"Some 63 percent of respondents said they strongly support lowering the barriers to study psychedelicsa jump of about 14 percent from a similar poll conducted in 2023, when 49 percent of respondents reported the same. And 46 percent of voters also said they strongly support making the therapeutic use of psychedelics legal compared with 36 percent in 2023. Forty-one percent said they'd strongly support making psychedelics available by prescription, which polled at just 29 percent in 2023."
"Support for decriminalizing psychedelics, meanwhile, has remained relatively flat at around 28 percent. Currently, possession of psychedelics such as LSD, MDMA and psilocybin is illegal at the federal level in the U.S."
"The findings reflect increasing public acceptance of psychedelic treatments, says Mason Marks, a senior fellow of psychedelic projects at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School. But he notes that concepts such as decriminalization and legalization for therapeutic use may hold distinct meanings to different people, and further research could seek to understand why people answered those questions the way they did."
A survey of more than 1,500 U.S. voters found broad support for loosening restrictions on studying psychedelics. In April 2025, 63% strongly supported lowering barriers to research, up from 49% in 2023. Forty-six percent strongly supported legal therapeutic use, compared with 36% in 2023. Forty-one percent strongly supported making psychedelics available by prescription, up from 29% in 2023. Support for decriminalizing psychedelics stayed relatively flat at about 28%. Federal law currently makes possession of psychedelics such as LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin illegal. The results indicate growing public acceptance of psychedelic treatments, while meanings of decriminalization versus therapeutic legalization may vary among respondents.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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