Strong Bipartisan Support for Controlled Psilocybin Use as Treatment or Enhancement in a Representative Sample of US Americans: Need for Caution in Public Policy Persists
Julian D. Sandbrink, Kyle Johnson, Maureen Gill, David B. Yaden, Julian Savulescu, Ivar R. Hannikainen, Brian D. Earp
AJOB Neuroscience February 5, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2024.2303154 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 795 |
| Population | Nationally representative sample of US Americans |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Governance Enhancement Mental health Treatment Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens Psychiatric care Public policy legislation Regulations Counseling |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | Participants rated psilocybin use in a licensed setting as morally positive for both treatment and well-being enhancement, with strong bipartisan support. |
Abstract
The psychedelic psilocybin has shown promise both as treatment for psychiatric conditions and as a means of improving well-being in healthy individuals. In some jurisdictions (e.g., Oregon, USA), psilocybin use for both purposes is or will soon be allowed and yet, public attitudes toward this shift are understudied. We asked a nationally representative sample of 795 US Americans to evaluate the moral status of psilocybin use in an appropriately licensed setting for either treatment of a psychiatric condition or well-being enhancement. Showing strong bipartisan support, participants rated the individual's decision as morally positive in both contexts. These results can inform effective policy-making decisions around supervised psilocybin use, given robust public attitudes as elicited in the context of an innovative regulatory model. We did not explore attitudes to psilocybin use in unsupervised or non-licensed community or social settings.