Psychedelic raves emerge as modern rites of passage, with Israeli attendees reporting complex after-effects

A qualitative study of 27 Jewish Israeli rave-goers who regularly used psychedelic drugs found that the experience extended from preparation before the event through physical, emotional, cognitive, and social effects afterward. Interviews identified preparation rituals involving bodily routines, drug planning, emotional clearing, social bonding, and practical arrangements such as food, water, clothing, and tents. Participants later described positive outcomes including confidence, empowerment, creativity, stronger friendships, and sociability, alongside exhaustion, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, low mood, mood swings, and difficulty concentrating. The researchers interpreted the transition into and out of rave culture as resembling a modern rite of passage. The findings do not establish that raves or psychedelics cause these outcomes, since the sample was small and self-selected, doses were not recorded, and no objective psychological or cognitive measures were collected.