Actress Eliza Dushku Donates $100k to Massachusetts Psychedelics Initiative

February 7, 2024

Eliza Dushku in 2012 and illustration via MIT Science Policy Review

Known for her roles in TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling, Dollhouse and Hull and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., actress Eliza Dushku took a break from acting and went back to school in Massachusetts, where she was born. Dushku has pledged $100,000 worth of financial support to the Massachusetts Regulated Access to Psychedelic Substances Initiative, which is trying to get on the 2024 ballot.

On Feb. 6, Jonathan Cohn posted the news at X: "Eliza Dushku donated $100k to the psychedelics ballot initiative in MA."

Eliza Dushku donated $100K to the psychedelics ballot initiative in MA.

Her occupation is listed as "student."t
— Jonathan 'Boo and Vote' Cohn (@JonathanCohn) February 6, 2024

Dushku has not commented about the generous contribution.

In 2017, she spoke to students about her drug use and sobriety:

"I don't drink or do drugs anymore. When I was 14 years old I took drugs. I probably started with pot. I went to parties... I loved the first time I took a drug because I loved the way it made me feel. I loved the way it made me not feel. I didn't have to feel. It was fun and I loved it until it wasn't. Drugs didn't love me. They didn't love my family. They definitely didn't love my friends that died. I have a lot of friends that are dead...

"I got sober at first for my family, because I'd gotten to a point I was so sick of myself. I was depressed. I didn't like myself. But I love my family. I remember my brother telling me he didn't want me to be around my niece because he didn't trust me. I'm a really good aunty, but he was right. When I did drugs and drank I didn’t make good decisions. All it takes is one bad decision... We're all in this together. We're going to continue to fight this opioid madness in this state and all over the world."

Dushku, 43, who also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, received $9.5 million settlement from CBS in 2019 over being sexually harassed on the set of the TV series Bull in 2017 and subsequently fired when she reported it. Presumably, the $100,000 donation came from those monies.