Survey · 2026
What safety steps do advertised psychedelic retreats actually use? A study of 49 organizations
- Original title
- Reported Safety Practices of Publicly Advertised Psychedelic Retreats.
- Authors
- McGuire AL, Neitzke-Spruill L, Robinson JO, et al.
- Journal
- JAMA network open, 2026
- Molecules
- Psilocybin, Ayahuasca
- Conditions
- Other
- Participants
- 49
- Evidence grade
- Low
- Source
- Read the original paper
The question
What safety precautions do organizations that publicly advertise psychedelic retreats say they use?
What they did
Researchers carried out structured interviews by phone or email with representatives of 49 organizations that advertised psychedelic retreats in English online, between July and October 2023. Organizations were chosen by convenience sampling from a pool identified in an earlier study. The interviews asked about substances offered, medical screening, stopping other medications beforehand (“washout”), involvement of health care professionals, and follow-up support (“integration”). Answers were analyzed with descriptive statistics and content analysis.
What they found
Of the 48 organizations that said what they offered, all offered ayahuasca, psilocybin, or both, and 19 (38.7%) offered more than one psychedelic substance. All collected a medical history from participants, and 36 (73.5%) excluded people with certain health conditions. Most (43 organizations, 87.8%) required or recommended stopping certain medications beforehand, but the recommended period ranged from 1 day to more than 6 weeks. Thirty-four organizations (69.4%) worked with a licensed health care professional or someone trained in emergency response, and 32 (65.3%) had such a person present at retreats at least some of the time. All organizations offered some form of integration support.
The fine print
This was a snapshot of self-reported practices, not an audit, so what organizations say may differ from what they do. The 49 organizations were a convenience sample of English-language advertisers, so the findings may not represent retreats worldwide. The study measured practices, not what happened to participants, so it cannot say how often harms occurred. This summary is based on the abstract only.
What it means
Safety practices at publicly advertised psychedelic retreats vary widely, particularly around medication washout periods and the use of more than one substance, and no shared standards currently govern them.
Evidence grade: Low. Qualitative interview study using a convenience sample of organizations, relying entirely on self-reported practices with no independent verification or participant outcomes.
This summary is based on the study’s published abstract.