Patterns of Hallucinogenic Drug Abuse

Hallucinogenic substances such as LSD, psilocybin, and psilocin are far more potent than older agents like peyote and mescaline. Renewed interest in these drugs has led to speculation about their applications across diverse fields, including anthropology, where their socially sanctioned use in some cultures is described; fiction, where their role in utopian societies is imagined; and medicine, where they have been proposed for treating mental illness or inducing model psychoses. Others have suggested their use as educational tools or for triggering religious mystical experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The use of hallucinogenic (psychotomimetic, dysleptic, psychedelic) substances to produce altered states of consciousness is not new,1-3but recently there has been increased interest and publicity given these agents. This renewed attention has been spurred by the discovery of several new substances, such as d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and psilocin, which have potencies far greater than the older agents (peyote, mescaline, teonanacatl, ololiuqui). These drugs have captured the imagination of many people who have speculated on their application in many different areas. Anthropologists4, 5have described the socially sanctioned use of some of these agents in "primitive cultures"; novelists6have conceived of their role in utopian societies; and physicians have espoused their usefulness in treating mental illness7and for the production of "model psychoses." Others have proposed or described their use as educational tools3and for inducing religious "mystical" experiences.8-10Still others have commented on