Currently, there is a psychedelic mushrooms boom with new funds such as Atai raising millions to invest in the sector. Several new companies working on psychedelics are listing, and one such company is Compass Pathways, which was listed last year, having a valuation of almost $1 billion. However, despite all this fanfare, little has been done to protect people from psychedelics’ side effects if things spin out of control.

Little is done to protect people from the effects of psychedelics

The early signs are alarming as new actors flood the market looking to make quick quid. Some of these investors are not pleasing liberals one should expect, with companies and startups repurposing without any psychedelic product being a major concern. It seems it is the Sixties again, and psychedelic investors should be worried.

There is hardly any investment to protect people from the psychedelic effects, and all people are relying on is that things are done carefully. This is not true as people still face challenging experiences or pseudo-psychotic disorientation that can last weeks or days. It is important to note that psychological issues after experiences with psychedelics can last for some time up to even a year.

Psychedelics use can lead to difficult experiences 

Unfortunately, we still don’t know how therapists or clinics can support people experiencing challenging experiences after psychedelics use. Johns Hopkins’ psychedelics research team leader Matthew Johnson says that currently, there is no research to help individuals, and whatever is known falls into the clinical observation category. Mostly, anti-psychotics or benzos are administered depending on an individual’s symptoms.

Compass Pathways’ chief communication officer Tracy Cheung said that little is known about how the experiences integrate, and thus there is a need for research via clinical studies and data collection from real experiences.

Despite the huge market potential of psychedelic therapy, there is a need to invest in infrastructure to help people dealing with its side effects. Research labs and companies should commit around 15% of their capital to protect against psychedelics side effects.

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