Will tech billionaires move fast and break our brains?
Trump
administration.
When the political scientist Rick Doblin founded an organization in the 1980s aimed at securing federal approval for the medical use of
MDMA
, also known as Ecstasy, his vision was nothing short of utopian. He thought the psychedelic drug, which can enhance feelings of love and social connection, would heal global trauma and usher in world peace. The psychedelic movement at that time was a grass-roots effort by hippies, students and bohemians.
#Pahalgam Terrorist Attack
India stares at a 'water bomb' threat as it freezes Indus Treaty
India readies short, mid & long-term Indus River plans
Shehbaz Sharif calls India's stand "worn-out narrative"
Now his organisation's corporate spinoff, Lykos Therapeutics, may soon be acquired by Antonio Gracias, a billionaire private equity investor and close friend of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. Mr. Gracias, who previously served on the board of Tesla and SpaceX, is working in Mr. Musk's so-called
Department of Government Efficiency
, where, given the job of overhauling
Social Security
, he has pushed unsubstantiated claims about immigrants voting illegally.
The planned acquisition of Lykos is an example of how tightly entwined a once left-wing psychedelic movement has become with the Trump administration and the tech right. Peter Thiel, who has close ties with many top-level Trump officials, is a major investor in the psychedelic company Atai Life Sciences. Mr. Musk has talked about how he uses a small amount of prescription ketamine "once every other week or something like that." And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he's open to decriminalizing or even legalizing the drugs in some form, citing his son's experience using ayahuasca to process grief from the death of his mother, Mary Kennedy. Stocks in companies working on psychedelic treatments rose after Mr. Kennedy's confirmation as health secretary.
Play Video
Pause
Skip Backward
Skip Forward
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
0:00
Loaded
:
0%
0:00
Stream Type
LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
1x
Playback Rate
Chapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off
, selected
Captions
captions settings
, opens captions settings dialog
captions off
, selected
Audio Track
default
, selected
Picture-in-Picture
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text
Color
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Text Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Transparent
Caption Area Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Opaque
Font Size
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
300%
400%
Text Edge Style
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop shadow
Font Family
Proportional Sans-Serif
Monospace Sans-Serif
Proportional Serif
Monospace Serif
Casual
Script
Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values
Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Play War Thunder now for free
War Thunder
Play Now
Undo
The
Food and Drug Administration
turned down Lykos's application for MDMA therapy in 2024, citing the need for better data. But the pro-psychedelic lobby is hopeful that Mr. Kennedy's
Health and Human Services
will appoint a psychedelic czar and trim the red tape in the F.D.A.'s approval process for psychedelic treatments. Some are dreaming even bigger, aiming for the rapid legalization of these drugs.
For some psychonauts, the rightward shift of psychedelic politics is bewildering. Even if the federal government decides to support psychedelic medicine, will there be enough people working at Health and Human Services or Veterans Affairs (where there is hope to use psychedelics to treat post-traumatic stress disorder) to roll it out safely and effectively? Too close a marriage between
MAGA
and the psychedelic movement could politicize psychedelic science. Mr. Musk's erratic behavior has given ketamine a bad name.
Live Events
I worry that the psychedelic enthusiasts of Silicon Valley will apply their "move fast and break things" philosophy to mind-altering drugs, approving them too quickly and without adequate protections for Americans. Psychedelics are very promising as a mental health treatment, but they are also incredibly powerful drugs that carry serious risks -- something I know firsthand.
Discover the stories of your interest
Blockchain
5 Stories
Cyber-safety
7 Stories
Fintech
9 Stories
E-comm
9 Stories
ML
8 Stories
Edtech
6 Stories
When I was 18, I had a bad trip with LSD that left me traumatized. All through university and for a couple of years afterward, I struggled with panic attacks, dissociation, social anxiety and a belief that I had ruined my life before it had properly begun. I had to figure out for myself how to get better. More than 25 years later, as the head of a nonprofit that researches psychedelic safety, I get emails every week from people terrified they've permanently damaged themselves after a negative trip. A hardened Marine who served in two wars and was injured in one said the years of crippling anxiety after a psychedelic retreat were easily the worst suffering of his life.
The United States has already seen the risks of the underregulated expansion of psychedelics in the ketamine industry, which has boomed from around 50 clinics to over 1,000 in the past decade. Telehealth companies use targeted ads to promise miraculous benefits from injectable doses that they will deliver to your door. Many of them fail to adequately screen patients or ensure that they have mental health support. Last year the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration at the time warned of clinics overprescribing or illegally supplying the drug -- a pattern that she said played a role in the actor Matthew Perry's tragic death.
It's about to get harder to track the public health impact of the ketamine boom. Mr. Kennedy fired the 17-person team working on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in April, which previously reported an 80 percent rise in recreational use of ketamine from 2015 to 2019. Some research suggests long-term ketamine use can lead to cognitive problems, bladder problems, dependency and dissociation; you might even start thinking you're in a simulation, as Mr. Musk suggests.
Many members of the millionaire and billionaire class have found meaning, healing and joy in psychedelics, and they want to bring that to the masses. (Take any of the big American dynasties -- the Gettys, Rockefellers, Mellons, Kochs, Hearsts -- and you'll probably find a member who has given money to psychedelic causes.) They may dismiss concerns about safety as sensationalism or drug war propaganda, but their resources provide them access to months of therapy and time off work to recover after a bad trip. Most Americans don't have that luxury.
A better public safety net for psychedelics is achievable. We need more research and better information on harms, as well as clinics and groups to help people struggling with severe adverse effects. These drugs should follow the same careful approval process as any other treatment. Policymakers should take seriously the probability that F.D.A. approval of psychedelics will lead to more widespread consumption in unregulated settings, which is why safety measures must consider all the ways these drugs may be used. The public needs to know that psychedelics aren't magic pills. They don't automatically heal you.
Psychedelics could play a leading role in mental health care. But if approval is rushed without necessary guardrails in place, there will be a backlash, and these drugs will be relegated to the fringes of alternative health. That would be a tragic missed opportunity for patients.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
More than 450 people arrested since Trump's Washington, DC, crackdown began
More than 450 arrests have been made since US President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, DC, and activated National Guard troops to assist local law enforcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. In a post on X, Bondi said 52 arrests were made Monday night alone, including an alleged MS-13 gang member, and nine guns were recovered. At the direction of @POTUS, our nation's capital is a SAFER place—and we are just getting started. 52 arrests were made last night, including an MS-13 gang member, and 9 firearms were taken off the streets. Since our mission began, there have been a total of 465 arrests, 68… — Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 19, 2025 FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau was responsible for 21 of the arrests Monday night along with several gun recoveries and drug seizures. The administration has also begun clearing homeless encampments across the city, citing public safety concerns. In recent days, armoured vehicles have been stationed near monuments and tourist landmarks, while drivers have been subjected to stops along a busy nightlife strip. Police helicopters from the National Park Service have also patrolled the skies. Officials say a total of 800 troops are expected to be deployed in Washington, along with 500 federal law enforcement agents, including the FBI. Since assuming office, Trump has also sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles to suppress protests sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation raids. Trump has sought to portray Washington, DC, as overrun with violent crime, even though crime levels are at a 30-year low following a surge in 2023, The Guardian reported. He has claimed, without evidence, that the data is being manipulated and that crime rates are actually worse. Democrats in Congress introduced a joint resolution last week condemning what they called 'egregious attacks on DC home rule.' The city also won a modest legal victory when the White House agreed to keep the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under the authority of Chief Pamela Smith.
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump, Zelenskyy & Team Europe: White House talks had the right atmospherics. But a solution to the Ukraine War remains complicated
Talks between Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House have been on the whole positive. Compared to the fiasco in February where the Trump-Zelenskyy meet had devolved into a nasty shouting match, the atmosphere this time was much more friendly. Zelenskyy and Trump appeared to show a united front and there was very important solidarity from European leaders. Coming after the Trump-Putin Alaska summit, this was certainly reassuring. However, there is still some distance to go for a possible solution to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump completely changed his tune after meeting Putin. Before the meet he had said that he would push for a ceasefire and was ready to use crippling sanctions in case Putin did not agree. After Alaska, he aligned his view with Putin's and said he was now in favour of a peace deal instead of a ceasefire. Plus, he has talked about land swaps between Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict, despite Zelenskyy making it clear that Ukraine's Constitution simply doesn't allow this. Also, why should Ukraine, the victim in this war whose territory has been invaded and captured, be made to agree to the demands of the aggressor? That's like forcing the victim of abuse to accept the abuser. Second, this is not just about Ukraine's security. Europe's security is also at stake. If Russia is rewarded for its aggression and actually given land for peace, what is to prevent Moscow from launching another invasion against Ukraine few years down the road? Zelenskyy is absolutely right that Russia used occupied Crimea and parts of Donbas it captured in 2014 as a launchpad for the full-scale invasion in 2022. If Russia is given the whole swath from Donbas to Crimea, it will have a huge militarised fort in the heart of Europe to launch future military operations. Of course, nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. They have endured unimaginable suffering. They have lost and sacrificed their best and brightest in this war. Their cities and towns have been relentlessly bombed – they were even bombed while Zelenskyy was meeting Trump. They face daily missile and drone attacks. Ukrainian children have lost a part of their childhood. Russia kidnapped 20,000 Ukrainian children who need to be returned. Hundreds and thousands of kilometres of Ukrainian territory have been mined. The land destroyed. So yes, Ukrainians want the war to stop. But not at the cost of giving up additional Ukrainian land or accepting a temporary pause in the conflict without real security guarantees. Thankfully, security guarantees featured prominently in the White House talks between Trump, Zelenskyy and the European leaders. The bottomline is Ukraine needs to ensure that Russia will never, ever think of launching another invasion. And there are two ways to do this. Either put boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a multilateral force or give Ukraine the weapons it needs to beat back the Russians. Again positively, Trump indicated that he would be willing to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine. But the details of this are unclear. Third, we need to get the focus back on ceasefire. Russia is using a clever tactic by keeping the war going while appearing to engage in negotiations. The last time this tactic was used was in Afghanistan by the Taliban who refused to stop fighting even during negotiations. We know what happened after that – the US-backed Afghan government collapsed. This can't be allowed to repeat in Ukraine. It's welcome that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz highlighted the ceasefire point forcefully in the Trump meeting. In fact, the ceasefire should be a limit test for Putin's real intentions. If he doesn't agree, that means he has little desire to stop the conflict until he achieves what he wants – total capitulation of Ukraine. His bluff must be called. Also, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni did well to point out that Putin was made to consider negotiations because of the bravery of the Ukrainians on the battlefield who have held the Russian invaders back. In fact, since November 2022, Russia has only managed to occupy just 1% of Ukrainian territory. Taken together, it's good that the White House meet had the right atmospherics and mood. But much work remains to get over the finishing line. Bilateral and trilateral summits are being planned between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin, perhaps within the next two weeks. Zelenskyy is ready. But it's not yet clear if Putin is willing to meet him. The ball is now in Moscow's court. How it plays it should make it amply clear about its real intentions. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Hindu
21 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Trump says U.S. air support possible for Ukraine security guarantee
President Donald Trump said Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that U.S. air support and European ground troops could be part of security guarantees for Ukraine, warning of a "rough" situation if talks between Moscow and Kyiv fail. "When it comes to security, they're willing to put people on the ground," he told Fox News, referring to European allies whom he met in the White House on Monday. "We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air, because no one has the kind of stuff we have, really, they don't," Mr. Trump said. He added his "assurance" that no US ground troops would deploy to Ukraine, and he categorically ruled out Ukraine joining the Western military alliance NATO. Post-war security is a key concern for Kyiv after more than three years of Russian invasion. Moscow has long said it will not tolerate Ukraine joining NATO and has been hostile to the idea of Western troops deploying to the former Soviet territory. Mr. Trump said that "France and Germany, a couple of them, UK -- they want to have boots on the ground." "I don't think it's going to be a problem, to be honest with you. I think, I think Putin is tired of" the war, he added. Mr. Trump said that following his talks Monday with European leaders he is pushing to organize a bilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- followed by another where he will join. "I called President Putin, and we're trying to work out a meeting with President Zelensky. We'll see what happens there," he said. "If that works out, if it works out, then I'll go to the trilat and close it up." Saying it was possible Mr. Putin would back out, Mr. Trump said "I hope President Putin's going to be good and if not, it's going to be a rough situation." Mr. Zelenskyy "has to show some flexibility also." In addition to the question of guaranteeing Ukraine's future security, the other key sticking point in ending the war is the status of the huge swaths of land occupied by Russia. Mr. Trump said Ukraine has to accept it will not get its lost territories back -- including the eastern Donbas region -- but in return will get peace. "I assume you've all seen the map. You know, a big chunk of territory is taken and that territory has been taken. Now they're talking about Donbas, but Donbas right now, as you know, is 79 percent owned and controlled by Russia," Mr. Trump said. The US leader said Ukraine was not powerful enough to change the situation. "This was a war and Russia is a powerful military nation, you know. Whether people like it or not, it's a powerful nation. It's a much bigger nation," he said. "You don't take, you don't take on a nation that's 10 times your size." "Everybody can play cute and this and that, but, you know, Ukraine is going to get their life back," Mr. Trump said about a peace deal involving Ukraine surrendering land. "They're going to stop having people killed all over the place and they're going to get a lot of land."
