History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Ido Hartogsohn
9 citations
As psychedelics move from Indigenous and underground settings into corporate, for-profit contexts, their meaning and effects change. The term 'corporadelic' describes the appropriation of psychedelics by corporations and their integration into corporate environments. Building on the concept of cultural set and setting, this commentary argues that placing psychedelic medicine within neoliberal consumerism may undermine its efficacy and transformational potential.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Keith Williams, Suzanne Brant
7 citations
Indigenous gift logic offers an alternative to the commercial extraction of sacred plant medicines in the global capitalist economy. Unlike barter or monetary systems, gift economies involve giving without expectation of future reward, underpinning a relational epistemology that treats plants and fungi as beings with agency rather than commodities. The article suggests reorienting the psychedelic resurgence toward relational ontologies indexed to place and informed by Indigenous gift logic.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Patrick Elf, Amy Isham, Dario Leoni
6 citations
Commercialization of psychedelics, now attracting private sector interest after decades of research hiatus, may reshape their use, goals, and effectiveness. Drawing parallels with the earlier commercialization of mindfulness—which shares spiritual origins and self-transcendent qualities—the article identifies three tensions: separating practices from their spiritual roots, co-optation to reinforce neoliberal principles, and cost-cutting alterations to administration. These tensions arise when well-being practices are implemented in consumer capitalist societies, suggesting that commercialized psychedelics risk similar distortions as seen with mindfulness.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Shahin Shams, Amanda Rose Pratt, Sisi Li et al.
4 citations
The resurgence of mainstream psychedelic research has led to capitalist interest in patenting to exclude competitors, with some exploiting the process to monopolize well-established knowledge through overly broad claims. Historical psychedelic prior art—evidence that something claimed is already known—is critical for preventing such patents, but because some prior art exists in nontraditional forms, patent examiners may miss it, resulting in erroneously granted patents. Organizations and activists introduce historical prior art directly to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, while the online library Porta Sophia curates archival prior art for examiners and innovators. Ensuring an equitable landscape is essential for research and protecting vulnerable communities with cultural ties to psychedelics.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Brian P. Pace, Neşe Devenot
2 citations
The medicalization and commercialization of psychedelics benefit from creating a clear separation between their current project and the controversial history of underground psychedelic use and culture. This strategy serves at least two functions: by discarding countercultural associations, psychedelic medicine can gain legitimacy and distance itself from past stigma.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
October 1, 2023
Matthew J. Baggott
2 citations
In 1967, a synthetic psychedelic drug nicknamed STP escaped from Dow Chemical's archives and caused a public health crisis in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Young hip doctors, underground chemists, and users each interpreted the drug differently, but only the doctors were recognized as experts by media reports. This article combines contemporary media accounts, pharmacology, and first-person narratives to examine how STP came to be understood as dangerous. The episode serves as a case study in how knowledge about new unsanctioned psychoactive substances is formed and which sources are acknowledged or overlooked, offering timely lessons as psychedelics regain attention.
History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals
January 1, 2022
Sara V. Press
1 citation
The patenting of the ayahuasca strain 'Da Vine' by Loren Miller in 1986 was later challenged by Indigenous peoples of Ecuador, who argued the plant was not novel due to its long traditional use. The US Patent and Trademark Office initially revoked the patent in 1999 after finding evidence of the strain in US botanical museums before Miller's application, but Miller's appeal reinstated the patent for its remaining life. This case illustrates how international patent law perpetuates colonial power dynamics by ignoring Indigenous knowledge and practices, legitimizing the appropriation of sacred plants.