Inside bad trips: Exploring extra-pharmacological factors

Bad trips—adverse reactions to psychedelic drugs—are linked to recreational use, consumption in large outdoor spaces, and inexperience with the drug. Mixing drugs, ignorance about purity or dosage, and other problems that may contribute to bad trips can be addressed through harm-reduction strategies. However, a causal connection cannot be established from this descriptive, web-based survey of volunteers who had previously experienced a bad trip. Prospective studies with larger samples are needed to clarify the role of extra-pharmacological factors.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the influence of extra-pharmacological factors in the etiology of bad trips, a common adverse reaction related to the consumption of psychedelic drugs. A descriptive approach was adopted. The information was collected using a web-based survey. The survey respondents volunteered to participate based on the condition that they had suffered a bad trip in the past. This report reveals some variables that are commonly related to this adverse reaction (i.e., the recreational consumption of drugs, the consumption of drugs in large, open outdoor spaces, or being inexperienced with the drug). In addition, we note that some problems, which may be related to bad trips (i.e., mixing drugs, ignorance about the purity, or the dosage), can be solved through harm-reduction strategies. We found certain aspects that could be related to the appearance of a bad trip, but it is not possible to establish a causal connection. We recommend conducting prospective studies with larger samples to collect more information about the role of extra-pharmacological factors.