Title & Introduction

  • Paper Title: Psychedelic Trip Sitting, Dosages, and Intensities: Supplementing Clinical Studies with Anecdotal Reports
  • Published In: Journal of Psychedelic Studies
  • Publish Date: July 17, 2024
  • Authors: Liam B. Engel, Sascha Thal, Stephen J. Bright, Mitchell Low
  • Objective: To analyze self-reported psychedelic use from online forums to inform harm reduction efforts and clinical research on dosage, administration routes, and the perceived necessity of trip sitters.
  • Importance: Online drug-use communities provide insights into real-world psychedelic consumption patterns, informing both harm reduction strategies and scientific research.

Summary & Takeaways

Key Takeaway: Self-reported data from psychedelic users highlights discrepancies between clinical dosage guidelines and common user practices, emphasizing the need for improved harm reduction education and more research on trip sitting requirements.

Practical Application: Findings can be used to refine clinical trial dosing, develop harm reduction guidelines, and educate psychedelic users on safe consumption practices.

Key Background Information

  • Context: While psychedelic therapy is gaining clinical acceptance, there remains a gap between controlled study parameters and real-world usage patterns.
  • Hypothesis: Psychedelic users frequently exceed clinical dosage recommendations and have varying perceptions regarding the necessity of trip sitters.

Methodology

  • Study Design: Analysis of 660 online forum posts from The Shroomery and DMT Nexus regarding psychedelic trip sitting.
  • Participants: Unidentified forum users discussing personal psychedelic experiences.
  • Intervention/Exposure: Posts were analyzed for substance type, dosage, route of administration (ROA), and trip sitter necessity.
  • Controls: No formal control group; data was categorized and compared against existing clinical dosage recommendations.
  • Duration: Data collected retrospectively from forum archives.

Key Findings

Primary Outcomes:

  • Users frequently reported consuming doses higher than those used in clinical trials.
  • 5-MeO-DMT had the highest perceived need for a trip sitter, whereas LSD and LSA were commonly considered safe for solo use.
  • Oral administration was the most common ROA and was associated with lower-intensity experiences compared to smoked or injected substances.

Secondary Outcomes:

  • Higher psychedelic purity correlated with increased perceived necessity for trip sitting.
  • Many users believed trip sitting was unnecessary for microdosing but essential for high-dose experiences.
  • Online communities play a key role in informal harm reduction education, though knowledge gaps persist.

Interpretation & Implications

  • Conclusion: There is a disconnect between real-world psychedelic use and clinical research, necessitating improved harm reduction resources and expanded clinical studies on non-therapeutic use patterns.
  • Implications: Educators and harm reduction organizations should tailor guidance based on common user experiences and trends.
  • Limitations: Self-reported data from online communities may not be representative of broader psychedelic users, and no objective verification of dosages was possible.

Researchers & Publication

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