Well-being, Problematic Alcohol Consumption and Acute Subjective Drug Effects in Past-year Ayahuasca Users: a Large, International, Self-selecting Online Survey

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2017 Nov 11

PMID 29123145

Citations 19

Authors

Will Lawn

Jaime E Hallak

Jose A Crippa

Rafael Dos Santos

Lilla Porffy

Monica J Barratt

Jason A Ferris

Adam R Winstock

Celia J A Morgan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Ayahuasca is a natural psychedelic brew, which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Its potential as a psychiatric medicine has recently been demonstrated and its non-medical use around the world appears to be growing. We aimed to investigate well-being and problematic alcohol use in ayahuasca users, and ayahuasca's subjective effects. An online, self-selecting, global survey examining patterns of drug use was conducted in 2015 and 2016 (n = 96,901). Questions were asked about: use of ayahuasca, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and magic mushrooms; demographics, current well-being and past-year problematic alcohol use of past-year ayahuasca users and comparison drug users; and subjective effects of ayahuasca and comparison drugs. Ayahuasca users (n = 527) reported greater well-being than both classic psychedelic users (n = 18,138) and non-psychedelic drug-using respondents (n = 78,236). Ayahuasca users reported less problematic drinking than classic psychedelic users, although both groups reported greater problematic drinking than the other respondents. Ayahuasca's acute subjective effects usually lasted for six hours and were most strongly felt one hour after consumption. Within our online, self-selecting survey, ayahuasca users reported better well-being than comparison groups and less problematic drinking than classic psychedelic users. Future longitudinal studies of international samples and randomised controlled trials are needed to dissect the effects of ayahuasca on these outcomes.

Citing Articles

Psychedelic Use Among Psychiatric Medication Prescribers: Effects on Well-Being, Depression, Anxiety, and Associations with Patterns of Use, Reported Harms, and Transformative Mental States.

Herrmann Z, Levin A, Cole S, Slabaugh S, Barnett B, Penn A Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle). 2025; 1(3):139-149.

PMID: 40046570 PMC: 11661493. DOI: 10.1089/psymed.2023.0030.

From chaos to kaleidoscope: Exploring factors in psychedelic self-treatment for mental health conditions.

Walker C, Piatkowski T, Ferris J, Davies E, Barratt M, Winstock A J Psychopharmacol. 2024; 38(8):749-760.

PMID: 39075756 PMC: 11311900. DOI: 10.1177/02698811241265762.

Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects.

Ruffell S, Crosland-Wood M, Palmer R, Netzband N, Tsang W, Weiss B PCN Rep. 2024; 2(4):e146.

PMID: 38868739 PMC: 11114307. DOI: 10.1002/pcn5.146.

Long-term ayahuasca use is associated with preserved global cognitive function and improved memory: a cross-sectional study with ritual users.

Fonseca A, Dos Santos R, de Medeiros L, Veiga T, Cassas F, Bruniera C Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024; 275(2):519-531.

PMID: 38780800 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01817-9.

The Effects of Ayahuasca on Psychological Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review.

Sheth R, Parikh E, Olayeye K, Pfeifer K, Khanna D Cureus. 2024; 16(3):e55574.

PMID: 38576633 PMC: 10994171. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.55574.

References

Riba J, Rodriguez-Fornells A, Urbano G, Morte A, Antonijoan R, Montero M . Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001; 154(1):85-95. DOI: 10.1007/s002130000606. View

Nunes A, Dos Santos R, Osorio F, Sanches R, Crippa J, Hallak J . Effects of Ayahuasca and its Alkaloids on Drug Dependence: A Systematic Literature Review of Quantitative Studies in Animals and Humans. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2016; 48(3):195-205. DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2016.1188225. View

Smith R, Canton H, Barrett R, Sanders-Bush E . Agonist properties of N,N-dimethyltryptamine at serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1998; 61(3):323-30. DOI: 10.1016/s0091-3057(98)00110-5. View

Thomas G, Lucas P, Capler N, Tupper K, Martin G . Ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addiction: results from a preliminary observational study in Canada. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2013; 6(1):30-42. DOI: 10.2174/15733998113099990003. View

Barbosa P, Strassman R, da Silveira D, Areco K, Hoy R, Pommy J . Psychological and neuropsychological assessment of regular hoasca users. Compr Psychiatry. 2016; 71:95-105. DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.09.003. View

Dominguez-Clave E, Soler J, Elices M, Pascual J, Alvarez E, de la Fuente Revenga M . Ayahuasca: Pharmacology, neuroscience and therapeutic potential. Brain Res Bull. 2016; 126(Pt 1):89-101. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2016.03.002. View

Fabregas J, Gonzalez D, Fondevila S, Cutchet M, Fernandez X, Barbosa P . Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010; 111(3):257-61. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.03.024. View

Coney L, Maier L, Ferris J, Winstock A, Barratt M . Genie in a blotter: A comparative study of LSD and LSD analogues' effects and user profile. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2017; 32(3). DOI: 10.1002/hup.2599. View

Doering-Silveira E, Grob C, de Rios M, Lopez E, Alonso L, Tacla C . Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2005; 37(2):141-4. DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2005.10399794. View

10.

Reinert D, Allen J . The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): a review of recent research. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2002; 26(2):272-9. View

11.

Osorio F, Sanches R, Macedo L, Dos Santos R, Maia-de-Oliveira J, Wichert-Ana L . Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report. Braz J Psychiatry. 2015; 37(1):13-20. DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2014-1496. View

12.

Barbosa P, Cazorla I, Giglio J, Strassman R . A six-month prospective evaluation of personality traits, psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in ayahuasca-naïve subjects. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2009; 41(3):205-12. DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2009.10400530. View

13.

Sanches R, Osorio F, Dos Santos R, Macedo L, Maia-de-Oliveira J, Wichert-Ana L . Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression: A SPECT Study. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2015; 36(1):77-81. DOI: 10.1097/JCP.0000000000000436. View

14.

Nichols D . Psychedelics. Pharmacol Rev. 2016; 68(2):264-355. PMC: 4813425. DOI: 10.1124/pr.115.011478. View

15.

Lawn W, Barratt M, Williams M, Horne A, Winstock A . The NBOMe hallucinogenic drug series: Patterns of use, characteristics of users and self-reported effects in a large international sample. J Psychopharmacol. 2014; 28(8):780-8. DOI: 10.1177/0269881114523866. View

16.

Frecska E, Bokor P, Winkelman M . The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization. Front Pharmacol. 2016; 7:35. PMC: 4773875. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00035. View

17.

HEATH D . Culture and substance abuse. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2001; 24(3):479-96, vii-viii. DOI: 10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70242-2. View

18.

van Amsterdam J, Opperhuizen A, Koeter M, van den Brink W . Ranking the harm of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs for the individual and the population. Eur Addict Res. 2010; 16(4):202-7. DOI: 10.1159/000317249. View

19.

Winstock A, Kaar S, Borschmann R . Dimethyltryptamine (DMT): prevalence, user characteristics and abuse liability in a large global sample. J Psychopharmacol. 2013; 28(1):49-54. DOI: 10.1177/0269881113513852. View

20.

Dos Santos R, Balthazar F, Bouso J, Hallak J . The current state of research on ayahuasca: A systematic review of human studies assessing psychiatric symptoms, neuropsychological functioning, and neuroimaging. J Psychopharmacol. 2016; 30(12):1230-1247. DOI: 10.1177/0269881116652578. View