It is no secret that psychedelics are gaining popularity in today’s culture – a new wave, if you will. For proof of this, look no further than cities like Denver, Oakland, and Santa Cruz. All three have recently decriminalized Psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms). From the perspective of those pushing for nationwide decriminalization, this is huge. If you still need proof that psychedelics are the future, look no further than the Canadian Stock Exchange (aka the Canadian Securities Exchange).
The Canadian Securities Exchange is the same place that a vast majority of U.S. cannabis companies list themselves on. They do this because they can’t list on the U.S. Stock Exchange since cannabis is still federally illegal. That said, sources say that numerous ‘listings from psychedelic drug companies in 2020’ are imminent. As recently reported by Bloomberg:
“The FDA has “given clearance for a variety of trials at this point and it looks like they are going to be expanding that framework,” said Richard Carleton, CEO of the Canadian Securities Exchange. “If that is the case then I’m certain we’ll see our first issuers probably before the middle of the year.”
Private Investors
Apart from the stock exchange, the psychedelic industry has garnered interest from various private groups, who are looking to invest millions into said industry. This past week, it was revealed that Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. “closed a Series A financing round that raised $8.5 million from a variety of investors.” Some of these investors included “cannabis-focused asset manager Silver Spike Capital and Harris Fricker, the former CEO of GMP Capital Inc.,”
This last part is crucial, as Silver Spike & Harris Fricker have actually helped multiple marijuana companies go public. The funding round managed to attract interest from all parts of the globe, including “some very large Silicon Valley tech investors and entrepreneurs.”
It should be noted that Field Trip Psychedelics Inc.:
“…is building a network of clinics focused on ketamine-enhanced psychotherapy, with the first one opening in Toronto next month and others planned for New York City and Los Angeles. It’s also conducting research into psilocybin at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.”
Psychedelic Progress
It’s important to note that all of the work that psychedelic companies are undertaking is actually legal. This is unlike the situation with the still-illegal cannabis. In the United States, the Federal Drug Administration has approved a great majority of Psychedelic trials, giving said companies much more breathing room than those of the Cannabis industry.
Due to the legality of all this, investors who might be unwilling to dump cash into cannabis may be more willing to invest in psychedelic companies. When asked about the future of the psychedelic industry, JR Rahn of Mind Medicine Inc. explained:
“I think that the psychedelics industry could be much bigger than the cannabis industry because it’s going to attract institutional capital and already is starting to,” Rahn said. “It’s also going to be a more concentrated space because the barriers to entry are much higher.”
JR Rahn, Mind Medicine Inc.’s co-founder and co-chief executive officer.
Regardless of whatever side you stand when it comes to medicinal marijuana and the use of psychedelics, there is one positive takeaway we can all agree upon: progress. It will definitely be interesting to see what the future holds.
H/T – Bloomberg