Recreational use of psychedelic mushrooms is on the rise Researchers say policymakers need to decide whether to ease rules on the substances, as many states have done with cannabis Concerns about therapeutic use of psychedelics and indigenous groups must be weighed, they added THURSDAY, June 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- As psilocybin mushrooms become the most popular psychedelic in the United States, some states have started to ease regulations on its recreational use. Now, a new report warns that the federal government will have to decide whether to follow suit. RAND, a nonprofit research group, stresses in the report that if efforts to expand the recreational supply of psychedelics don't go well, the fallout could put a damper on potential medical uses.
"Based on what happened with clinical research on psychedelics after the 1960s, this is not an idle concern," lead author Beau Kilmer , a senior policy researcher, said in a RAND news release. Indigenous groups that consider psychedelics spiritual medicines could also be affected, study co-author Michelle Priest , an assistant policy researcher at RAND, warned. The popularity of psychdelic mushrooms now far outpaces that of other mind-altering drugs such as ecstasy (MDMA), the new report reveals.
It includes results of a December 2023 survey of almost 3,800 U.S. adults who were asked about their use of various substances, including psychedelics.
Twelve percent said they had used psilocybin at some point, and 3.1% had done so.