Psychology master’s candidate Harrison Bruce has started an online survey of people over the age of 18 to gather as much information as possible about public perceptions of psychedelics.
He said the primary aims of the project were to describe the parameters of psychedelic use in New Zealand, including motivations for use, relevant harm reduction behaviours and harmful/adverse consequences.
"Additionally, the study seeks to explore how drug stigma affects perceptions; how people who have not used psychedelics perceive them; and attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge regarding psychedelics — including perceived harm, benefit, and legal status," he said.
Psychedelics — also known as hallucinogens — are a class of psychoactive substances that produce changes in the perception of reality, mood and cognitive processes.
They can affect all the senses, altering a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions. They can also cause a person to see or hear things that do not exist or are distorted.
There are many different kinds of psychedelics.
Some occur naturally, in trees, vines, seeds, fungi and leaves, while others are made in laboratories.
Mr Bruce said his research would explore attitudes towards various aspects of psychedelics, including their perceived legal status, opinions on recreational and potential therapeutic use, perceived harm associated with their use, motivations for use, and whether psychedelic use should be accepted.
"Another area of focus is the investigation of the potentially therapeutic and adverse effects experienced by individuals who have used psychedelics, and how these outcomes may be influenced by extra pharmacological factors.
"The study also examines why individuals have or have not used psychedelics, their openness or reluctance to using them in the future, and their preferred dosages for achieving specific effects."
He said the study was unique because it compared perceptions between the general population, who had used psychedelics, and those who had not.
"It investigates whether there are any significant demographic differences between these groups.
"Although therapeutic research on psychedelics has been conducted in Aotearoa, it has primarily taken place within clinical settings or focused solely on the perspectives of health-care professionals, thereby overlooking the opinions of the public and users themselves.
"To genuinely consider the legalisation of psychedelics within Aotearoa, it’s crucial to take into account the perspectives of the public and the users themselves."
He believed this approach reflected the real-world usage of psychedelics, which differed significantly from controlled research settings in laboratories.
"Conducting a larger-scale study involving the general public may uncover effects that have not yet been observed in small-scale clinical studies."
