Vote Yes on Question 4 to bring healing to Massachusetts

Compassion is on the ballot

Question 4 will create regulated therapeutic access to natural psychedelic medicines to help veterans with PTSD, patients with end-of-life anxiety, and others who are suffering.

Stories of Healing

A Breakthrough Mental Health Tool

Emily Oneschuk is a native of Wakefield, Massachusetts and the first woman candidate to enter the Navy Seal training program. With natural psychedelic medicine therapy, Emily found hope after struggling with depression and PTSD.
CJ LoConte is a combat veteran from Duxbury, Massachusetts. His experience in the Army left him with severe grief and psychological wounds. He credits natural psychedelic medicines for saving his life and helping him in his mental health journey.

Question 4 is a citizen-led ballot question supported by military veterans, doctors, caregivers, and others who are affected by our mental health crisis. The measure will create a carefully regulated therapeutic program for adults to access natural psychedelic medicines that show promise for treating serious mental health conditions.

Under Question 4, natural psychedelic medicine therapy will be administered under the supervision and guidance of a trained, licensed professional at regulated therapy centers. Retail sales of psychedelic medicines will not be permitted.

Voting Yes on Question 4 will give veterans, patients with end-of-life distress, and people who are suffering access to this life-saving mental health tool.

Thousands of Americans—including military veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors—have been helped by natural psychedelic medicines.

Most of the 51 cancer patients in a Johns Hopkins study saw their depression and anxiety decrease after their psilocybin experience. Kerry Pappas was one of those patients.
Marine Corps veteran Juliana Mercer shares her story of transformation and the healing power of psychedelic therapy.
Bill, a retired army captain, sought deeper connection with his loved ones after a childhood that left him feeling disconnected. He was among the first clients to receive psilocybin therapy in Oregon’s voter-approved program enacted in 2020.
More Stories of Psychedelic Healing

We’re facing a severe mental health crisis.

  • One in three adults in Massachusetts is experiencing symptoms of an anxiety and/or depressive disorder.
  • Deaths of despair are on the rise, and there’s a suicide epidemic among veteran, first responders, and health care workers.
  • Daily medications, talk therapy, and other coping mechanisms help some people get by—but for many, these tools aren’t working.

Natural psychedelic medicine is a breakthrough therapy for mental health.

Pioneering research from the nation’s top medical institutions shows that natural psychedelic therapies can be effective for helping people with PTSD, depressive disorders, severe anxiety, and many other difficult-to-treat conditions.

Medical experts agree that natural psychedelic medicines are non-addictive. In fact, there is substantial evidence that natural psychedelic medicines can be helpful in treating substance use disorder, and the risk profile of natural psychedelics like psilocybin is significantly lower than other substances.

  • Major depressive disorder: Research from Johns Hopkins found that 75% of patients with MDD treated with psilocybin therapy showed a significant positive response to the treatment, and 58% were in remission after a 12-month assessment.
  • End of life anxiety: A study involving psilocybin-assisted therapy for cancer patients found that 80% of participants reported moderate to greatly increased well-being and life satisfaction.
  • Alcohol use disorder: A study from New York University found that participants given psilocybin-assisted therapy reduced heavy drinking by 83%.
Dr. Franklin King, MD, psychiatrist and director of training and education at the Mass General Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, offers expert testimony to legislators about how natural psychedelic medicines can address the mental health crisis.
Dr. Yvan Beaussant, MD, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and instructor of psychosocial oncology and palliative care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses how psilocybin therapy can help cancer patients and others with end-of-life anxiety.
Learn more about the science
of psychedelic medicines

This fall we can bring hope and healing to Massachusetts

Question 4 will establish a program overseen by a state agency with oversight and guidance of an expert advisory board.

Following a two-year rulemaking process, adults 21 and older will be able to visit licensed and approved psychedelic therapy centers in 2026.

Psychedelic therapy will be administered and supervised only by trained and licensed professionals. The program will require pre-screenings, preparation sessions, and safety plans.

The initiative does not permit stores or retail sales for for psychedelic medicines.

Read a Summary of Question 4

Veterans with PTSD, patients with end-of-life anxiety, and people struggling with difficult to treat mental health conditions deserve compassion.

Our campaign is building a coalition across the Commonwealth. Join us and support Question 4 by sharing stories of healing and educating voters about the scientific research demonstrating the promise of natural psychedelic medicines.

Vote Yes and Support Question 4

Endorsements

"Psychedelics allow the brain to get reorganized and process information from a new perspective, making mind and brain temporarily more malleable and able to learn. Voters should pass Question 4 and offer another tool to Bay Staters who are struggling with their mental health."

Dr. Bessel van Der Kolk

Author of The Body Keeps the Score

""Yes [I support Question 4]... It's going to take a period to get into it and we have to get the right regulations in place to make sure people are safe.""

Elizabeth Warren

US Senator from Massachusetts

"These treatments have proven to be a helpful way to treat serious mental health issues like depression, anxiety and PTSD. We have a mental health crisis and want licensed clinicians to have access to tools to help veterans, first-responders, anyone else who is struggling."

Councilor Marc McGovern

Vice Mayor of Cambridge

"Fifty years ago, PTSD was not a recognized condition until veterans used their voice to promote research around it. We’ve gotten better at diagnosing and recognizing PTSD, but too many veterans are still suffering. Today we are once again using our voice to support a treatment that research and personal experiences indicate can bring tranquility and healing to our nation’s heroes. "

Dan Stack

CEO, Disabled American Veterans

"Natural psychedelics provide a promising and research-backed opportunity for healing where traditional, pharmaceutical therapies have fallen short. In Massachusetts, we have the opportunity to create access to life-saving healthcare this November. "

State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa

"The research behind psychedelic-assisted therapy is more than promising, they have immense potential to treat treatment resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Medford supports the advocacy veterans, first-responders, and end-of-life patients have done to bring this care to Massachusetts."

Zac Bears

City Council President, Medford

"Recent research has shown their value in helping individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD, or alcohol/substance abuse, and states like Oregon and Colorado have taken the lead on establishing a regulated, therapeutic framework for their use."

Progressive Mass

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Op-ed

Gergerian: Police face a mental health crisis. Psychedelics can help

Oct 18, 2024

"Police are one of the most visible arms of the government. We have a key role to play in being a positive force and agents of change in the community. By supporting our state’s push to embrace new methods of mental health care, I believe we can do what is best for both members of law enforcement and the broader public, all while establishing Massachusetts as a leader on this issue. Psychedelic therapy shouldn’t be the future of mental health care, it should be the present."

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How You Can Support Yes on 4

Massachusetts is facing a mental health crisis. We need your support to create regulated, therapeutic access to natural psychedelic medicine therapy.

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Stand with veterans, patients, and researchers who support regulated, therapeutic access to natural psychedelic medicines.

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