In an exclusive interview with Marijuana Moment on September 9, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow spoke on several different topics. First, she discussed how teen usage hasn’t increased with further legalization according to Monitoring the Future (MTF). MTF is a long-term epidemiological study that highlights pattern behavior for legal and illegal drugs. 

Then, Volkow spoke about how alcohol use in college students has significantly dropped. In 2019, MTF reported college drinking sat at 62 percent. Then in 2020, that percent fell to 56 percent. Similarly, MTF reported psychedelic plant and fungi usage has doubled in college students, going from five percent usage in 2019 to almost ten percent in 2020. These changes, in part, are due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Volkow suggests.

“Young people drink together, they go to bars, they go to a party. And to the extent that in COVID, we’ve been basically isolated, the opportunities for them to be physically in those spaces have gone down. And ergo, drinking has gone down,” explained Volkow.

Change in Laws

Regarding psychedelics, Volkow said there are potentially two reasons for the dramatic increase in usage. “I would be very surprised if (activist-led laws don’t) influence it because that narrative actually has caught attention. These states are legalizing, so the media writes about it. And people start to discover the potential that these drugs have for therapeutics and the current trials that are ongoing. This takes on a momentum because the ideal world of having a drug that can cure things very dramatically.”

Covid

For the second reason for the increase in psychedelic usage, Volkow noted how Covid has led to several people living an isolated, almost boring lifestyle. “How do you compensate for these exciting activities? Psychedelic drugs is one of them. And so in that respect, it’s a very different drug from the others. It allows you to modify the perception of your environment. If you cannot go to a different environment, you can modify the way that that environment enters into your consciousness.”

Comments

With the added isolation and increase in cities decriminalizing psychedelics, their usage is on the rise. Regardless, there is still more research that needs to be done regarding the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. But what has been done is positive. 

John Schulenberg is the principal investigator for MTF and he agrees with Director Volkow’s assessment of the organization’s data.

“I think that’s what’s going on here. That is a societal change in terms of the [perception of] danger and possible benefits,” he said. “This is part of what’s happening society—that there are perceptions of the drug’s medicinal purposes, and science seems to be backing it up.”

In addition to both the NIDA director and the MTF, the DEA expanded their research demand and continues to look into the potential benefits of psychedelic plants and mushrooms. As more information becomes available on the potential benefits of psychedelics, we will update you with the latest.

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