In the summer of 2016, I had my first experience with psychedelics. On a sunny June day, two of my best friends and I huddled together to share a bag of dried, desiccated fungus. Right as we were about to chow down on the unappetizing-looking mushrooms, one of my friends stopped and wondered: “are mushrooms addictive?” This question has probably been asked about most classical psychedelics, which include DMT, LSD, and mescaline.
Fortunately, the science of psychedelics has come a long way in recent years. Psychedelic medicine, long stigmatized and often misunderstood, has seen a burst of resurgent interest from scientists and the general public. Policymakers from local to state and federal levels are beginning to change their tune as scientific consensus and public opinion veers away from the dark age of the War and Drugs and catches up with the “psychedelic renaissance.”
But what does the science actually say? Can you become physically or psychologically addicted to psychedelics? Do we need to be worried about a fresh wave of drug addiction riding on the back of psychedelic healing?
What Are Classical Psychedelics?
Classical psychedelics are a family of serotonergic (meaning they act on the serotonin system) hallucinogens and are agonists of the 5-HT (the chemical nickname for serotonin) receptors. This means they activate the serotonin receptor which then produces a downstream biological response. (1)
As mentioned above, the classical family of psychedelics includes naturally occurring chemicals like psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, and mescaline (the active drug found in the peyote cactus), as well as the synthetic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). However, it should be noted that this does not include compounds like ketamine, which can be addictive when abused. (2)
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Many of the effects of psychedelics are subjective. However, according to one study, they do share some common features like:(2)
- Visual and auditory hallucinations
- Elevated mood and euphoria
- Increased empathy
- Changes in cognition
- Mystical experiences
- Altered perception of time
- Introspective thinking
- A deeper sense of connection with the natural world
It should be noted that this study’s focus was on the long-term effects of psychedelics.
Generally speaking, these are some of the most common effects attributed to psychedelics. But it should be noted that the psychedelic experience will vary based on a number of factors. These can include age, weight, health, dosing, mental state, etc. You should always approach psychedelic use with a healthy amount of caution and education, so you have a safe, enjoyable experience.
Can the Use of Classical Psychedelics Cause Addiction?
Despite common misconceptions, research suggests that classic psychedelics may not be addictive.
This may be partly due to classical psychedelics being serotonergic drugs. As mentioned, this means that they act primarily on the serotonin system, whereas the addictive effects of drugs of abuse are primarily attributed to dopamine. Psychedelics act as agonists (meaning it activates a particular receptor) at different serotonin receptors in the brain. One animal study found very weak reinforcing effects of psilocybin.(3)
Reinforcing effects refer to the pleasurable sensations that encourage repeated drug use. The amount of reinforcement a drug produces is correlated with the drug’s potential for abuse. In a study about psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, researchers discovered that it doesn’t create strong desires for repeated use. This suggests that it has a low risk for causing addiction or dependence. The fact that psilocybin doesn’t have strong reinforcing effects means that users are less likely to keep taking it over and over again, which is something commonly seen in addictive behaviors.(4)
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One non-systematic review of clinical trials utilizing classical and non-classical psychedelics as a treatment for substance use disorder found that psychedelics may actually help fight addiction. For example, researchers examined several clinical trials that used LSD to treat substance use disorder and found that LSD was associated with a decreased desire to consume alcohol and, in some cases, total cessation of alcohol consumption.(5)
Bill Wlson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous famously believed that LSD could be a useful tool in the fight against substance abuse. He theorized that the combination of LSD-induced visual hallucinations could, when combined with religious experiences, bring on a cessation in an individual’s desire to consume alcohol. However, his theories were never explored in any meaningful clinical or scientific research.
Another study theoretically suggests that the main reason LSD in particular is not taken on a daily basis may be due to the mental tolerance associated with it. Tolerance refers to the diminished response to a drug after repeated use, leading to the need for higher doses to achieve the same effect. Psychedelics may also build cross-tolerance to each other, such as LSD use building a tolerance to the effects of psilocybin.(6)
For example, the practice of microdosing, which involves taking frequent small doses of a psychedelic, requires rest days to reset tolerance. Without this reset microdosing practitioners would need to take increasingly high doses of a psychedelic like psilocybin to achieve the same results. Over time this would become burdensome, and impractical.
One animal study found that tolerance develops so quickly that daily dosing becomes impractical. For instance, to replicate the effects of a dose of LSD or psilocybin taken one day, twice the dose would need to be taken the following day. This rapid development of tolerance, combined with the unpredictable and often intense, nature of psychedelic experiences, makes these substances less likely to lead to…
Are Psychedelics Addictive: Understanding Addiction and Plant Medicine
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