Spatiotemporal Mapping of Online Interest in Cannabis and Popular Psychedelics before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Al-Imam, Ahmed; Motyka, Marek; Witulska, Zuzanna; Younus, Manal M.; Michalak, Michał

doi:10.3390/ijerph19116619

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(69 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Further, divergent perspectives on psychedelics also yielded notably distinct awareness scores, particularly among those with positive versus negative opinions on psychedelics (15, [9.5, 18] vs. 7, [3,13], p < 0.001). In contrast, medical students who perceived sporadic psychedelic use as low-risk consistently achieved higher scores than those who perceived it as high-risk (11.5 [5,17] vs. 7, [2,14], p < 0.001). As anticipated, individuals with psychedelic use experience exhibited notably higher scores than non-users.…”

Section: Knowledge Of Psychedelics Across Other Survey Parametersmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…According to the literature, the level of interest in psychedelics is not static and may fluctuate throughout the year [ 4 ]. A study conducted in 2022 revealed intriguing seasonal patterns of interest in psychedelics in Poland, with some fluctuations correlating with school breaks and holidays, while the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic introduced additional complexities, causing shifts in temporal and spatial trends due to lockdown measures and changes in individual and societal behaviors, while the latter may relate to social anomie theory [ 5 , 6 ]. Notably, the authors identified that psilocybin and ayahuasca exhibited annual seasonality coinciding with the mushroom harvest season in Poland (September and October) [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cultural Divergence in Psychedelic Use among Medical Students: An ESPAD-Adapted Survey among Poles and Iraqis

Al-Imam,

Motyka,

Michalak

2024

EJIHPE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Psychedelics can profoundly alter cognition and consciousness. Their use in Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, is ambiguous. We aim to investigate psychedelic awareness and use among Iraqi and Polish medical students. We surveyed 739 university students from Poland (315) and Iraq (424) using 31 adapted questions from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). We conducted multivariable analyses based on binary logistic regression to identify the factors associated with psychedelic awareness and use. Most of the respondents were females (65.6%) and senior medical students (69.6%). Notably, the Polish students displayed a higher prevalence of psychedelic use (21.6% compared to 1.2%, p < 0.001), while the Iraqi participants exhibited a lower familiarity with psychedelics (p < 0.001). The multivariable model demonstrated a commendable level of statistical accuracy and satisfactorily conformed to the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (statistical accuracy = 91.61%, Nagelkerke R2 = 0.488, p-value = 0.848). Several factors emerged as correlates of increased psychedelic use, including lacking an intact religious belief system or commitment to its practice (OR = 7.26, 95% CI [2.33, 22.60]). Additionally, those who perceived a low risk associated with sporadic psychedelic use (3.03, [1.44, 6.36]) were likelier to engage in such behavior. Other factors included residing in Poland (2.82, [0.83, 9.55]), maintaining positive attitudes toward psychedelics (2.49, [1.20, 5.14]), frequent social nightlife activities (2.41, [1.26, 4.61]), male gender (2.05, [1.10, 3.85]), and cigarette or tobacco smoking (2.03, [1.06, 3.86]). Significant disparities exist between Poles and Iraqis, influenced by religiosity, perceptions of the usage risks, geographical location, gender, attitudes toward psychedelics, parental leniency, and social freedom, especially concerning nightlife activities. Addressing the factors influencing psychedelic usage is paramount to responsible psychedelic engagement and culturally sensitive interventions to prevent misuse.

show abstract

Section: Knowledge Of Psychedelics Across Other Survey Parametersmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Divergence in Psychedelic Use among Medical Students: An ESPAD-Adapted Survey among Poles and Iraqis

Al-Imam,

Motyka,

Michalak

2024

EJIHPE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Internet users who surf the web could have used virtual private networks applications, Internet protocol (IP) masking, or implemented anonymous web browsing via the Tor browsers or DuckDuckGo search engine, among others, to conceal the actual geographic location and identity while browsing the web for critical information concerning psychedelics [ 76 ]. More advanced web users might use the deep web and darknet to seek information concerning DMT and other controlled substances, or even purchase them [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infoveillance and Critical Analysis of the Systematically Reviewed Literature on Dimethyltryptamine and the “God Molecule”

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aboriginals of Latin America have used DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) in ritualistic ceremonies for centuries. Nevertheless, there are limited data on web users’ interest concerning DMT. We aim to review the literature and explore the spatial–temporal mapping of online search behavior concerning DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, and the Colorado River toad via Google Trends over the past 10 years (2012–2022) while using 5 search terms: “N,N-dimethyltryptamine”, “5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine”, “5-MeO-DMT”, “Colorado River toad”, and “Sonoran Desert toad”. Literature analysis conveyed novel information concerning DMT’s past shamanic and present-day illicit uses, showcased experimental trials on DMT uses for neurotic disorders, and highlighted potential uses in modern medicine. DMT’s geographic mapping signals originated mainly from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Far East Asia. In contrast, 5-MeO-DMT signals prevailed in Western Europe, Indo-China, and Australasia. Signals concerning the toad originated from the Americas, Australia, India, the Philippines, and Europe. Web users searched the most for “N,N-dimethyltryptamine” and “5-MeO-DMT”. Three terms exhibited significant upgoing linear temporal trends: “5-MeO-DMT” (β = 0.37, p < 0.001), “Sonoran Desert toad” (β = 0.23, p < 0.001), and “Colorado River toad” (β = 0.17, p < 0.001). The literature and Infoedemiology data provided crucial information concerning DMT’s legal status, risks and benefits, and potential for abuse. Nonetheless, we opine that in the upcoming decades, physicians might use DMT to manage neurotic disorders pending a change in its legal status.

show abstract

Past Myocardial Infarctions and Gender Predict the LVEF Regardless of the Status of Coronary Collaterals: An AI-Informed Research

Singh¹,

Al-Imam²,

Tirpude³

et al. 2023

Open Access Maced J Med Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND: The degree of the development of coronary collaterals is long considered an alternate – that is, a collateral – source of blood supply to an area of the myocardium threatened with vascular ischemia or insufficiency. Hence, the coronary collaterals are beneficial but can also promote harmful (adverse) effects. For instance, the coronary steal effect during the myocardial hyperemia phase and that of restenosis following coronary angioplasty. OBJECTIVES: Our study explores the contribution of coronary collaterals – if any exist – while considering other potential predictors, including demographics and medical history, toward the left ventricular (LV) dysfunction measured through the LV ejection fraction (LVEF). METHODS: Our cross-sectional design study used convenience sampling of 100 patients (n = 100; a male-to-female ratio of 4:1). We conducted frequentist inference statistics using IBM-SPSS version 24 and Microsoft Office Excel 2016 with the analysis ToolPak plugin; we ran parallel neural networks (supervised machine learning (ML)) and a two-step clustering (non-supervised ML) for robust conjoint inference with frequentist statistics. RESULTS: The past incidents of myocardial infarction (p = 0.036) and gender (p = 0.072) influenced the LVEF; both are significant predictors at a 90% confidence interval. We found that gender and past incidents of MI influenced the LVEF regardless of the status of coronary collaterals. Our study did not yield any positive or significant findings concerning the status of coronary collaterals or the coronary circulation dominance patterns. CONCLUSION: Regardless of the status of coronary collaterals, we verified that the female gender is protective of the LV function, contrary to the past infarction incidents that predispose to a deteriorated LV function. Our study’s innovation relates to its status as the first study from India to explore the coronary collaterals and the ejection fraction while incorporating frequentist statistics and narrow artificial intelligence to infer reliable results.

show abstract

Spatiotemporal Mapping of Online Interest in Cannabis and Popular Psychedelics before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

Cultural Divergence in Psychedelic Use among Medical Students: An ESPAD-Adapted Survey among Poles and Iraqis

Cultural Divergence in Psychedelic Use among Medical Students: An ESPAD-Adapted Survey among Poles and Iraqis

Infoveillance and Critical Analysis of the Systematically Reviewed Literature on Dimethyltryptamine and the “God Molecule”

Past Myocardial Infarctions and Gender Predict the LVEF Regardless of the Status of Coronary Collaterals: An AI-Informed Research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About