Cannabis Industry Starts Talking Mushrooms

The cannabis industry is still fledgling. Much growth still exists for it ahead, with lots of money for cannabusinesses and marijuana delivery companies to make. Innovators are noticing the “shroom boom.” Some are ready to capitalize on its abundant potential. The psychedelic industry is in even newer throes, but already research firms are putting its market value over $10 billion in just five years. 

For investors, psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms,” represents investment opportunities in the hundreds of billions of dollars. More importantly, the U.S. National Library of Medicine has been studying the efficacy of using psychedelics to treat mental disorders, and it has been doing so since the 1940s already. 

Big Future for Mushrooms

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental problems are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year alone, numbers almost doubled from earlier years. There are now more people in the United States suffering severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts than ever before. People are losing loved ones and scientists are looking for solutions. 

Over the last decade, marijuana has become acceptable. Its use is now mainstream in California. Weed does not have the negative stigma it once had anymore. People are using it successfully to treat mental worries and now studies are reevaluating the use of psychedelics for its potential role in relieving mental disorders. These markets share similarities. They prove advantageous to each other too. 

For cannabusinesses considering entering the psychedelic space, here are some dos and don’ts:

Psychedelics Can Diversify a Cannabusiness Portfolio

For weed companies, venturing into psychedelics can be a very good idea. Some businesses are already doing it; some are funding clinical research into psychedelic therapies. Because mushrooms, ultimately psilocybin, and other psychedelics too, are natural, many see expansion into this market as a natural part of business. People already search “weed delivery El Segundo” on the daily. Mushrooms are next. 

Unshakeable Belief in Psychedelic Science

Back in the 1960s, the U.S. government halted all use and study of psychedelics. It feared that its use, especially widespread, would demotivate the workforce. However, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a new wave of psychedelic research, most notably because of rising mental health woes. Many feel that psychedelics can offer a new paradigm for treating mental health. Companies are involving themselves.

Traditional anxiolytics and antidepressants are inadequate to resolve these mounting worries. They provide little relief, and any relief one does get proves very fleeting. In fact, some argue that pharmaceuticals only numb the patient and mask the underlying cause of these illnesses. While some drugs might make you feel better, most are very addictive and never fix the actual problem. 

If the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approves psychedelic drugs, or when it does, rather, the move would generate astonishing revenue. Clinical trials take years, however. It might be early days yet for magic mushrooms and the psychedelic market, but those companies that emerge the winners will likely be those with money, patentable products, and a precise reimbursement strategy. 

Get Active in Psychedelic Advocacy

Cannabis legalization is a huge milestone. It certainly helps to pave the way for faster and greater acceptance by society of psychedelics, but it is still a way from becoming mainstream. In California, only Santa Cruz and Oakland have relaxed mushroom laws, and while decriminalization of psychedelics is spreading, much progress is still very necessary before we will see it legalized. It needs active advocates.

Cannabis Success Is Not Psychedelic Success

Many similarities exist in the cannabis and psychedelic markets. Both classify as Schedule 1 drugs, which makes them illegal federally, dismissed as having no use medicinally. Fortunately, federal legalization of cannabis seems likely. It is likely that psychedelics might follow soon after, what with cannabis legal already in over 34 states and still counting. Psychedelics are sure to follow a similar path too. 

However, having said that, investors and cannapreneurs alike should pay special attention to what psychedelic studies and companies are planning. Know what they are doing, and where they intend taking the psychedelic market, and the industry as a whole, in the future. Currently, safety and efficacy studies are well underway. The next generation of psychiatrists is also learning the value of psilocybin. 

With cannabis, biotech companies focused on acquiring approval at state level. With psychedelics, they are instead looking for approval by the FDA to use them pharmaceutically. Medically. Even if states and the federal government decriminalize or legalize magic mushrooms, biotech firms will likely suggest using these drugs in a professional and clinical setting only, under the supervision of medical staff. 

For companies innovating in this field, the goal is not to push for recreational use nationwide. Rather, the goal is to push for use under supervised medical care. The “shroom boom” does not threaten the weed industry. Instead, it offers yet another opportunity for businesses and investors already in the cannabis sector to expand into new markets. 

Weed Delivery Hollywood 

It is certain that psychedelics, once laws relax, will meet the same legislative and regulatory challenges faced by the medical weed community not so long ago. Like marijuana delivery and all other aspects of this industry, mushrooms will have to meet extremely high standards. Fortunately, uncertainty always brings with it plenty of opportunity. The future holds much anticipation.