Hope and concern as Colorado legalises the purchasing and use of psychedelics

Approval of a measure to allow the use of psychedelics in the US state of Colorado is a major first step – but supporters worry about whether wider use could lead to the sort of bad experience that would set back the progress of legalisation.

Nearly 1.2m Coloradans voted to approve Proposition 122, which passed by 53%-47% in the November US mid-term elections. The initiative makes it legal for adults over 21 to purchase and use dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline (excluding peyote), and psilocybin.