User:Liviaamurphy444/Psychedelic therapy

In reducing criminal behavior

The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners is disproportionate to the general population. However, with limited mental health resources accessible in prisons, few inmates receive adequate care on a consistent basis. Psychedelic therapy has offered a new alternative to this growing issue.

In 2017, the University of Birmingham published research suggesting that psychedelic treatment, specifically the usage of psilocybin, has shown signs in reducing criminal behavior. By using the data collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers addressed over 480,000 U.S. adults about their past relationship with psychedelics. This included substances such as ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine, LSD, mescaline, peyote, San Pedro, and psilocybin mushrooms. While other illicit drugs have been associated with increased criminal behavior, researchers found that psychedelic substances instead reduced these behaviors. Usage of these substances yielded a 12% decreased likelihood of assault, 18% decrease in other violent crimes, 27% reduction in likelihood of committing larceny and theft, and 22% decrease in odds of committing other property crimes. These findings imply a greater purpose of psychedelic therapy in forensic and clinical settings.

In a prior 2014 study, researchers explored the relationship between recidivism and naturalistic hallucinogens in criminal justice populations with a history of substance use. The results concluded that hallucinogens promoted prosocial behaviors in the population with high recidivism rates. The usage of hallucinogens has been found to reduce supervision failure in ex-convicts. This inherently encourages drug abstinence, including the use of alcohol, resulting in higher recidivism rates.

A recent 2022 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology associated lowered odds of crime arrests with classic use of psychedelic substances. The research suggests that 7 of the 11 arrest variables were reduced with lifetime psilocybin use. Peyote was found to reduction the odds of DUI and vehicle theft. Lastly, Mescaline was found to reduce drug possession/sale. No other substances shared a positive relationship with reducing criminal behavior.