NEW POLL: CA Voters Support Decriminalizing Psychedelics
California voters view legislators who support access to regulated psychedelic treatment more favorably. That’s the upshot of a recent poll from Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates. And it's a finding that holds in the Central Valley and among Republicans statewide, meaning that legislators can support it without serious political risk. Here’s a closer look:
By twenty-five percentage points, California voters report that they would support a bill to “remove criminal penalties in state law for adults found to be in possession of small, personal-use amounts of such psychedelic substances” and “create an opportunity for people to get access to licensed therapeutic treatment with psychedelic medicines.”
By fifteen percentage points, California voters report that they would view legislators more favorably if that person supported a “bill to decriminalize the possession of personal-use amounts of psychedelics.”
[See full polling memo here]
Also worth your time:
The Biden Administration forecasts U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of two psychedelic medicines. Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, a top official at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, recently wrote that the agency “agrees that too many Americans are suffering from mental health and substance use issues, which have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and that we must explore the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies to address this crisis.” Dr. Rittmon noted that she “anticipated approval by the Food and Drug Administration [of psilocybin for depression and MDMA for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] within approximately 24 months.”
A Texas-sized tent. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and former U.S. Navy Seal, recently introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which would “create a grant program carried out by SECDEF [the U.S. Secretary of Defense] … to study the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder of active duty service members using certain psychedelic substances and for service members to take part in clinical trials.” Relatedly, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, also a Republican, is a big supporter of psychedelic medicine; and, with his help, the state recently passed a law that allows clinical research into psychedelic medicine for the treatment of a range of disorders including clinical depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and end-of-life anxiety. The new law enabled the launch of the Center for Psychedelic Research & Therapy at the University of Texas Dell Medical School. The Center “aims to advance the application of psychedelics for the treatment of mental health disorders through impactful clinical research” and “improve the health of those suffering from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD through psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and research focused heavily on military veterans and adults affected by early childhood trauma.”
