ArticleAddiction research & theory2019
Ceremonial "plant medicine" use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study.
Article in Addiction research & theory, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unveiling the Complexities of Medications, Substance Abuse, and Plants for Recreational and Narcotic Purposes: An In-Depth Analysis.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Cosmology of belonging: The role of community in the therapeutic use of psychedelics.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- The Pharmacology and Clinical Applications of Psychedelic Medicines Within Midwifery Practice.Journal of midwifery & women's health · 2022Review
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: Emerging Treatments in Mental Health DisordersThe American journal of nursing · 2021Article
- Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration: A Transtheoretical Model for Clinical Practice.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Trends in DMT and other tryptamine use among young adults in the United States.The American journal on addictions · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship between ceremonial drug use and recreational drug use.In this paper we describe a cohort of plant medicine facilitators in the US and explore how they differentiate plant medicine use from recreational drug use.
methodsUsing modified ethnography, individual interviews were conducted in 2016 with 15 participants who are currently facilitating plant medicine ceremonies in the US. Descriptive content analysis was performed to discover themes and to inform a larger mixed-method study.
resultsCeremonial drug use was seen by participants as a natural healing and treatment modality used in the context of community and ritual. Three main themes were identified relating to participants' differentiation between ceremonial plant medicine use and recreational drug use: 1) participants see a clear delineation between plant medicine use and recreational drug use; 2) plant medicine is seen as a potential treatment for addiction, but concerns exist regarding potential interference with recovery; and 3) plant medicine use may influence recreational use.
conclusionsMore research is needed on who is using plant medicine, motivators for use, perceived and real risks and benefits of plant medicine use and harm reduction techniques regarding safe ingestion.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.