Considering Psychedelics for Parolees: Potential Benefits and Societal Implications
As we delve into innovative approaches to criminal justice reform and rehabilitation, one intriguing idea has been gaining attention: What if we provided individuals on parole with access to psychedelics? This proposal stems from growing evidence suggesting that psychedelics could offer significant benefits in treating mental health issues commonly faced by formerly incarcerated individuals.
The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics
Psychedelics have shown promising results in treating conditions like depression, PTSD, and addiction. These issues are notably prevalent among those who have been incarcerated. Studies indicate that when individuals under community corrections supervision with a history of substance abuse are administered psychedelics, they are less likely to continue abusing alcohol and other substances. This could be a crucial step in breaking the cycle of addiction and reducing the rates of recidivism.
Impact on Recidivism and Criminal Behavior
Beyond their therapeutic effects on individual health, psychedelics might also play a role in reducing criminal behavior. Research suggests that the use of these substances can decrease recidivism rates and is associated with lower incidences of theft, assault, property crime, and violent offenses. These findings point to the potential of psychedelic therapy not just for personal healing but also for contributing to broader societal safety.
Enhancing Social Reintegration
One of the most significant challenges for individuals exiting the prison system is social reintegration. Reconnecting with family and overcoming community stigma can be daunting tasks. Psychedelics might aid in this aspect by enhancing empathy and strengthening social bonds. The profound personal insights gained from psychedelic experiences could also help individuals rebuild their self-image and boost their self-esteem, making it easier for them to navigate and reintegrate into society.
The Role of Supportive Therapy
It’s important to note that the success of such an approach would heavily depend on the accompanying support structures. Proper integration therapy and ongoing support are crucial to ensure that psychedelic treatment is effective and that the individuals receiving it can maximize the benefits while minimizing potential risks.
Conclusion
With the right support, psychedelic therapy could be transformative for helping people successfully reintegrate into society after incarceration. It represents a potential shift in how we address the root causes of criminal behavior and recidivism, focusing on healing and rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Below are some research studies that explore the connection between psychedelic use, criminal behavior, and its implications for formerly incarcerated individuals.
Abstract
Hallucinogen-based interventions may benefit substance use populations, but contemporary data informing the impact of hallucinogens on addictive behavior are scarce. Given that many individuals in the criminal justice system engage in problematic patterns of substance use, hallucinogen treatments also may benefit criminal justice populations. However, the relationship between hallucinogen use and criminal recidivism is unknown. In this longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between naturalistic hallucinogen use and recidivism among individuals under community corrections supervision with a history of substance involvement (n=25,622). We found that hallucinogen use predicted a reduced likelihood of supervision failure (e.g. noncompliance with legal requirements including alcohol and other drug use) while controlling for an array of potential confounding factors (odds ratio (OR)=0.60 (0.46, 0.79)). Our results suggest that hallucinogens may promote alcohol and other drug abstinence and prosocial behavior in a population with high rates of recidivism.
Criminal behavior exacts a large toll on society and is resistant to intervention. Some evidence suggests classic psychedelics may inhibit criminal behavior, but the extent of these effects has not been comprehensively explored. In this study, we tested the relationships of classic psychedelic use and psilocybin use per se with criminal behavior among over 480,000 United States adult respondents pooled from the last 13 available years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2002 through 2014) while controlling for numerous covariates. Lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a reduced odds of past year larceny/theft (aOR = 0.73 (0.65-0.83)), past year assault (aOR = 0.88 (0.80-0.97)), past year arrest for a property crime (aOR = 0.78 (0.65-0.95)), and past year arrest for a violent crime (aOR = 0.82 (0.70-0.97)). In contrast, lifetime illicit use of other drugs was, by and large, associated with an increased odds of these outcomes. Lifetime classic psychedelic use, like lifetime illicit use of almost all other substances, was associated with an increased odds of past year drug distribution. Results were consistent with a protective effect of psilocybin for antisocial criminal behavior. These findings contribute to a compelling rationale for the initiation of clinical research with classic psychedelics, including psilocybin, in forensic settings.
Background: The United States boasts the largest prison population in the world, conferring significant direct and indirect costs (e.g. lost wages for the incarcerated, increased morbidity/mortality, etc.) to society. Recidivism rates are high for the imprisoned and most interventions to reduce criminality are minimally effective. Thus, in addition to the need for criminal justice reform, there is a need to better understand factors linked to lowered criminal behavior.
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the use of classic psychedelic substances (psilocybin, LSD, peyote, and mescaline) and past year arrests for various crimes (i.e. property, violence, alcohol and substance use, miscellaneous crimes). Methods: This study used nationally representative data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (2015-2019) (N = 211,549) to test the aforementioned associations.
Results: Lifetime psilocybin use was associated with lowered odds of seven of 11 past year arrest variables (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) range = 0.30-0.73). Peyote was associated with reduced odds of motor vehicle theft (aOR = 0.30) and driving under the influence (aOR = 0.52), and mescaline was associated with reduced odds of drug possession/sale (aOR = 0.51). Virtually all other substances either shared no relationship to our outcomes or conferred higher odds of arrest.
Conclusion: This study suggests that use of classic psychedelic substances is associated with lowered odds of crime arrests. Future research should explore whether causal factors and/or third variable factors (e.g. personality, political orientation) underlie the relationship between classic psychedelic use and reduced criminal behavior.