Psychedelics on the Massachusetts Ballot

By Lis De Sá Fonseca

On Election Day, Massachusetts voters faced a proposal to legalize certain psychedelic
substances. Question 4 allowed those over 21 to grow and use psychedelics. The proposition would also create a commission to regulate them.

At the Cyclorama, some Boston voters were supportive and unsupportive of the proposition.

“Things like this shouldn’t be barred from people. It shouldn’t be locked behind the law,” said Godfrey A. Duncan, a realtor in Back Bay. “I think they are behind the ball, behind the time, on that.”

Miranda Howe, another local, shared a different view.

“I voted no, mostly because I don’t understand the benefit versus cost,” Howe said. “I supported weed being legalized. But with psychedelics, I just don’t see the cost outweighing the benefit.”

Duncan saw a strong push for marijuana over time and agreed with Howe’s note of how problems with marijuana legalization may have impacted this vote.

“We also haven’t really learned how to regulate weed,” said Howe. “That hasn’t gone super well. So maybe we need some time to figure that out before we do something new.”

Aparna Upadhyay, a business development executive for Koneksa Health, voiced a different
perspective.

“These things are new modalities of treating really tough diseases, so we should be open-minded about them. We need to try everything,” Upadhyay said.

Question 4 did not pass. With 57% of voters opposing the proposition, psychedelics will remain illegal in Massachusetts as debates continue over potential therapeutic applications and the future of drug policy reform in the state.