Why Kevin O’Leary is betting on psychedelics – Wealth Professional

He thinks the risk is worthwhile, though, because of MindMeds innovations like the non-hallucinogenic drug candidate 18-MC. 18-MC is based on a psychedelic substance called ibogane and has been shown in preclinical research to help curb addiction.

OLeary insists that despite a cultural conflation between psychedelic drugs and cannabis, he is investing in MindMed because theyre not following the model set out by cannabis companies. He cited the initial hype around cannabis as deeply flawed given its continued status as a schedule 1 narcotic at the federal level in the U.S. MindMed, conversely, is subjecting all its products to FDA approval. Theyll be sold as pharmaceutical drugs, subject to extreme controls but with an existing path to wide market reach.

At the time of cannabis legalization in Canada, OLeary warned against investing in the sector.

Theres also no focus, OLeary says, on MindMed as a producer of recreational drugs. OLeary is optimistic that if drugs like 18-MC prove effective in curbing opioid addiction, the ongoing crisis will make for fast-tracked FDA approval.

Though OLeary doesnt endorse the practice, he noted the growing anecdotal popularity of microdosing, taking miniscule amounts of a psychedelic drug like LSD, as a means of improving focus and productivity, especially in the tech and engineering sectors. He thinks that a focus-aid derived from psychedelics could pay off big for the company that develops it and gets it approved.

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Why Kevin O'Leary is betting on psychedelics - Wealth Professional