A new poll finds most Oregon voters approve legalizing psilocybin mushrooms for medical use. And next year, Oregon voters could decide on a ballot initiative to legalize the medical use of psilocybin and otherwise reduce penalties for possessing and growing mushrooms containing the hallucinogenic compound.

Have you ever tried them? Do you know anyone who has? Do you believe the claims it helps with the managing anxiety and the cessation of smoking?

Right now, a razor-thin 47%-46% margin is in favor of the would-be initiative but that number significantly jumps when parts of the proposed measure are clarified and not just judged on the title alone. Proponents are encouraged that an education campaign to further clarify their cause could lead to Oregon becoming the first state in the country to legally allow the use of federal Schedule I drugs beyond marijuana.

Oregon’s attorney general certified the ballot language of the Psilocybin Service Initiative, which is being spearheaded by the Oregon Psilocybin Society (OPS), in November. The group still needs to collect about 140,000 valid voter signatures on a petition to qualify the measure for the 2020 ballot, and the new polling data will likely help with fundraising to support the effort.

More and more there’s a growing consensus among drug reform advocates that the fungus-derived psychedelic could follow a similar path recently trailblazed by marijuana. Both substances have research-backed therapeutic potential and pose a relatively low health risk.