According to surveys, 28% of Americans have tried at least one psychedelic substance

The survey asked 1,000 adults to answer questions online between July 22 and 25, revealing that 28% of Americans had used at least one of the seven psychedelics included in the questionnaire. In order of most to least used, the list of substances included LSD (14% of participants), psilocybin (13%), MDMA (9%), ketamine (6%), DMT (6%) and salvia (5th %).

The poll finds that acceptance of psychedelics is increasing and more legislation is being proposed. “Recent changes, both in politics and in public opinion, suggest that the tide in the United States may be turning toward an increasing preference for psychedelics,” notes YouGov. “In recent years, a number of cities in the US, such as Oakland, California, have decriminalized psilocybin, also known as psychedelic mushrooms. This November, Coloradans will vote on whether to legalize the drug statewide, and by January 2023, Oregon is expected to begin approving its use for mental health treatment in controlled settings.”

According to the survey, 42% of those who have tried psychedelics at least once have a family income of $100,000 or more, while only 34% have an income of $50,000 to $100,000 and 23% reported having an income of $50,000 or less. Forty-two percent also reported having earned a postgraduate degree, with 26% having a bachelor’s degree and 24% having a high school degree or less.

In terms of age, 39% of participants who have tried psychedelics are between 30 and 44 years old, while 35% are between 18 and 29 years old and only 14% were over 65 years old. 34% of participants who tried a substance identified as males, while 22% identified as females.

Regionally, the pattern of acceptance follows areas that have enacted psychedelics-related legislation. 37% of the participants who tasted substances live in the western United States, 34% in the Northeast, 23% in the South (other regions not specified). Those who have experimented with psychedelics often live in cities (36%) compared to those who live in suburbs (26%) and rural areas (19%).

Other definition categories examined people of different religions, people living in other regions of the country, age, and other identifiers such as “very conservative,” “conservative,” or “liberal.” The survey data shows that those who are liberal, defined by the 52% of participants, reported having tried at least one psychedelic drug.

However, many of the participants continued to oppose the decriminalization of some of these substances. 44% oppose the decriminalization of psilocybin, 53% oppose the decriminalization of LSD, and 53% oppose the decriminalization of MDMA. Overall, those who have tried any of these substances are more likely to agree that they should be decriminalized. “And while support for the legalization of psychedelics is relatively low among Americans overall, it’s much higher among people who have had personal experience with the substances — particularly among people who have used mushrooms.”

Those who have tried these substances have also expressed support for medical initiatives promoting psychedelics as a medical treatment. “Recent proposed bipartisan amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, proposed by Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, relax federal restrictions on research into treating veterans with psychedelic-assisted post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” YouGov wrote. When asked about their support for research projects like this initiative, 54% said they supported it and 18% said they opposed it. 63% of those with college degrees supported research efforts for at least one psychedelic drug, but 49% of those without college degrees also support research. Sixty percent of participants who identified themselves as Democrats indicated that they tend to prefer psychedelic research, versus 54 percent of Independents and 45 percent of Republicans.