Around 60 percent of DC voters support Initiative 81, the “Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020,’ which would reform laws for plant and fungi medicines, according to a new poll.
The legislation is planned to be on the ballot this November. The Campaign to Decriminalize Nature DC, which helped collect 35,000 signatures to place it on the ballot, released the poll that was sponsored by the New Approach PAC and conducted by FM3 Research.
Initiative 81 is aiming to designate “ayahuasca, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, iboga, and mescaline-containing cacti” as among the lowest law enforcement priorities for DC police.
The poll also revealed that support has increased by nine percentage points since April when the previous poll was carried out.
“Today’s polling shows unequivocal support for ensuring DC residents using plant and fungi medicines to overcome depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other conditions are not law enforcement targets. This polling also underpins what we learned talking to DC residents in all eight wards while collecting over 35,000 signatures to place Initiative 81 on the ballot,” said Melissa Lavasani, the proposer of Initiative 81.
“It is clear that DC residents are ready to reform outdated laws for entheogenic substances. Police priorities should reflect the growing body of research on the therapeutic benefits of entheogens rather than the failed war on drugs.”
Lavasani says she recovered from postpartum depression thanks to plant medicines.