The psychedelic renaissance is here but it’s not the utopian revolution your hippie uncle promised. Instead, it’s a corporate feeding frenzy. Venture capitalists and biotech startups are racing to patent everything from psilocybin therapy protocols to the act of holding hands during a trip. Meanwhile, Indigenous communities, underground therapists, and activists who kept these substances alive through decades of prohibition are being sidelined.
The Pill-Pushing Playbook
Companies like Compass Pathways and Mind Medicine are ditching holistic practices in favor of a “pill-only” model straight out of Big Pharma’s handbook. The goal? Monetize mental health. By medicalizing psychedelics, they’re creating a two-tiered system: luxury retreats for the wealthy and criminalization for everyone else. In Australia, psilocybin therapy costs upwards of $15,000—a price tag that screams “healing is for the 1%”
Patent Wars and Cultural Theft
The irony is thick enough to trip on. Psychedelics like ayahuasca and peyote have been used sacramentally for centuries by Indigenous peoples. Now, corporations are slapping patents on molecules and therapy setups, privatizing knowledge that’s existed in the public domain since before Silicon Valley was a glint in a VC’s eye 112. Even the FDA’s potential approval of psychedelics could backfire: only FDA-sanctioned psilocybin would be legal, while natural mushrooms remain criminalized.
Lessons from Cannabis
Canada’s cannabis legalization serves as a cautionary tale. Corporate giants monopolized the market, sidelining small growers and prioritizing profits over public health 9. Psychedelics are heading down the same path, with investors eyeing “psychedelic tourism” and ketamine clinics already cutting corners on safety.
The Resistance Lives
But not everyone’s buying the hype. Grassroots movements are pushing for decriminalization and community-controlled access, arguing that psychedelics should be a tool for collective liberation—not another extractive industry 110. As one activist put it: “You can’t patent a spiritual experience” 11.
Final Trip Note
The psychedelic revolution was born in the streets, not the boardroom. If we let capitalism swallow it whole, we’ll end up with a watered-down, overpriced version of enlightenment—and lose the chance to truly change minds.