EXCLUSIVE: Human Connection Is Essential Element For Healing With Psychedelics

“We are not going to be walking into a dispensary and buying DMT or ayahuasca any time soon,” said Simeon Schnapper, managing partner JLS FUND at Benzinga Psychedelics Capital Conference Thursday in Miami Beach, Florida.

Comparing the cannabis and psychedelics industries, Schnapper contends they're very different. “I kind of bucket cannabis in, at least from a capital perspective, as consumer goods play and psychedelics into very medicalized, and everything related to mental health,” he told Bryan Passman, head hunter at Hunter + Esquire.

Missing The Boat On Cannabis

Natalie Ginsberg, global impact officer at the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), agreed. She said the psychedelics industry is progressing in a very different way than cannabis as it is moving forward state by state on the medical level. She stressed the importance of not forgetting that many people require access to cannabis outside of the medical framework, not having medical insurance, for example.

Najla Guthrie, CEO of Wellbeing Digital Sciences highlighted the importance of evidence data. “I think we missed the boat on cannabis because there are lots of medical uses that could have been explored that haven't been.” 

People are self-medicating with marijuana because it is available. They can walk into a dispensary and buy a product that they read somewhere was good for their condition, she explained.

“We can’t do that in psychedelics, and we shouldn’t do that,” Guthrie said, stressing that we need to make sure that policy is evidence-based and data-driven, the best way to make psychedelics safe, effective and available to those who need them most.

“This is beyond one company. This is too important a mission for us as an industry and we need to do it right,” Guthrie said.

Two Sides And The Need For Human Connection

Cody Shandraw, managing partner at Ambria Capital said there are going to be two classes – the infrastructure side like clinics and retreats and the drug development side.

“It's very capital intensive and results are going to vary for each of these indications and molecules, she said.”The safe play in my mind would probably be the clinical infrastructure, but then I also think it's important to talk about outside of the medical setting.” Considering that people have been using these things for thousands of years, there will be space for the retreat site.

On the subject of tech innovations, Ginsberg explained that some people are looking to eliminate therapeutic support from human beings, seeking to replace it with technology. This, she says, raises some concerns.

“The therapeutic relationship is such a key part of the healing, not only during the psychedelic experience but also preparing for it, and integrating it afterward,” Ginsberg said. “And so often, people who are struggling with mental health are struggling with connection to other people and community. So, I do have some fears about what that looks like to say actually - ‘no it's cheaper to get rid of paying a person, let's just give you a computer to do therapy....”

While Ginsebrg recognized the idea behind making help less expansive and more accessible, she urges mindfulness and appreciation of a person’s role as a therapist, which is not easily replaced. “Let's not forget the human connection,” she concluded. 

Photo by Kelsey Wilkerson