A poll of 1,000 adult respondents was conducted between July 22-25. It revealed that 28% of Americans had taken at least one of the seven psychoactive drugs in the survey. The list included LSD (14%) and psilocybin (9%), MDMA (9%), ketamine (6%) DMT (6%) and salvia (5%) in order of their most frequently used to least.

According to the poll, psychedelic use is on the rise and there is more legislation being considered. “Recent shifts, both in policy and public opinion, suggest the tide in the United States may be turning toward increasingly favoring psychedelic drugs,” YouGov states. “In the past few years, a number of cities across the U.S., such as Oakland, California, have decriminalized psilocybin, also known as psychedelic mushrooms. This November, Coloradans will vote on whether to legalize the drug state-wide, and by January 2023, Oregon is expected to begin allowing its use for mental-health treatment in supervised settings.”

A poll revealed that 42% have used psychedelics at some point. 34% had an annual income between $50,000-$100, while 34% earned $50,000-$100,000. 23% also reported having a monthly income below $50,000. 42 percent said that they have earned a postgraduate education, 26% with an undergraduate degree and 24% with a high school diploma or lower.

The average age of 39% who tried psychedelics was between 30 and 44 years. 35% were between 18 and 29 years, while 35% were between 18 to 29 years. Only 14% of those who had tried them were older than 65. Three quarters of those who tried the substance were identified as male, and 22% as female.

The acceptance pattern is based on the areas where psychedelics legislation has been passed. Three-quarters of the participants have used substances. 34% live in the Northeast while 23% are in the South. People who experiment with psychedelics are more likely to live in urban areas (36%), than those who reside in the suburbs (26%), or in rural areas (19%).

Other categories of definition explored people from different religions, those who live in other regions of the country, age, and other identifiers such as “very conservative,” “conservative” or “liberal.” The poll data shows that those who are liberal, which is defined by the 52% of participants, said that they have tried at least one psychedelic drug.

Many of those surveyed were opposed to the decriminalization of certain substances. Fourty-four per cent oppose decriminalizing psilocybin. 53% opposed decriminalizing LSD. 53% were against MDMA decriminalization. People who have used one of these drugs are generally more inclined to support decriminalization. “And while support for legalizing psychedelic drugs is relatively low among Americans overall, it’s much higher among people who have personal experiences with the substances—especially in the case of people who have used mushrooms.”

These people also supported medical programs that promoted psychedelics in medicine. “Recently proposed bipartisan amendments to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, suggested by Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, relax federal restrictions on research into psychedelic-assisted post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment for veterans,” YouGov wrote. Respondents were asked if they support research like this. 54% responded that they did, while 18% stated they didn’t. Only 63% of participants with a college education supported research to find at least one psychoactive drug. However, 49% of people without college degrees also supported such efforts. Sixty percent (of the participants) who identified as Democrats said that they are more likely to support psychedelic-related research than 54% and 45% respectively.