PSYCHEDELICS, TECHNOLOGY & ELON MUSK’S PIG

A look at how the application of technology to the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy industry could have profound implications, and also the commonality with Elon Musk’s pig and the emerging computer-brain interface industry.

For those following the subject, the use of Psychedelic compounds to enhance the work of Psychotherapists to treat patients suffering from mental health disorders has enormous potential. This is a familiar narrative that can be traced back to the 1960s when LSD (a potent psychedelic) was widely regarded by the medical community as an effective treatment for alcohol addiction.

Unfortunately, for therapists and patients alike, the politically driven classification of LSD and other psychedelics as Schedule 1 drugs by the U.S government in the early 1960s ended all hopes of clinical use within psychotherapy for decades.

But now, not only are we witnessing the re-introduction of Psychedelics into the regulated mental health treatment ecosystem, but the addition of another psychotherapy-enhancing tool that could transform the accessibility and long-term effectiveness of these treatments. Technology.

Recent advancements in software and medical hardware have resulted in a set of psychotherapy tools that were simply not available in the 1960s. The combination of technology and psychedelics, to enhance the effectiveness of psychotherapy, is not only intriguing but potentially life-changing for millions of patients.

The technology community has always had an affiliation with psychedelic compounds — from LSD’s early introduction to Silicon Valley to enhance the creativity of engineers, to the more recent micro-dosing practices advocated by several high-profile entrepreneurs and developers.

There are now signs of a commercial movement to create the most effective technology products with resources being gathered to push these developments forward. Industry pioneers are now building software as medical devices or ‘Digital Therapeutics’ to work alongside their psychedelic and psychotherapy treatments.

WHAT ARE DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS?

Digital Therapeutics have been commonplace in the life sciences and biotech industry for several years now. The official definition…