Shroom Boom Bust

Psychedelics: Meds, Magical Thinking, or Modern-Day Divination?

In 2018, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) declared psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound derived from certain mushrooms (often called “magic mushrooms”), a “Breakthrough Therapy.” The designation effectively “fast tracks” the drug through the process of development and review, and investors are calling psychedelics the “miracle drugs of the 21st century,” on a par with penicillin, “the miracle drug of the 20th century.” It’s a milestone reflecting either the advance or decline of medicine, depending on your perspective.

“Psychedelic” is a catchall term for a host of psychoactive substances that alter consciousness or cause...