ArticleJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2022
Adverse experiences resulting in emergency medical treatment seeking following the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Article in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictors of therapeutic response to psychedelic-assisted therapy: A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Anxiety and Affective Symptoms Related to the Use of Classic Psychedelics: A Systematic Review.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Pooled it
- Trip killers: Addressing a critical knowledge gap in psychedelic research.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Perceived Availability of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the United States from 2015 to 2019.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Do undergraduates' views of psychedelics relate to the context for psychedelic use?Drug science, policy and law · 2025Article
- Exploring Gender-Themed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Experiences: A Subreddit Analysis.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Clinical Research on Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in Psychiatry and Neuroscience.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Contextual and experiential aspects of the psychedelic experience predicting improvement in subjective wellbeing: results from a Norwegian internet convenience sample.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Ketamine use in a large global sample: Characteristics, patterns of use and emergency medical treatment.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- From chaos to kaleidoscope: Exploring factors in psychedelic self-treatment for mental health conditions.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Tripping into the unknown: Exploring the experiences of first-time LSD users through global drug survey insights.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Simultaneous cannabis and psychedelic use among festival and concert attendees in Colorado: characterizing enhancement and adverse reactions using mixed methods.Journal of cannabis research · 2024Article
- Perceived Risk of Trying Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the United States from 2015 to 2019: Are Americans Assessing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide's Risk Profile More Favorably?Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Evidence versus expectancy: the development of psilocybin therapy.BJPsych bulletin · 2024Article
- Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Reducing the Harms of Nonclinical Psychedelics Use Through a Peer-Support Telephone Helpline.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Intoxication of dogs and cats with common stimulating, hallucinogenic and dissociative recreational drugs.Veterinary and animal science · 2023Review
- Adverse experiences resulting in emergency medical treatment seeking following the use of magic mushrooms.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecreational lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) use is growing in popularity amid increasing research interest on psychedelics and their possible therapeutic potential yet; the potent psychotropic effects of LSD may result in adverse reactions and behaviour.
aimsThis study aimed to investigate the 12-month incidence and nature of LSD-related adverse experiences resulting in emergency medical treatment (EMT) seeking in an international sample of people reporting LSD use.
methodsWe use data from the 2017 Global Drug Survey - a large anonymous online survey on patterns of drug use conducted between November 2016 and January 2017.
resultsOut of 10,293 past-year LSD users, 102 (1.0%) reported seeking EMT, with a per-event risk estimate of 0.2%. Younger age, comorbid mental health conditions and higher frequency of use were associated with increased risk of EMT seeking. The most common symptoms were psychological, including anxiety, panic and confusion, with the most common explanatory factors cited by respondents being poor 'setting' and 'mindset'. Most responders reported feeling back to normal within 24 h, but 11 participants experienced persistent issues after 4 weeks.
conclusionThe results suggest that LSD is a relatively safe drug in recreational settings. Adverse reactions are typically short-lived, self-limiting and psychological in nature. Sub-optimal set and setting were commonly reported as suspected contributory factors. Within clinical settings, patient screening, preparatory sessions and supervision should reduce these acute risks considerably.
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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.