Expanding Access to Mind Expansion

Companies offer guided drug trips on jungle retreats, at city clinics, and in your living room

- Tiffany Kary

Even as interest in psychedelics grows, the lack of formal scientific data on the drugs—and the fact that they’re illegal in most of the world— means businesses entering the market typically seek to create prescription medications for specific ailments. But a handful of companies are trying to sell mind-expanding substances to customers ranging from corporate executives to their blue-collar employees.

These upstarts are focusing on jurisdictions where drugs such as psilocybin and ketamine are legal, betting they’ll be able to expand when more places decriminalize or legalize popular substances like ayahuasca and MDMA. Oregon, for example, will introduce licensed therapeutic use of psilocybin next year, and several cities have decriminalized plant-based drugs used for spiritual or religious purposes.

The offerings from the companies include sumptuous retreats, visits today clinics, and even in-home experiences monitored remotely. But the thing they all share is a belief that the treatments will be popular in a world where countless mental issues go undiagnosed. “A lot of the people coming have done well in their lives, but a lot of times it’s been at the expense of their well-being,” says Neil Markey, chief executive officer of Beckley Retreats. The company charges up to $9,900 for an 11-week program of group video calls, self-reflection exercises, and instruction, the highlight of which is a five-day stay at a resort where participants take psilocybin.