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National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Racial and Ethnic Differences in Youth Hallucinogen Use
August 15, 2003

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Youth Hallucinogen Use

In Brief

  • In 2001, almost 1.4 million youths aged 12 to 17 had used hallucinogens at least once in their lifetime
  • Among youths, blacks were less likely than whites, Asians, or Hispanics to have used any hallucinogen in their lifetime
  • Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites and Asians to perceive great risk in trying LSD once or twice

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) asks respondents aged 12 or older to report their lifetime use of hallucinogens, as well as their age of first use. Hallucinogens include LSD, PCP, MDMA (Ecstasy), peyote, mescaline, and psilocybin (mushrooms). Hallucinogens can have substantial side effects, including decreased motivation, prolonged depression, anxiety, increased delusions and panic, and psychosis.1,2

Respondents aged 12 to 17 also were asked how much they thought people risk harming themselves physically and in other ways when they try LSD once or twice and use it once or twice a week, as well as how difficult or easy it would be to get some LSD if they wanted some.3,4 Respondents were analyzed by racial and ethnic subgroups for comparative purposes.


Lifetime Prevalence of Hallucinogen Use
According to the 2001 NHSDA, almost 1.4 million youths aged 12 to 17 (6 percent) had used hallucinogens at least once in their lifetime. Ecstasy and LSD (3 percent each) were the most commonly used hallucinogens (Figure 1).

Past research has shown that substance use, and in particular hallucinogen use, varies by race and ethnicity.5 According to the 2001 NHSDA, black youths were less likely to have used any hallucinogen in their lifetime compared with white, Asian, or Hispanic youths (Table 1). White and Asian youths had similar rates of hallucinogen use, except that whites were much more likely than Asians to have used PCP or psilocybin at least once in their lifetime.

Figure 1. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Lifetime Use of Specific Hallucinogens: 2001

Table 1. Percentages and Standard Errors of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Lifetime Use of Specific Hallucinogens, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001

Figure 1. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Lifetime Use of Specific Hallucinogens: 2001 Table 1. Percentages and Standard Errors of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Lifetime Use of Specific Hallucinogens, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001


Differences in Perceived Risk and Availability of LSD
Substance use is generally lower among those who perceive great risk associated with use of a particular drug.6 Among youths, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites and Asians to perceive great risk in trying LSD once or twice (Figure 2). However, white youths were more likely than Hispanic, Asian, and black youths to perceive great risk in using LSD once or twice a week.

Perceived availability of LSD also varied by race and ethnicity. White youths were more likely than all other youths to think that LSD is fairly or very easy to obtain, and Hispanic youths were more likely than black or Asian youths to think that LSD is fairly or very easy to obtain (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Perceived Great Risk of Trying LSD Once or Twice and Using LSD Once or Twice a Week, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001

Figure 3. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting it Would Be Fairly or Very Easy to Obtain LSD, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001

Figure 2. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Perceived Great Risk of Trying LSD Once or Twice and Using LSD Once or Twice a Week, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001 Figure 3. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting it Would Be Fairly or Very Easy to Obtain LSD, by Race/Ethnicity*: 2001


End Notes
  1. Response options for the risk questions were (1) no risk, (2) slight risk, (3) moderate risk, or (4) great risk.
  2. Response options for the availability question were (1) probably impossible, (2) very difficult, (3) fairly difficult, (4) fairly easy, or (5) very easy.
  3. National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. (2002). Tips for teens: The truth about hallucinogens. Retrieved July 29, 2003, from http://www.health.org/govpubs/phd642/
  4. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2002, October 18). NIDA InfoFacts: PCP (Phencyclidine).
  5. Wallace, J. M., Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., Schulenberg, J. E., & Cooper, S. M. (2002). Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use: racial and ethnic differences among U.S. high school seniors, 1976-2000. Public Health Reports, 117(Suppl. 1), 67-75.
  6. Office of Applied Studies. (1998). Prevalence of substance use among racial and ethnic subgroups in the United States, 1991-1993 (DHHS Publication No. SMA 98-3202, NHSDA Series A-6; available at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/analytic.htm). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.


Figure and Table Notes
* American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander youths were excluded from analyses due to small sample sizes.

Source (all figures and table 1): SAMHSA 2001 NHSDA

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The 2001 data are based on information obtained from 69,000 persons aged 12 or older, including approximately 23,000 youths aged 12 to 17. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence.

The NHSDA Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Information and data for this issue are based on the following publication and statistics:

Office of Applied Studies. (2002). Results from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Volume I. Summary of national findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 02-3758, NHSDA Series H-17). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Also available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov.

Additional tables available upon request.

The NHSDA Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available online: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.