The New Psychedelic Right
This week’s Sunday Insider: Why the government's embrace of Psychedelics may be both progress & a trap.
First, this is not a political piece. I have very little interest in discussing politics for a simple reason, which I wrote about recently in a Note:
The reason I don’t delve into politics is simple: to a hammer, everything is a nail. There’s no way to absorb the volume of political content required to write about it without it coloring your thinking. Once it becomes a recurring thought, it becomes part of your life.
I don’t want that…I don’t want it to be part of the lens through which I experience this world.
And let me get ahead of the popular phrase: “You might not care about politics, but politics cares about you.” The implication is that having a daily opinion, usually shaped by whichever news source you consume, or writing the 400th think piece about something Trump said, is somehow a meaningful contribution. It isn’t.
I’d rather spend my energy making my corner of the world a little better. I tip aggressively, give people specific compliments, support causes I care about & try to leave people better than I found them.
That said, the Trump administration’s recent prioritization of Psychedelic research is worth paying attention to. And I have a few thoughts.
The Government Picking Winners Is a Bad Idea
Look no further than ketamine. A dissociative with a high risk profile was anointed the face of Psychedelic therapy & ketamine clinics started opening like Starbucks in the ‘90s.
The problem? Safer, more beneficial substances like Psilocybin & MDMA remain illegal or inaccessible for many.
Now the government is signaling that Ibogaine is acceptable, at least within the context it approves. So how many people will end up using a highly potent, cardiotoxic substance when a safer, still-illegal alternative would have been a better fit?
We like to believe we’re highly agentic, but most people follow the permissions placed in front of them. They did it with ketamine…they do it with alcohol. And I suspect many will eventually find themselves working with Ibogaine not because it’s the best option for them, but because it’s the option the system decided they were allowed to have.
Mental Health is a Trojan Horse. But It Could Be a Dangerous One.
The modern Psychedelic movement hitched itself to mental health because it was the most politically viable path forward.
Helping veterans with PTSD? Hard to oppose.
Reducing depression? Compelling.
Treating addiction? Worth exploring.
Preventing suicide? Even harder to argue against.
As a strategy, it worked. Psychedelics went from counterculture taboo to serious medical discussion in record time. The problem is that once a substance is legalized through a medical framework, that framework becomes the gatekeeper.
Suddenly, the conversation is no longer about whether adults should have sovereignty over their own consciousness. It becomes a debate about diagnoses, approved conditions, treatment protocols, insurance reimbursement & which experts get to decide who qualifies.
That’s where things become dangerous.
Because many people aren’t interested in Psychedelics due to depression, PTSD, or addiction. They’re interested in them for the same reasons humans have sought altered states throughout history:
curiosity
spirituality
self-exploration
creativity
beauty
wonder
community
the desire to experience reality differently
Mental health may be the Trojan Horse that gets Psychedelics through the gate. But if we’re not careful, it could also become the cage that keeps them there.
