The Psychedelic Morning Brief
💰 Musk’s Inner Circle Is Betting Big on Psychedelics
Synopsis: 2 longtime Elon Musk allies & SpaceX directors, Antonio Gracias & Steve Jurvetson, are putting millions behind efforts to move Psychedelics into mainstream medicine. Gracias’s family foundation reportedly invested $25 million to rescue the company formerly known as Lykos Therapeutics, while Jurvetson has funded Psychedelic research.
My take: Psychedelics entering the mainstream was always going to require serious capital, and serious capital comes with people many in this community won’t like. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If the science is good & the treatments work, I care far more about whether millions of people gain access than whether the investors pass someone’s ideological purity test.
🇳🇿 New Zealand Approves MDMA for Severe PTSD
Synopsis: New Zealand has authorized 2 psychiatrists to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade MDMA to adults with severe PTSD, becoming the second country after Australia to permit its clinical use for PTSD.
My take: Australia’s rollout was plagued by problems (only ~200 people have received treatment). Hopefully NZ can learn from their mistakes.
🍄 Psilocybin Shows Promise for Anxiety
Synopsis: A new review in Neuropsychopharmacology argues that Psilocybin is emerging as a potentially distinct treatment for anxiety. The authors point to converging preclinical, neuroimaging & clinical evidence, including trials in patients with life-threatening cancer where a single high-dose session produced substantial and sustained reductions in anxiety.
My take: This is where Psychedelic research needs to remain disciplined. “Promising” & “proven” are not synonyms. The early anxiety data are compelling, but much of the strongest evidence comes from people facing life-threatening illness.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-026-02551-7?utm_source=chatgpt.com
