From the article: New research has found that race and ethnicity moderate the associations between the use of psychedelic drugs and major depressive episodes in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The findings have been published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

In recent years, psychedelic substances such as MDMA and psilocybin have undergone clinical studies to explore their potential therapeutic benefits, with promising results in areas including depression and anxiety. However, this research is still in its earliest stages, and little is known about the relationship between race and psychedelic-induced improvements to mental health.

“I was interested in the topic because there is a lack of research about psychedelics, race, and mental health,” said study author Grant M. Jones, a clinical psychology PhD student at Harvard University. “Most of the treatment studies have been conducted using majority White samples. So for me, this is my way of starting to raise questions and launch inquires into the intersection of psychedelics, mental health, and race — and seeing how identity might impact the associations that psychedelics have with mental health.”

For his study, Jones analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The data, collected between 2005 and 2019, included responses from 596,187 U.S. adults. The sample included 128,243 non-Hispanic racial minorities, 96,493 Hispanic individuals, and 371,451 non-Hispanic Whites. As part of the survey, participants reported whether they had ever used a variety of drugs, including MDMA and psilocybin.

After controlling for sex, age, educational attainment, engagement in risky behavior, household income, marital status, and the use of other drugs, Jones found that MDMA and psilocybin use were both associated with lowered odds of lifetime depression, past year depression, and past year severe depression among non-Hispanic Whites.