ArticleBMJ open2017
Does psychedelic drug use reduce risk of suicidality? Evidence from a longitudinal community-based cohort of marginalised women in a Canadian setting.
Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Japanese Cohort Study Identifies an Association Between the Serotonin Transporter-Linked Polymorphic Region and Suicide Death.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2026Pooled it
- Suicide and psychiatric disorders associated with amphetamine type stimulant use: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Therapeutic Use of LSD in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review of Randomized-Controlled Clinical Trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Rapid and sustained decreases in suicidality following a single dose of ayahuasca among individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder: results from an open-label trial.Psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Self-inflicted transorbital intracranial foreign body following ingestion of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms.American journal of ophthalmology case reports · 2025Article
- Perspectives on Trauma Treatment, Self-Management Strategies, and Attitudes Toward Psychedelic Therapies in Individuals with Psychological Trauma Symptoms.Psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The molecular mechanisms through which psilocybin prevents suicide: evidence from network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Psychedelics and Suicide-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Article
- Psychiatric risks for worsened mental health after psychedelic use.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Review
- Investigating the associations of acute psychedelic experiences and changes in racial trauma symptoms, psychological flexibility, and substance use among People with Racial and Ethnic Minoritized Identities in the United States and Canada.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Article
- Subtypes of the psychedelic experience have reproducible and predictable effects on depression and anxiety symptoms.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Article
- Race and ethnicity moderate the associations between lifetime psychedelic use (MDMA and psilocybin) and psychological distress and suicidality.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Psychosis and psychedelics: Historical entanglements and contemporary contrasts.Transcultural psychiatry · 2022Article
- Psychedelic medicine at a crossroads: Advancing an integrative approach to research and practice.Transcultural psychiatry · 2022Article
- Interest in receiving psychedelic-assisted therapy among marginalized women: Implications and findings from a community-based study in Canada.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2022Article
- Psychedelic use is associated with reduced daily opioid use among people who use illicit drugs in a Canadian setting.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- Psilocybin for Trauma-Related Disorders.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2022Review
- On the Relationship between Classic Psychedelics and Suicidality: A Systematic Review.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2021Review
- Acute and Sustained Reductions in Loss of Meaning and Suicidal Ideation Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Psychiatric and Existential Distress in Life-Threatening Cancer.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to longitudinally investigate whether ever having used a psychedelic drug can have a protective effect on incidence of suicidality among marginalised women.
designLongitudinal community-based cohort study.
settingData were drawn from a prospective, community-based cohort of marginalised women in Metro Vancouver, Canada.
participants766 women completed the baseline questionnaire between January 2010 and August 2014. Participants who did not report suicidality at baseline and who completed at least one follow-up visit were included.
main outcome measureExtended Cox regression was used to model predictors of new suicidality (suicide ideation or attempts) over 54-month follow-up.
resultsNearly half (46%; n=355) of participants reported prior suicidality and were thus excluded from the present analyses. Of 290 women eligible at baseline, 11% (n=31) reported recent suicidality during follow-up, with an incidence density of 4.42 per 100 person-years (95% CI 3.10 to 6.30). In multivariable analysis, reported lifetime psychedelic drug use was associated with a 60% reduced hazard for suicidality (adjusted HR (AHR) 0.40; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.94). Crystal methamphetamine use (AHR 3.25; 95% CI 1.47 to 7.21) and childhood abuse (AHR 3.54; 95% CI 1.49 to 8.40) remained independent predictors of suicidality.
conclusionThe high rate of suicidality identified in this study is of major concern. Alongside emerging evidence on the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat some mental illness and addiction issues, our findings demonstrate that naturalistic psychedelic drug use is independently associated with reduced suicidality, while other illicit drug use and childhood trauma predispose women to suicidality. While observational, this study supports calls for further investigation of the therapeutic utility of psychedelic drugs in treating poor mental health and promoting mental wellness.
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Registered trials
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