Stay sharp with our email newsletter. Psychedelics have been used by humans for thousands of years, but a social stigma developed toward them in the 1960s due to popular recreational use. Decades later, psychedelics are re-entering the mainstream as a potential breakthrough for hard-to-treat mental health conditions, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

In May 2019, The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a psychedelic ketamine-derived substance for therapeutic settings, raising the possibility of a market for ketamine and similar substances commonly known as ecstasy, magic mushrooms, and LSD or acid. Since then, the nascent industry—still mostly in the research stage—has garnered significant investor interest, some of whom are anticipating a cannabis-like boom.