About three in five American voters say psychedelics should be legalized for therapeutic use and nearly half believe possession should be decriminalized for personal use for any reason, according to a new national poll.
UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) presented the best results of its first-ever poll at a psychedelics conference in Denver, where leading advocates, researchers, and the Colorado governor were among those who spoke about the rapidly changing political landscape.
The poll found that 61% of registered US voters support “the creation of a regulated legal framework for the therapeutic use of psychedelics,” including the 35% who strongly support it. 34% expressed opposition and 5% said they weren’t sure.
Another 49% of respondents said they are in favor of completely eliminating criminal penalties for personal use and possession of entheogenic plants and fungi.
When asked about a medicalized model in which psychedelics would have to be approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and prescribed by physicians, 56% said they supported such a proposal, compared with 38% against and 6% unsure.
Additionally, the poll showed that nearly four out of five Americans (78%) said they supported “making it easier for researchers to study psychedelics.”
“This is the first clear picture we have of what the American public thinks and feels about psychedelics,” BCSP Executive Director Imran Khan said in a news release. “The Berkeley Psychedelics Survey shows that the majority of American voters are interested in and support legalization. They want fewer barriers to research for scientists and they want regulated therapeutic access for the public.”
“Amid all the stigma and hype around these powerful substances, it’s imperative that researchers, policymakers and practitioners can understand and respond to the public’s hopes and fears,” Khan said. “We are excited to reveal the full results of the Berkeley Psychedelics Survey in the coming weeks.”
The full results of the poll will be released on July 12. Until then, details about the methodology such as number of respondents, survey timeline and margin of error, as well as demographic analyzes that could reveal age- and trend-based information — are unknown.
While there are countless polls showing growing bipartisan support for marijuana reform in the United States, comprehensive polls on psychedelics are rare.
Similarly, another national poll of likely voters released in March found majority support for allowing regulated access to psychedelics for therapy and federal decriminalization. But other than those two examples, surveys of psychedelics have largely been limited to specific regions, such as Colorado and Washington, D.C.
Considering Denver became the first city in the country to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms just four years ago, the consistent majority support for reform is remarkable, and that interest has been reflected in the massive push at the local, state and federal levels to change the laws. governing hallucinogenic substances.
The MAPS Psychedelic Science 2023 conference where the Berkeley poll was unveiled also underlined the bipartisan nature of the movement, with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) both supporting regulated access to psychedelics.
Colorado voters approved the legalization of psychedelics last year, and last month Polis signed into law a bill to implement regulations for the initiative. Oregon voters, meanwhile, legalized psilocybin services in 2020, and the state is moving to open facilities where adults over 18 can be administered psychedelics in a controlled environment.
But what began as a localized decriminalization movement quickly spread to Congress, where just last week an amendment by a Republican congressman was adopted in committee to require clinical trials on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for service members. military as part of a defense bill.
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