Emerging Trends of Tryptamine Use: Contexts & Risks

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The National Institutes on Drug Abuse has prioritized research on "club drugs," such as ecstasy, ketamine, and methamphetamine. On the heels of the recent wave of club drug use, other drug trends emerged including an increase in tryptamine use. Tryptamines include a broad range of naturally-occurring and synthetic compounds. Many of the tryptamines are of a hallucinogenic nature, including DMT, AMT, DIPT and their analogues 5-Meo-DMT, 5-Meo-AMT, and 5-Meo-DIPT. These substances have been used by indigenous tribes of the Amazon for centuries, commonly used for shamanic rituals. The most familiar tryptamine used for shamanic rituals is DMT, the active ingredient in ayahuasca. More recently, tryptamines - more specifically synthetic tryptamines - have become drugs of abuse among youth and young adults in the United States. The DEA requested emergency scheduling on several of these substances because the use of these drugs is viewed as "an emerging problem" (DEA, 2003). In recent years, the sale and distribution of these substances has resulted in arrests in various regions across the country. Though emergent throughout many states in the nation, basic social and behavioral research on these substances is lacking. It is clear that the use of these substances is occurring, but we know little about these substances beyond that fact. This grant application proposes an exploratory study of this class of substances on which there exists large gaps in the behavioral sciences literature. The proposed study will assist with the development of a behavioral research agenda in the United States on the emerging trend of tryptamine use. Our goal is to provide data useful for education and prevention efforts. The specific purpose of the proposed study is to conduct a descriptive ethnographic study of tryptamine use among young adults in youth subcultures around the New York metropolitan area. We intend to gather data on the patterns, practices, and contexts of initiation and subsequent episodes of use among 45 young adults in the New York City metropolitan area. The specific focus of this grant will be to target youth involved in subcultural scenes associated with tryptamine use such that we may understand these substances before they potentially diffuse to general patterns of youth consumption.