Weve crossed the Rubicon, despite all our respect for the concerned doctors. MAPS Canada's Mark Haden, who appeared on Netflixs goop lab, was the latest to show that psychedelics go beyond medical purposes. He nodded sympathetically when Elise Loehnen, (now ex-chief content officer) talked about how goop employees taking mushrooms from Jamaica to increase creativity or experience a psycho-spiritual state.
Although their profits are dependent on convincing you that you require a professional, the professionals they hire will tell you that most entrepreneurs think that they have been healed without expensive and detailed protocols.
Interview after interview, the top executives behind these research companies and clinics talk about using psychedelics for personal growth and/or in non-medical settings. Joe Green, an entrepreneur, said that he helped MAPS raise $30 million. He also told The Wall Street Journal that he was inspired to try MDMA by a friend. Lars Wilde, who is a serial entrepreneur and cofounded Compass Pathways along with George Goldsmith, was also recommended psilocybin by an investor. Christian Angermayer and Peter Thiel, who were both major funders of Compass, were among the first trips to the Caribbean with their friends. It is likely that none of these investor-friends were working as MDs.
These men were able to enjoy the health benefits of psychedelics in a well-being context. Why not pursue the medical route? Go all goop! First, there is already a underground market for psychedelics. Second, they don't represent an untapped source to profit. It is unlikely that all states except a few will allow psychedelics to be legalized for widespread consumption in the near future. This allows tech companies to profit from a growing market before others.
They will lock out those who are unable to pay for ketamine infusions and medical oversight, as well as the hours spent with a therapist, to ensure that only a select group of clients have access to these drugs. Potential customers will not be scared of the consequences or associate drug-taking and degeneracy with dependency. This allows them to court these potential clients.
Although various parties may occasionally make mention of democratizing services, that is part of their long-term utopian con. Their monopolistic hungers will eventually surface over time. David Bronner, an Oregon supporter of psilocybin legalization in therapeutic settings, has recently accused Compass Pathways that he tried to mobilize opposition to legalization to allow Compass to have greater market control by being the only provider of the service. Vice was told by the CEO of Compass that he wanted to talk about the bill.
It would be tragic if [psychedelics] were only available for prescriptions. Will Siu?
Of all the groups that can help you achieve mental well-being, there is no better group than white tech-dudes with money. Many of us have become more distant emotionally because of their obsession with global connectivity. This is ironic since they can also cite disconnection to be a sign of depression. They are the mental equivalent of firefighter arsonists. Social media's omnipresence has revealed the dark side to self-optimization and the way that platforms treat individual user data. Their prioritization for growth over stewardship leads to companies ballooning before they are dissolved. This leaves behind disenfranchised employees, disgruntled customers, and a trail of disenfranchised workers, which is bad news when you work with vulnerable populations. There have been many scandals and inefficiency in previous attempts to provide mental health care. Companies like Talkspace were accused of being opaque and unethical, while BetterHelp was accused of overpromising an amazing therapist on 24/7 and underdelivering with a bot who doesn't always respond.
We are not only interested in psychedelics for their brute capitalist benefits. Many people are suffering and psychedelics can dramatically shift people's thinking and lead to meaningful personal development. I have personally had positive experiences with them. People who believe they could benefit from psychedelics should be allowed to try them.
Big Tech is lying when they say you have to use their beanbag chairs and offices full of medical validation and shrubbery. Just like them, you deserve to go on the beach with friends and take drugs.
Instead of giving the reins over to a group that has a history of corroding our collective spiritual and mental health, how about listening to people who have used psychedelics for healing? We must honor the ways psychedelics were conceived in Indigenous communities for thousands of years. This is something we can do but it is often tokenizing.
We would like to federally decriminalize, regulate, and legalize recreational use of psychedelics at the people's discretion. Also, we would educate the public about how to make sure that they have a safe and enjoyable trip. This kind of policy change is what we need to make a real difference.
