Hallucinogen Use Disorders in Adult Users of MDMA and Other Hallucinogens

In 2005 a National Survey on Drug Use and Health was conducted in the United States. The study being discussed is based on those findings.  Participants include 37,227 adults over the age of 18. The past survey assessed lifetime use of hallucinogens including, LSD, PCP, peyote, mescaline, psilocybin and MDMA. Two groups were formed, those who were MDMA users and those who used other hallucinogens (not including MDMA). Participants were asked how often they used the drug in the past year, 1-5 days, 6-11 days, 12-51 days and more than 52 days. Hallucinogen Use Disorders (HUD) was standardized by the DSM-IV criteria. Respondents who met one criterion were classified as showing hallucinogen abuse. Those who met the criteria for at least three criteria were known as having hallucinogen dependence. Information was also gathered bases on the participants’ age, sex, race, education level, employment status, marital status, and population density of their residency. After data was analyzed, and 1.4% of participants reported one type of hallucinogen use in the past year. Fifty percent of those users reported the use of MDMA. The majority of the participants that used MDMA along with other hallucinogens were male, from ages 18-25, white, attended college, were employed, had never been married and had an annual income of under $40,000 and resided in metropolitan areas. MDMA uses also reported using LSD and PCP and experimented with other hallucinogens compared to participants who did not use MDMA. The symptoms of MDMA resembled that of other hallucinogens and those symptoms included, role interference, hazardous use, trouble with the law, problems with family, spending a lot of time, using more than intended, tolerance, unable to cute down, use despite emotional or health problems, and giving up activities. The only symptoms that set apart MDMA users from those who were not is the continued use despite having emotional or health problems. Twenty percent of MDMA users and 16% of other hallucinogen users reported having one or more symptoms of HUD. Overall, about 1.4% of non-institutionalized American adults had used hallucinogens in the past year and 50% had used MDMA. Some limitations of this study is that it was based on self-reports and participants could have not been truthful or their memory could have failed them. Also, standardized questions were administered by trained interviewers, but were not validated by clinicians. MDMA is used more and prevention and treatment interventions should be put in place.

Wu, L., Ringwalt, C., Mannelii, P., Patkar, A. (2008). Hallucinogen use disorders among adults users of MDMA and other hallucinogens. The American Journal on Addiction, 17, 354-363. Doi: 10.1080/10550490802269064 

Abstract