Psychedelic Trips: Travel Within the United States to Use Psychedelic Drugs After Legalization

Abstract

Study objective: Oregon and Colorado have legalized possession of natural psychedelic drugs. We assessed if travel to use psychedelics in decriminalized states is occurring and compared the use patterns of travelers with nontravelers.

Methods: The National Survey Investigating Hallucinogen Trends is a cross-sectional behavioral survey fielded from April to June 2024 to every US state. The survey asks whether individuals used a psychedelic drug in the last 12 months and whether they traveled outside of their home state to do so.

Results: A total of 2,124 people indicated use of psychedelic drugs in the preceding 12 months; 32.3% (n=687) traveled to take psychedelic drugs to at least one place; 13.9% (n=295) traveled to Colorado, 9.4% (n=199) traveled to Oregon, and 12.5% (n=265) traveled outside the United States. Travelers, compared with nontravelers, were more likely to have current anxiety or depression symptoms and were more likely to have attributed an emergency department or urgent care visit in the past 12 months to psychedelic drug use. Travelers were more likely to treat medical symptoms (23.4% versus 17.5%), use in psychedelic/healing centers (38.9% versus 11.9%), and at a ceremonial site (43.1% versus 13.0%) compared with nontravelers.

Conclusion: Those traveling to use psychedelics were more likely to treat a mental health disorder and have a psychedelic attributable emergency department visit than nontravelers. Emergency physicians in legalized and nonlegal states must be aware that travel to use psychedelic drugs is common because risks of adverse outcomes while traveling and returning home may accompany travel to use.

Keywords: Drug tourism; Health policy; National survey; Psychedelic.