Jason Silva At Benzinga's Global Small Cap Conference: Cannabis, Psychedelics Are Driving 'Mental Health Revolution'

The world is struggling with an “epidemic of mental health, depression, anxiety,” Jason Silva said Thursday at Benzinga’s Global Small Cap Conference. 

The filmmaker and former host of the National Geographic series "Brain Games" and "Origins" cited World Health Organization data that determined 800,000 people commit suicide each year.

Silva gave the keynote speech Thursday at the two-day virtual Benzinga conference. 

To combat this health crisis, Silva highlighted what he dubbed “a very important revolution happening — a mental health revolution being catalyzed by cannabis and, increasingly, by psychedelics. We're seeing a world where we have a whole new capacity to intervene to perform a kind of open-heart surgery of the psyche.”

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Emerging Mental Health Treatments: Silva also cited observations by Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, the head of the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, and Dr. Roland Griffiths, director of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in championing the use of cannabis and psychedelics in the treatment of psychotherapy patients.

He also mentioned Timothy Leary, the psychologist who pioneered the advocacy of psychedelic drugs during the 1960s and who theorized the use of these medical therapies would unleash an “inner freedom” for patients seeking help.

The Investment Angle: Investors have a growth opportunity iin cannabis and psychedelics, that could result in a vibrant financial and wellness payoff, Silva said. 

“We must jump on board now,” Silva said. “We must bring the capital, we must bring the investment, we must bring a willingness to change the game of how we treat mental health.”

(Contributed photo of Jason Silva.)