- The psychedelic drug industry suddenly seems to be seeing increasing favor within the current political establishment
- The reasons behind this change of attitude may give some people pause for concern
Psychedelic medicine continues to impress as the future of mental health. R&D advances in leaps and bounds, generally with stunning results in clinical trials.
The psychedelic drug industry continues to evolve rapidly. In addition to drug R&D and other IP development, the industry is also spearheading rapid growth in ketamine-assisted therapy – both in brick-and-mortar clinics and via telehealth.
Yet psychedelic stocks have continued to sink. Psychedelic Stock Watch has addressed this market disconnect on previous occasions.
In market parlance, the “breadth” of the (recently ended?) rally in markets hasn’t been this narrow since 1999. Translation: stock index performance hasn’t been so concentrated among such few companies in over 20 years.
Today, our “markets” are a story of market darlings. There are the ever-hyped FAANG stocks (and a handful of others). Then there is everyone else.
Obviously, psychedelic stocks have been on the outside looking in when it comes to recent winners in the market. But is that about to change?
The psychedelic drug industry goes to Davos
Each year, the World Economic Forum (WEF), an unofficial think-tank of the rich-and-powerful, holds a summit in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months as greater numbers of people become aware that it has ‘groomed’ many (most?) of the current leaders of the Western world.
This year at Davos, the psychedelic drug industry will present itself to these same global “power players”. That got our attention.
Forget Burning Man – Psychedelic Shamans Now Heading to Davos
Psychedelics industry targets power players
The World Economic Forum, a gathering of the global elite now synonymous with the quaint Swiss town of Davos where it’s held, isn’t the usual place you’d expect to find a shaman, do breathwork or get rooted in your body.
But this year’s gathering of government leaders and corporate executives will have access to a “Medical Psychedelic House of Davos” program with almost 40 sessions and speakers, including researchers, entrepreneurs, investors — and some who consider themselves shamans. While not part of the core Davos agenda, which doesn’t permit commercial activity, the program has a space on the town’s main promenade, which traditionally showcases Fortune 500 companies to the conference’s attendees.
Psychedelics industry targets power players
The World Economic Forum, a gathering of the global elite now synonymous with the quaint Swiss town of Davos where it’s held, isn’t the usual place you’d expect to find a shaman, do breathwork or get rooted in your body.
But this year’s gathering of government leaders and corporate executives will have access to a “Medical Psychedelic House of Davos” program with almost 40 sessions and speakers, including researchers, entrepreneurs, investors — and some who consider themselves shamans. While not part of the core Davos agenda, which doesn’t permit commercial activity, the program has a space on the town’s main promenade, which traditionally showcases Fortune 500 companies to the conference’s attendees.
Nearly 40 sessions and speakers in a major global forum which “traditionally showcases Fortune 500 companies”. That’s the sort of exposure that can turn outsiders into insiders in our increasingly fractured markets.
Will this mark a turning point for the psychedelic drug industry?
If so, why now? There has been no sign of any awakening at the federal level in the United States.
In the White House’s recently announced “strategy” on mental health, the word “psychedelics” wasn’t even mentioned. Not much of a strategy.
The increasingly out-of-touch senior citizens in Congress seem almost completely oblivious to the potential of psychedelic medicine.
This is despite a global Mental Health Crisis which dwarfs the Covid pandemic, and (in particular) with Americans dropping like flies due to both a suicide epidemic and a drug overdose epidemic.
One American dies roughly every 10 minutes due to suicide. One American dies roughly every 5 minutes from a drug overdose.
Increasingly medical evidence shows that psychedelic medicine can provide solutions for all of these assorted mental health crises. Congress (and the White House) continue to snooze.
However, recent events may now have convinced the rich-and-powerful that they must (reluctantly) embrace psychedelic medicine. And we can spell this newfound awareness P-T-S-D.
The military mental health crisis
Within the overall Mental Health Crisis that is raging unchecked in the United States is an even more devastating mental health crisis inside the U.S. military itself – a 20-year (and counting) crisis.
The Military Mental Health Crisis, A National Tragedy: Part I
The Military Mental Health Crisis, A National Tragedy: Part II
The Military Mental Health Crisis, A National Tragedy: Part III
The Military Mental Health Crisis, A National Tragedy: Part II
The Military Mental Health Crisis, A National Tragedy: Part III
Over this time, more than 115,000 current service members and past veterans have committed suicide. That’s more than double the total combat fatalities that the U.S. suffered during its 20-year war in Vietnam.
And the rate of suicides among veterans continues to increase. Currently, on average one veteran commits suicide roughly every hour of every day. This horrific attrition is primarily attributable to poorly treated (or simply untreated) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Less than half of veterans suffering from PTSD even receive treatment from the Department of Defense. Of those who do, only about 1 in 3 report any significant benefit from treatment.
Crunch the numbers, and less than 1 in 6 veterans today is receiving effective therapy for PTSD, despite the length and magnitude of this military mental health crisis. This is primarily due to the fact that conventional mental health therapies are largely ineffective.
Enter psychedelic medicine.
A Phase III clinical trial by MAPS using MDMA-assisted therapy to treat PTSD boasts revolutionary results.
- ~90% of participants reported significant benefit from the therapy
- 2 out of 3 were effectively cured
Meanwhile, ketamine-assisted therapy (which is already legal) is a proven life-saver with respect to providing PTSD treatment for veterans in need.
None of this is new. So why has a psychedelic drug industry that has been increasingly disrespected by a mind-numbingly ignorant mainstream media suddenly been invited to Davos?
Western governments are banging the war drums
Unless one has been living under a rock for the past several months, you would know that nothing is more important to Western governments today than “winning the war in Ukraine”.
The United States has made it unequivocally clear to the world that the defeat of Russia is its primary focus in geopolitics today – even if it means starting World War III.
This brings us back to the U.S.’s military mental health crisis.
Today, the U.S. is experiencing the worst rate of attrition among its armed forces since World War II, not due to combat casualties but simply because of untreated/poorly treated PTSD. Beyond disgraceful.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has never been less able to find new recruits.
Despite steadily lowering enlistment standards, today over 70% of young Americans are ineligible for military service due to obesity, lack of education and/or a criminal record.
It’s kind of hard to go to war without any “grunts” for the front lines. And this may be why the psychedelic drug industry has received its gold-plated invitation to Davos.
Coincidentally(?), the NY Times came out on Monday with glowing praise for the potential of psychedelic medicine to treat the mental health issues of U.S. veterans.
‘I Want to Reset My Brain’: Female Veterans Turn to Psychedelic Therapy
Kristine Bostwick, 38, a former Navy corpsman, said she hoped that putting her mind through ceremonies with mind-altering substances would help her make peace with the end of a turbulent marriage and perhaps ease the migraines that had become a daily torment.
“I want to reset my brain from the bottom up,” she said during the introductory session of a recent three-day retreat, wiping away tears. “My kids deserve it. I deserve it.”
A growing body of research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic therapy has generated enthusiasm among some psychiatrists and venture capitalists.
Kristine Bostwick, 38, a former Navy corpsman, said she hoped that putting her mind through ceremonies with mind-altering substances would help her make peace with the end of a turbulent marriage and perhaps ease the migraines that had become a daily torment.
“I want to reset my brain from the bottom up,” she said during the introductory session of a recent three-day retreat, wiping away tears. “My kids deserve it. I deserve it.”
A growing body of research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic therapy has generated enthusiasm among some psychiatrists and venture capitalists.
As the Times article noted, currently most of these veterans have to travel to Mexico to obtain treatment for their PTSD that actually works.
Meanwhile, less than 2 weeks earlier, a partnership was announced with the Veterans Administration (VA) to finally provide ketamine-assisted therapy to Arizona veterans suffering from PTSD. A first step for the DoD.
The MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD has been generating successful clinical trial results for several years. Ketamine-assisted therapy has been successfully used to treat PTSD in veterans off label/unofficially for several years.
Why is it only today that the mainstream media, global “power players” and the U.S. military seem to be finally seeing the light when it comes to the merits of psychedelic medicine in general and its ability to treat PTSD, in particular?
It takes a lot of healthy bodies to fight a (world?) war.
This new political reality is very good news for the psychedelic drug industry and investors in psychedelic drug stocks. Maybe not such good news for draft-eligible younger males and females.