Tendencias y experiencias del consumo de microdosis de hongos psilocibios en Colombia

Abstract

The article presents a preliminary characterization of the practices and experiences of consumption of microdoses of psilocybin mushroom in Colombia. To this end, a mixed study was carried out that combined the statistical analysis of the preliminary data from the first national survey on the consumption of microdoses of psychedelic agents and the thematic analysis of the logs of 19 users who recorded their experiences daily during a complete cycle of consumption of microdoses with psilocybin mushrooms. In discussion with the international literature, the study presents and analyzes the sociodemographic characteristics of microdoses users, the motivations for starting the microdosing process, the accompanying activities for taking the substance, and the perceived positive effects, as well as the side effects. Some of the quantitative relationships between these variables are evaluated and the experiences of the participants throughout the microdosing cycle are qualitatively delved into. Likewise, in light of empirical evidence, ideas are proposed for risk reduction and damage mitigation in the context where the consumption of these substances usually occur. Finally, the research suggests some hypotheses and future research routes on the yet-to-be explored field of microdosing with psychedelics agents in Colombia.

Keywords:

microdosis

hongos psilocibios

psicodélicos

Colombia

microdosing

psilocybin mushroom

psychedelics agents

Colombia

References

Anderson, T., Petranker, R., Rosenbaum, D., Weissman, C. R., Dinh-Williams, L. A., Hui, K., Hapke, E. y Farb, N. (2019). Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers. Psychopharmacology, 236(2), 731-740. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5106-2

Anderson, T., Petranker, R., Christopher, A., Rosenbaum, D., Weissman, C., Dinh Williams, L. A., Hui, K. y Hapke, E. (2019). Psychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges: an empirical codebook. Harm Reduction Journal, 16(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0308-4

Arias, A. (2003). El peligroso ascenso del hongo alucinógeno. El Tiempo. https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-989787

Arias, C. (2022). Hongos: un reino sorprendente por descubrir en Colombia. Revista Diners. https://bit.ly/3Nje2up

Barrett, F. S., Doss, M. K., Sepeda, N. D., Pekar, J. J. y Griffiths, R. R. (2020). Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 2214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59282-y

Basso, J. C., McHale, A., Ende, V., Oberlin, D. J. y Suzuki, W. A. (2019). Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non experienced meditators. Behavioural Brain Research, 356, 208-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.023

Cameron, L. P., Nazarian, A. y Olson, D. E. (2020). Psychedelic Microdosing: Prevalence and Subjective Effects. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 52(2), 113-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2020.1718250

Carbonaro, T. M., Bradstreet, M. P., Barrett, F. S., MacLean, K. A., Jesse, R., Johnson, M. W. y Griffiths, R. R. (2016). Survey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms: Acute and enduring positive and negative consequences. Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 30(12), 1268-1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116662634

DANE (2021). Salud mental en Colombia: un análisis de los efectos de la pandemia. Nota Estadística. https://bit.ly/3CGZ5xl

Dressler, H. M., Bright, S. J. y Polito, V. (2021). Exploring the relationship between microdosing, personality and emotional insight: A prospective study. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 5(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2021.00157

Échele Cabeza (2020). Informe sobre el consumo de drogas en cuarentena. Así se adapta el consumo y tráfico de drogas en la pandemia. https://cutt.ly/awtPHDw7

El Espectador (19 de noviembre de 2021). El psicoactivo psilocibina podría ser efectivo para reducir la depresión. https://cutt.ly/pwtPHmMK

Fadiman, J. (2011). The psychedelic explorer’s guide: safe, therapeutic, and sacred journeys. Park Street Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696x.2014.978132

Fadiman, J. y Korb, S. (2019). Might Microdosing Psychedelics Be Safe and Beneficial? An Initial Exploration. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 51(2), 118-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1593561

Gallo, I. (2021). El abrumador ascenso del hongo psicodélico. Las 2 Orillas. https://www.las2orillas.co/el-abrumador-ascenso-del-hongo-psicodelico/

Gélvez, J. D. (2 de octubre de 2018). ¿Está desbordado el consumo de droga en Colombia? Difícil saberlo. Fundación Ideas para la Paz. https://www.ideaspaz.org/publications/posts/1701

Giraldo, L. C. (2022). Hongos medicinales: todo un mundo por descubrir. Página Revista Universitaria de Periodismo, 268, 16-17.

Gukasyan, N., Davis, A. K., Barrett, F. S., Cosimano, M. P., Sepeda, N. D., Matthew W Johnson, M. D. y Griffiths, R. R. (2022). Efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12-month follow-up. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(2): 151-158. doi: 10.1177/02698811211073759

Hodge, A. T., Sukpraprut-Braaten, S., Narlesky, M. y Strayhan, R. C. (2023). The Use of Psilocybin in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders with Attention to Relative Safety Profile: A Systematic Review, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 55:1, 40-50, doi: 10.1080/02791072.2022.2044096

Holze, F., Ley, L., Müller, F. et al. (2022). Direct comparison of the acute effects of lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in healthy subjects. Neuropsychopharmacol, 47, 1180-1187. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01297-2

Hupli, A. (2021). Smarter with Drugs? Sociology of cognitive enhancement drugs from user’s perspectives. Tampere University Dissertations, 461. https://cutt.ly/9wtPHtqW

Johnstad, P. G. (2018). Powerful substances in tiny amounts: An interview study of psychedelic microdosing. Nord Stud Alcohol, 35, 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1455072517753339

Klein, E. (2021). Can Magic Mushrooms Heal Us? The New York Times. https://cutt.ly/FwtPGNsn

Kopra, E.I., Ferris J. A., Kuypers, K.P., Young, A. H. y Rucker, J. J. (2023). Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020. Journal of Psychopharmacology. doi: 10.1177/02698811231158245

Kopra, E. I., Ferris, J. A., Winstock, A. R., Young, A. H. y Rucker J. J. (2022). Adverse experiences resulting in emergency medical treatment seeking following the use of magic mushrooms. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(8): 965-973. doi:10.1177/02698811221084063

Kuypers, K. P. C. (2020). The therapeutic potential of microdosing psychedelics in depression. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125320950567

Kuypers, K. P., Ng, L., Erritzoe, D., Knudsen, G. M., Nichols, C. D., Nichols, D. E., Pani, L., Soula, A. y Nutt, D. (2019). Microdosing psychedelics: More questions than answers? An overview and suggestions for future research. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 33(9), 1039-1057. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881119857204

Lanza-Castelli, G. (2007). La escritura en psicoterapia: regulación emocional y funcionamiento reflexivo. Apertura Psicoanalítica, 25(1). http://www.aperturas.org/articulo.php?articulo=431

Lowe, H., Toyang, N., Steele, B., Valentine, H., Grant, J., Ali, A., Ngwa, W. y Gordon, L. (2021). The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(10), 2948. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26102948

Maahtani, N. (2022). Terapia psicodélica: hongos alucinógenos contra la depresión. El País. https://cutt.ly/jwaspT9d

Marín-Valencia, A. y Muñoz-Serna, D. L. (2022). Consumo contemporáneo de enteógenos en Medellín y el Valle de Aburrá (Colombia): contextos sociales y motivaciones subjetivas. Revista Cultura y Droga, 27(33), 62-84. https://doi.org/10.17151/culdr.2022.27.33.4

Marschall, J., Fejer, G., Lempe, P., Prochazkova, L., Kuchar, M., Hajkova, K. y van Elk, M. (2022). Psilocybin microdosing does not affect emotion-related symptoms and processing: A preregistered field and lab-based study. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(1), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211050556

Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho - Observatorio de Drogas de Colombia. (2019). Estudio nacional de consumo de sustancias psicoactivas Colombia 2019. https://cutt.ly/RwtPGwtI

Ona, G. y Bouso, J. C. (2020). Potential safety, benefits, and influence of the placebo effect in microdosing psychedelic drugs: A systematic review. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 119, 194-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.035

Petranker, R., Kim, J. y Anderson, T. (2022). Microdosing as a Response to the Meaning Crisis: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678221075076

Polito, V. y Stevenson, R. J. (2019). A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics. PLoS ONE, 14(2), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211023

Polito, V. y Liknaitzky, P. (2022). The emerging science of microdosing: A systematic review of research on low dose psychedelics (1955-2021) and recommendations for the field. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 139(May), 104706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104706

Rosenbaum, D., Weissman, C., Anderson, T., Petranker, R., Dinh-Williams, L. A., Hui, K. y Hapke, E. (2020). Microdosing psychedelics: Demographics, practices, and psychiatric comorbidities. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34(6), 612-622. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120908004

Roseman, L., Nutt, D. J. y Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2018). Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8, 974. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2017.00974

Rootman, J. (2022). Findings from the Microdose.me Study: A Large Scale Observational Study of Psychedelic Microdosing. Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard. https://cutt.ly/PwtPGgyD

Rootman, J. M., Kryskow, P., Harvey, K., Stamets, P., Santos-Brault, E., Kuypers, K., Polito, V., Bourzat, F. y Walsh, Z. (2021). Adults who microdose psychedelics report health related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and depression compared to non-microdosers. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 22479. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01811-4

Spicer, K. (27 junio 2020). How magic mushrooms became the middle class drug of choice. The Sunday Times. https://cutt.ly/WwtPFASa

Swanson, L. R. (2018). Unifying theories of psychedelic drug effects. Front. Pharmacol., 9(172). doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00172

Szigeti, B., Kartner, L., Blemings, A., Rosas, F., Feilding, A., Nutt, D. J., Carhart Harris, R. L. y Erritzoe, D. (2021). Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing. eLife, 10, e62878. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62878

Tullis, P. (2021). How ecstasy and psilocybin are shaking up psychiatry. Nature, 589. 506-509. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00187-9

Watts, R., Kettner, H., Geerts, D. Gandy, S., Kartner, L., Mertens, L., Timmermann, C., Nour, M. M., Kaelen, M., Nutt, D., Carhart-Harris, R. y Roseman, L. (2022). The Watts Connectedness Scale: a new scale for measuring a sense of connectedness to self, others, and world. Psychopharmacology, 239, 3461–3483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5

Winstock, A. R., Maier L. J., Zhuparris, A., Davies, E., Puljevic, C., Kuypers, K., Ferris, J. A. y Barratt, M. J. (2021). Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2021 Key Findings Report. https://cutt.ly/IwtPFl6q