frequency, type of drugs used, patterns of use, access and risk-associated behaviours.DesignSelf-selecting participant-completed survey.SettingThree dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ParticipantsOne hundred and twenty-two drug users (57% males, 43% females), 90% of ...
To determine the characteristics of pregnant women who use Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA), and to identify reproductive risk factors associated with this group of women. Prospective, observational study. Pregnant women who have contacted the Motherisk Alcohol and Substance Use Helpline at The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto, about e...
The aim of this questionnaire survey was to investigate the extent of hallucinogenic mushroom consumption among students from a high school in the county of Aarhus, Denmark and among students at the University of Aarhus and students from the Danish school of journalism in Aarhus, Denmark. 3% of the high school students had used psilocybine-containing mushroo...
New trends in drug use in the United States of America have usually started in populations of young users in California. The use of hallucinogenic drugs (psychedelics), phencyclidine (PCP) and the smoking of cocaine free base were all first detected in populations of young Californian users. Five patterns of youthful drug use are described: experimental, soc...
