MOTIVATION. An increasing number of U.S. states/localities are loosening or considering changing their policies about psychedelic substances such as psilocybin. To project the health and economic consequences of policy changes, we need better information about use patterns, supply sources, and expenditures. Because detailed information about psilocybin consumption/supply is not collected as part of nationally representative surveys in the U.S., we fill this gap. DATA. Our main survey was fielded as part of NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel which is representative of the entire U.S. adult population because it leverages the NORC National Frame, an area probability sample used for landmark studies like the General Social Survey (N=3,500). We supplement this with a national convenience sample of approximately 2,000 people who used psilocybin in the past year (>25% reported using in the past month). Both surveys include detailed questions about psilocybin prevalence, frequency, product type, supply source, expenditures, intensions for use, and whether the most recent experience was supervised. RESULTS. Forthcoming. Data collection started in 11/2023 and will be finished by 1/2024. Analyses will be completed by 4/2024. In addition to presenting descriptive statistics about psilocybin use and supply, we will generate the first national estimates of the U.S. psilocybin market and compare it with what is known about markets for cannabis and other substances. DISCUSSION. We will offer thoughts about what these results mean for conducting policy analyses and ideas about how to improve data collection on psilocybin/psychedelics.
Beau Kilmer (he/him) is codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, a senior policy researcher at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
His research lies at the intersection of public health and public safety, with special emphasis on substance use, illegal markets, crime control, and public policy. Some of his current projects include assessing the consequences of cannabis legalization (with a special focus on social equity); measuring the effect of 24/7 Sobriety programs on impaired driving, domestic violence, and mortality; analyzing changes in illegal fentanyl markets; and considering the implications of legalizing psychedelics.
Kilmer's publications have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Science. His commentaries have been published by CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, among others. Two editions of his coauthored book on cannabis legalization were published by Oxford University Press; his coauthored book on the future of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids was published by RAND.
Kilmer is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape. In 2023, he was elected as vice president of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. He received his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University, M.P.P. from UC-Berkeley, and B.A. in international relations from Michigan State University.