The psychedelic renaissance: a case of outlaw user innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

The current resurgence of psychedelic research relies on data and know-how originally generated by drug user communities, who documented toxicity, dosage, and other practical information during decades when public research was prohibited. As legalization approaches, this community-generated knowledge is being transferred to pharmaceutical companies, patented, and turned into billion-dollar assets. This transfer depends on reframing psychedelics as therapeutic rather than recreational. The phenomenon offers a critical lens for examining the concept of 'user innovation' more broadly.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Psychedelic substances are undergoing a renaissance. As they have been out-of-bounds for public research for half a century, the development process has been driven by drug user communities. With the prospect of a legalization of psychedelics, the data collected by users about toxicity, dosage, etc. have been turned into billion-dollar assets. Know-how stemming from stigmatized user communities is being transferred to companies and put under the protection of patent law. This transfer of information is predicated on psychedelics being reframed as therapeutic. The psychedelic renaissance provides an entry point for reflecting in a more critical vein about ‘user innovation’.