Is the Public Actually Ready for Psychedelic Reform?

TOGETHER WITH

Movements that promise collective change rarely fail for lack of evidence. They falter because mainstream culture refuses to follow. That paradox is what drew Dr. Abel Gustafson and Dr. Matthew Goldberg to launch XandY Analytics (pronounced ex-and-why analytics), an independent research firm built to help consequential ideas survive the gauntlet of public opinion.

Few causes illustrate the problem more clearly than psychedelics. The science is compelling: A single psilocybin dose can bring instant and sustained relief from depression and anxiety; MDMA-assisted therapy has helped trauma survivors reclaim their lives. Yet the public imagination remains tethered to the ghosts of the 1960s. 

XandY’s newest project, the Psychedelic Social Insights Hub, aims to challenge the status quo by making public perception visible, measurable, and perhaps changeable. 

“Great ideas don’t succeed just on their merits,” Gustafson tells me. “There have been a lot of great ideas throughout history that fizzled out because they ran into social barriers. The thing that’s going to determine success or failure is winning the battles in hearts and minds.”

When Gustafson and Goldberg began speaking with psychedelic advocates across the United States, they noticed a pattern. Local organizers were campaigning for reform with little more than intuition, anecdotes, and hope. Few had reliable data about what their communities actually believed.

“We kept meeting brilliant people doing incredible work,” Goldberg says. “But they were flying blind.”

The Hub was created to change that. XandY built an open-access platform that brings together polling, behavioral research, and communication strategy. The goal is to give the psychedelic movement the same quality of social intelligence that corporations and political campaigns take for granted.

The project’s first phase includes national polling, interactive maps, and a Data Explorer — a public dashboard that lets anyone examine survey results by age, region, or political identity. Later stages will dig deeper, chart state-by-state attitudes, identify key audiences, and offer practical messaging guides for advocates on the ground.

“We want to make this work accessible to everyone,” Gustafson told DoubleBlind. “A small grassroots group in Vermont should have the same access to high-quality data as a major national organization.”

Even in its earliest findings, the Psychedelics Social Insights Hub shows how far public perception still lags behind the science. According to XandY data, most adults continue to believe psychedelics are addictive, and nearly half describe psilocybin as “moderately harmful.” When asked what comes to mind with the word psychedelics, the most common answers remain “LSD,” “drugs,” and “tripping.” Only about three percent use “medicine” as their first association. 

“Given what we know scientifically,” Goldberg said, “it shows how deep the old narratives still run.”

Even amid widespread misconceptions, there is room for progress. Support for therapeutic use outweighs opposition by roughly three to one. Across political and generational divides, Americans broadly agree that psychedelics should be available for medical purposes, especially for veterans, people with depression, and those facing terminal illness.

The surveys also reveal whom the public trusts most. Doctors, scientists, and people with lived healing experience carry far more credibility than politicians or celebrities. “If we want to normalize psychedelics,” Goldberg says, “the public wants to hear from white coats and people who’ve been healed. They’re not interested in the hype.”

In other words, the movement’s greatest opportunity lies not in persuasion but in personal insight. Most Americans don’t know enough to form an opinion. The work ahead involves meeting that uncertainty with evidence and empathy, and letting trusted voices lead the conversation. 

The Hub’s mission extends beyond collecting statistics. Its true purpose is to turn data into narratives that shift mainstream culture. When surveys revealed that most Americans falsely believe psychedelics are addictive, XandY advised advocates to name the myth rather than ignore it. When medical framing proved more persuasive than recreational framing, they encouraged campaigns to lead with healing before pivoting to broader reforms.

Future phases will go further, segmenting audiences into mindsets: “Cautious but Curious,” “Medically Motivated,” “Spiritually Open,” each with its own values, concerns, and pathways to understanding. Rollout is contingent on 2026 fundraising, with spring as a potential start.

“Knowing those differences turns guesswork into precision,” says Goldberg. “It means you can talk to each audience in their own language.”

Although the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) serves as a sponsor, the Hub remains methodologically independent. Donors have no say over the questions asked or how findings are presented. Surveys follow academic standards: national samples are weighted to Census demographics, multiple panels are used to minimize bias, and results are published freely online.

“The value of this project is its credibility,” Goldberg says. “If advocates are going to use our data to persuade others, they have to know it’s solid.”

The Psychedelics Social Insights Hub is a map of possibility. It shows where minds are closed, where they are beginning to open, and where new conversations might begin. Gustafson describes the current moment as a kind of cultural adolescence. “Right now we’re fighting the most basic battles: dispelling myths and raising awareness,” he said. “As the issue matures, the work will shift from correcting misconceptions to helping people make sense of what psychedelics can mean in their own lives.”

Change, after all, does not begin with policy or law; it begins in the collective imagination. And before a culture can change its mind, someone has to understand how that mind is made.

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