Finding Nuance in the Psychedelic Hype Bubble
Some scientists argue we’re living through a psychedelic hype bubble, but are the claims of ground-breaking cure-alls starting to fade?
If you listen to psychedelic advocates there’s practically no mood disorder that psychedelics can’t cure. We’ve heard that psychedelics will “ revolutionize mental health” and bring new treatments for anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, eating disorders, traumatic brain injury, prolonged grief, autism, ADHD, and more.
We’re told that psilocybin mushrooms will be a “ magic bullet” for depression, and yet the largest psilocybin for depression study to date did not show a significant difference in efficacy between psilocybin and escitalopram (a leading antidepressant). We’re told that microdosing mushrooms will improve our mood and productivity, yet multiple studies to date indicate that perceived benefits from sub-threshold doses of psychedelics are indistinguishable from a placebo.
So far there have been no magic bullets and no mental health revolutions, just endless amounts of media hype. But is the psychedelic hype train coming to an end?
The Shroom Boom and the Hype Bubble
In July of this year, Bloomberg published an article stating that the market value for psychedelic drugs is set to more than double by 2028…
