Psychedelics, for so long associated with the ‘hippie’ counterculture of the 1960s, are experiencing a renaissance and are already on course to become the next major innovation in treating the global mental health pandemic.
Led by three key factors, psychedelics have received a renewed interest in the potential to serve as medicine.
1️⃣ The normalization and adaptation of cannabis, another schedule I classified drug, along with changing social attitudes and behaviours.
2️⃣ An increasing awareness of the importance of positive mental health, as well as a growing rejection of conventional pharmaceuticals.
3️⃣ Growing interest and involvement from a number of prestigious institutions all around the globe.
To get an idea of how valuable these drugs could be to our societies Prohibition Partners estimates that psychedelic-assisted therapies could provide relief in costs to society in the region of:
- US$150 billion in relation to substance use disorders (opioid, alcohol and nicotine)
- Above US$150 billion in relation to depression and US$12.4 billion in relation to PTSD
According to the WHO, data show that some 4.4% of the world’s population are estimated to suffer from a common mental disorder (ranging from anxiety to major depressive disorders).
As we wrote earlier, – Schedule 1 Drugs Are Not All Bad – so not to confuse – schedule one drugs are dangerous, if you do not know what you are doing or know exactly what you are taking.
However, if administered properly they may have several medicinal benefits.
And especially in treating mental disorders, such as these, is where psychedelics will be the new medicine of choice.
Source: Our World In Data
Like any emerging industry, there are challenges and growing pains but the blue-sky upside and time to revenue is unparalleled.
“Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the practice of explaining widespread failure to predict them as simple folly in hindsight.”
Due to changes in public opinion, a mental health and addiction pandemic as well as enormous movements of liquid cash, this sector is poised to explode in 2020.
