A study of the connection between the current “psychedelic renaissance”, new trends in youth consumption of psychedelic drugs and the increasing participation in online communities and how municipal drug interventions can respond to these new tendencies.

Aims

The project spans both research and practice through a collaboration between the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research and the Youth Centre of the municipality of Aarhus. The project both contributes new knowledge of the use of psychedelic drug use among youth and develops new measures for drug prevention and treatment. The project aims to:

• Investigate how young people’s perception and consumption of psychedelic drugs e.g. LSD and psilocybin is impacted by the digital tendencies and online discussions of psychedelic drug consumption.
• Develop and test practical measures for digital prevention and treatment of problematic psychedelic drug consumption among young people.

Background

Psychedelic drugs have become the subject of new enthusiasm due to their value for clinical and therapeutic treatment and personal development purposes. This is reflected in a continuous stream of mass media/popular science narratives about the positive effects of psychedelic drugs, and in the rising popularity of internet forums where e.g. LSD and psilocybin are discussed.

The growing interest in psychedelic drugs is also evident among young people seeking out municipal drug treatment, but the practitioners do not feel able to adequately help these young people as the consumption of psychedelic drugs differs in many ways from other types of drug consumption.

In this project we address these developments both through research and municipal practice with focus on the social, cultural and debate – especially on the internet – which shape young people’s drug consumption. The aim is to implement an understanding of these processes in municipal prevention, counselling and treatment measures.

The study

Over a period of three years we will collect and analyse data in an interplay between researchers, practitioners and users. The study applies a mixed-methods approach which combines digital methods, surveys, interviews with both individuals and  focus groups and observations in order to obtain a nuanced understanding of the consumption of psychedelic drugs and related issues, and to produce new data about the experiences, practices and attitudes of users and practitioners.

Duration

The project period is February 2022 to January 2025

Funding

The project is funded by The Velux Foundation’s HUMpraxis programme (2021). Read more about the project and the grant on The Velux Foundation’s website.

Collaborations

The project is in collaboration with the Youth Centre of the municipality of Aarhus.