Factors associated with the use of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA among sexual and gender minority youths in Canada

A machine learning analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID11175184
AuthorsChristoffer Dharma (0000-0002-5223-5755, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, corresponding author), Esther Liu (0000-0002-8275-1224, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), Daphne Grace (0000-0002-9032-3959, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Carmen H Logie (0000-0002-8035-433X, University of Toronto), Carmen Logie (University of Toronto), Alex Abramovich (0000-0002-4803-8724, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Nicholas Mitsakakis (0000-0001-9041-9152, Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment (THETA) Collaborative, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Bruce Baskerville (University of Waterloo), Neill Bruce Baskerville (0000-0003-4517-7443, University of Waterloo), Michael Chaiton (0000-0002-9589-2122, University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Year2024
Volume78
Issue4
Pages248-254
Publication date2024-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-005X • E-ISSN: 1470-2738
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/jech-2023-220748
PMID38262735
OpenAlexW4391145890
LanguageEN
References cited34

BACKGROUND: Substance use is increasing among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). This increase may be due to changes in social norms and socialisation, or due to SGMY exploring the potential therapeutic value of drugs such as psychedelics. We identified predictors of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine use. METHODS: Data were obtained from 1414 SGMY participants who completed the ongoing longitudinal 2SLGBTQ+ Tobacco Project in Canada between November 2020 to January 2021. We examined the association between 80 potential features (including sociodemographic factors, mental health-related factors and substance use-related factors) with the use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine in the past year. Random forest classifier was used to identify the predictors most associated with reported use of these drugs. RESULTS: 18.1% of participants have used psychedelics in the past year; 21.9% used at least one of the three drugs. Cannabis and cocaine use were the predictors most strongly associated with any of these drugs, while cannabis, but not cocaine use, was the one most associated with psychedelic use. Other mental health and 2SLGBTQ+ stigma-related factors were also associated with the use of these drugs. CONCLUSION: The use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine among 2SLGBTQ+ individuals appeared to be largely driven by those who used them together with other drugs. Depression scores also appeared in the top 10 factors associated with these illicit drugs, suggesting that there were individuals who may benefit from the potential therapeutic value of these drugs. These characteristics should be further investigated in future studies

Cannabis · Ecstasy · Hallucinogen · MDMA · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychoactive substance · Substance abuse · Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research · Clinical Psychology · Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis · Medicine · Psychedelics and Drug Studies

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