A new poll indicates that support is growing for the ballot item in D.C. that calls for decriminalizing psychedelic plants, including “magic mushrooms.”
Initiative 81 will be on the ballot in November, and a poll conducted by the polling company FM3 Research suggests that 60% of D.C. voters would support the proposal and vote “yes.”
Last month, the D.C. Board of Elections announced that Initiative 81 made it to the ballot after supporters gathered significantly more than the required 25,000 signatures.
According to Decriminalize Nature DC, one of leading groups supporting the measure, support has grown by 9 percentage points since the last poll was conducted in April.
“Strong support for Initiative 81 in this new poll of 620 likely voters ahead of the election indicates a clear path to passing the ballot measure this fall,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.
Though supporters say psychedelic drugs can be used to treat mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, opponents point to concerns about drug abuse and dangerous side effects.
If D.C. does decriminalize psychedelics, it would join just a few cities in doing so. Others include Denver, Colorado, and Oakland, California.
District voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in 2014 that legalized recreational marijuana, allowing the drug to be consumed and grown legally.
