A study from researchers at the University of Michigan and Columbia University found that 6.6% of adults between the ages of 19 and 30 used hallucinogens other than LSD in 2021, up from 3.4% in 2018. These drugs included mescaline, peyote, psilocybin or “magic mushrooms,” and PCP, says HealthDay.

Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance obtained from certain types of mushrooms that are indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Mexico and the United States, was the non-LSD drug of choice in this age group.

According to The Hill, LSD use by young adults rose from 3.7% to 4.2% in the same time period. Approximately 8% of young adults used some kind of hallucinogen in 2021, the highest percentage recorded since the 1980s. Researchers found that the dramatic rise in the use of non-LSD hallucinogenic drugs, especially mushrooms, is alarming.

“A doubling of prevalence in just three years is a dramatic increase and raises possible health concerns,” said study co-author Megan Patrick, who is also the principal co-investigator of the Monitoring the Future Panel study, which is a national study following participants from ages 18 to 65 since the mid-1970s. “It’s really difficult to explain these trends. We have some guesses, but we don’t really know yet.”

The study revealed that men experimented with hallucinogens at a higher rate than women. That finding parallels other research that reveals men are more likely to engage in risky behavior. Researchers also found that users of the non-LSD hallucinogens had parents with a college education or higher socioeconomic status, says HealthDay.

If this upward trend in psychedelic drug use continues, it may rival the Gallup poll results in 1971 that found 18% of college students used LSD or other hallucinogens.

Today, young adults are not taking a lot of LSD, says The Hill, but are leaning more into psilocybin, perhaps because of its reported therapeutic value in treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, and other forms of mental health illness.

This may dispel the fear of “bad trips.” Young adults might concur that because psilocybin is being used medicinally, it is okay to use it in general, say experts.

“Never mind that there are plenty of instances, that don’t get a lot of attention, of bad reactions,” said Sion Harris, associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. A 2016 study of the adverse effects of psilocybin mushrooms included “fear or panic, sadness or depressed mood, loss of sanity, delusions, increased heart rate and nausea” among others.

Colorado and Oregon have decriminalized psilocybin, and some cities have stopped policing its use, much like the broader legislation for cannabis. But researchers warn that both psilocybin and cannabis can cause harrowing psychological episodes, heart palpitations and ER visits.

“This isn’t all just peace, love and light,” said Harris. “There’s the potential to have bad reactions.”

“The use of hallucinogens other than LSD, such as psilocybin or so-called ‘shrooms,’ has increased among young adults in the U.S.,” Patrick concludes in a University of Michigan news release. “We will continue to track these trends to see if the increases continue. We need additional research, including the motivation for hallucinogen use and how young adults are using these substances in order to mitigate the associated negative consequences,” she said.