The Future of Psilocybin and Cannabis Policy and Legislation
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances. While psilocybin research is still in its early stages, the results are extremely encouraging. However, uncertainty increases while considering the complications of psilocybin policy and legislation. That said, PCM Pro Cannabis Media invited CEO of Quantum 9, Michael Mayes and the Executive Director of the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation, Sarah Chase to discuss the future of psilocybin and cannabis.
Psilocybin vs. Cannabis
In the podcast, The Upside of Plant Medicine – Psilocybin vs. Cannabis, Mayes examines the benefits of plant medicine and forecasts the future of psilocybin and cannabis. To start, host, Josh Kincaid explains how many experts fear that psychedelics will follow the same path as cannabis. Here, he calls it “making the rich, richer.”
Mayes mentions how “making the revenue model move faster is the precipice of having a viable company and viable product”. Moreover, the long-term strategy of psilocybin is intellectual property. These implications include how to position a product as FDA approved and establishing psilocybin to be the go-to therapy when other therapies don’t work.
Related to this, the panel discusses the infamous cannabis story of Charlotte’s Web. Mayes states that it only takes one great story to really change the perception of psychedelics. Aside from the public perception of psychedelic therapies, the big question is what would psychedelic policy look like in the coming years? Kincaid asks Mayes if regulations will essentially be a carbon copy of cannabis into the psychedelic world. Mayes explains that the early cannabis industry borrowed a lot of regulations from the security industry from casinos. Therefore, it’s very likely to have a lot of psilocybin and cannabis policy overlap with seed-to-sale tracking, inventory tracking, and so on.
The Future of Psilocybin
To illustrate, Mayes explains how Oregon set the stage for the future of psilocybin and the facilitator model. Mayes then introduces the concept of compound pharmacists. He emphasizes the need of a clinician from “start to finish so that the adverse cycle doesn’t start”. Aside from this, the main concern remains the same. Mayes reiterates the importance of changing “public perception in a positive way while allowing these therapies to mature in a responsible setting with responsible operators.”
In sum, the panel considers the potential of pharmaceutical companies acquiring new psychedelic and cannabis businesses. In short, Mayes questions, “what’s more important, helping people or money?”. With this, Mayes believes that the people in the helms of those ships in new psilocybin markets, won’t sell out.
Psilocybin and Cannabis Business Consulting at Quantum 9
All in all, a great deal of psilocybin research continues to change the way the medical community views psychedelic-assisted therapy. It’s likely that we will see an increase in the number of clinical trials testing psilocybin’s efficacy for various health conditions. While the future of psilocybin research is still unfolding, it holds tremendous potential to improve the lives of millions of people.
Looking for psilocybin business consulting or license application services? Contact Quantum 9.
