Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Magic mushrooms are the most-used psychedelic drug in the United States, according to a new report from RAND.
Why it matters: The close look at Americans' use of psychedelics can help policymakers figure out how to regulate the substances as mental health treatments or even legalize them for recreational use.
By the numbers: 3.1% of adults reported using mushrooms, also known as psilocybin, in the past year, a new national survey found.
- About 12% U.S. adults reported having used mushrooms in their lifetime, while a similar share reported using LSD.
- 7.6% said they've taken MDMA, also known as ecstasy, during their lifetime.
- Less than 1% of U.S. adults reported using any psychedelics in the past month.
Where it stands: It's a critical time for federal officials to decide how to regulate psychedelics, said Beau Kilmer, lead author of the report and a senior policy researcher at RAND.
- "We saw this with alcohol, tobacco, we've seen this with cannabis as well," he added. "Once you have the companies and they've got their lobbyists, it makes it a lot harder to, for example, increase taxes or impose certain regulations."
- Alternatively, the federal government could sit back and allow a patchwork of state policies to take hold, the report says.
- It also said officials should craft policy with input from Indigenous communities who use psychedelics in cultural traditions.