Psychedelic risks and benefits: A cross-sectional survey study

Background: As classic psychedelics’ therapeutic potential is studied and their popularity continues to rise, it is important to establish their relative risks and benefits. Previous surveys have tended to use convenience sampling on social media, select participants who have had either extremely positive or negative effects, and have not compared the risk/benefit profile of psychedelics to other substances. Aims: To address these limitations, we gathered samples from an opt-in panel service using quota-based sampling to approximate demographics representing US Census data, did not pre-specify positive or negative experiences, and compared experiences with psychedelics to those with cannabis. Methods: We conducted two studies, one using a between-subjects design ( n = 743) and one using a within-subjects design ( n = 514), in which participants recruited from an opt-in panel service reflected on prior experience with psychedelics or cannabis and indicated self-reported risks and benefits associated with their experience. Results: Results indicated that first or most memorable psychedelic experiences were associated with greater acute challenging effects and persisting negative effects than first or most memorable cannabis experiences, but psychedelic experiences were also associated with greater positive acute and persisting effects. Common predictors of negative and positive acute and persisting effects with psychedelics included various experience qualities (e.g., dose level, presence of others) and individual differences (e.g., religiosity, personality), though only to a small degree. Conclusions: These findings on psychedelic experiences provide a more nuanced characterization of risks and benefits and their predictors.