“These drugs could really help people at the end of their life. The rules need to change.”

Leading scientists and MPs believe psychedelic drugs could prove hugely beneficial in palliative care/ for people with terminal conditions. To this end, the majority (68 percent) of the British public now supports calls to change restrictive UK regulations on the clinical study of these substances.

“It took one dose of psychedelics, lasting no more than a few hours, to help me cope with the crippling thoughts, fear and anxiety around my cancer diagnosis. Years later, I continue to lead a fuller life because of it,” says a doctor who was given twelve months to live in 2015.

“Existing real world evidence suggests psychedelics can offer huge improvements in quality of life for people with serious and terminal illness, in instances of depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and more.

Real world evidence also suggests drugs’ effectiveness in treating these conditions in other groups, including combat veterans.

The majority of the public (59 per cent) would consider therapy assisted by psychedelics for themselves “if they had a condition for which there was strong evidence it could be effective.”

YouGov polling was commissioned by Psilonautica, a UK think tank set up to investigate the future of psychedelic medicine and integrated therapy, in collaboration with Drug Science, the leading independent scientific body on drugs in the UK.