7 ms·

As soon as I can I will invest all my money in companies productizing therapeutic psychedelics...

abyssin 8y ago
Not sure there's much money to be made there, as many of the psychedelic compounds are both cheap to produce and unpatented.
- temp129838 8y ago
  Look at Ketamine...just make some trivial change with no impact to the active part of the chemical and you can patent it.
  - wbrasky 8y ago
    Why on earth would someone use an expensive, patent-encumbered drug when there's regular Ketamine that can do the same thing?
    - temp129838 8y ago
      It's the racket of big pharma. Ketamine isn't approved for the treatment of depression but Johnson & Johnson's patented Esketamine is. If you want to go the legal route that is your only option. Depending on how much your insurance plan covers you, as a patient, might only pay a fixed copay with your insurance covering the rest, so you might not actually "feel" the $7k price tag at all. The real scam that has played out over the last few decades though is that as employer insurance costs rise wage growth has slowed. We've all been paying for rising insurance costs even if we don't necessarily feel it.
      - EamonnMR 8y ago
        It's really a form of regulatory capture and goes way beyond drugs into medical devices, IT systems, etc. The "approved" thing is often a more expensive, less complete/reliable/modern version of something people who aren't subject to regulation can get off the shelf. You can think of it sort of like if car dealerships managed to get a law passed that said you can only service your car at the dealership, and then 10x'd their prices.
    - drewmol 8y ago
      Because the penalties for unauthorized possession in the US range from (up to) 6 months to 8 years with fines up to $25,000 varying by state and the only way to acquire it in an authorized manor restricts it's prescribed usage to a narrow scope of conditions, the treatment of depression not included.
50656E6973 8y ago
It's sure to be a money loser compared to other addictive psychiatric drugs which are taken daily as a maintenance to the problem. Drugs like DMT should only be taken once in a blue moon, are not addictive, and are extremely cheap to produce.
- ddorian43 8y ago
  Which psychiatric drug is addictive ?
  - 50656E6973 8y ago
    Xanax is one. Many anti depressants can have severe withdrawal effects as well, though I suppose that is more indicative of dependency rather than addiction.
    - ddorian43 8y ago
      Yes, but xanax is only used short term I think. Withdrawal isn't the same as addicting, no ?
      - goldmouth 8y ago
        Wrong again, Xanax is prescribed for years at a time. Many people go decades taking a few mg of Xanax a day.
        DanBC 8y ago
        In the US. In eg the UK it's somewhat difficult to get xanax, but similar meds should only be used short term. https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/alprazolam.html https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/alprazolam.html > Avoid prolonged use (and abrupt withdrawal thereafter); debilitated patients (reduce dose) (in adults); elderly (reduce dose) (in adults); history of alcohol dependence or abuse; history of drug dependence or abuse; myasthenia gravis; personality disorder (within the fearful group—dependent, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive) may increase risk of dependence; respiratory disease https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs53/chapter/Quality-statement-3-Pharmacological-treatment https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs53/chapter/Quality-statem... > NICE guidance provides recommendations on pharmacological therapies for anxiety disorders. Benzodiazepines are associated with tolerance and dependence, and antipsychotics are associated with a number of adverse effects. Therefore they should not be used routinely to treat anxiety disorders. > Healthcare professionals should be aware of circumstances in which benzodiazepines and antipsychotics may be appropriate, such as short-term care and anxiety disorder crises. Here's a website showing that alprazolam is not prescribed in the community: https://openprescribing.net/analyse/#org=CCG&numIds=0401020A0&denom=nothing&selectedTab=summary https://openprescribing.net/analyse/#org=CCG&numIds=0401020A...
natalyarostova 8y ago
Only to promptly lose it when it's blanket-banned because a 15 year old got his hands on some, and then committed suicide in the midst of a paranoid hallucination. (fwiw I think it should be legal too)

Not sure there's much money to be made there, as many of the psychedelic compounds are both cheap to produce and unpatented.

temp129838 8y ago
Look at Ketamine...just make some trivial change with no impact to the active part of the chemical and you can patent it.
- wbrasky 8y ago
  Why on earth would someone use an expensive, patent-encumbered drug when there's regular Ketamine that can do the same thing?
  - temp129838 8y ago
    It's the racket of big pharma. Ketamine isn't approved for the treatment of depression but Johnson & Johnson's patented Esketamine is. If you want to go the legal route that is your only option. Depending on how much your insurance plan covers you, as a patient, might only pay a fixed copay with your insurance covering the rest, so you might not actually "feel" the $7k price tag at all. The real scam that has played out over the last few decades though is that as employer insurance costs rise wage growth has slowed. We've all been paying for rising insurance costs even if we don't necessarily feel it.
    - EamonnMR 8y ago
      It's really a form of regulatory capture and goes way beyond drugs into medical devices, IT systems, etc. The "approved" thing is often a more expensive, less complete/reliable/modern version of something people who aren't subject to regulation can get off the shelf. You can think of it sort of like if car dealerships managed to get a law passed that said you can only service your car at the dealership, and then 10x'd their prices.
  - drewmol 8y ago
    Because the penalties for unauthorized possession in the US range from (up to) 6 months to 8 years with fines up to $25,000 varying by state and the only way to acquire it in an authorized manor restricts it's prescribed usage to a narrow scope of conditions, the treatment of depression not included.

50656E6973 8y ago

It's sure to be a money loser compared to other addictive psychiatric drugs which are taken daily as a maintenance to the problem. Drugs like DMT should only be taken once in a blue moon, are not addictive, and are extremely cheap to produce.

ddorian43 8y ago
Which psychiatric drug is addictive ?
- 50656E6973 8y ago
  Xanax is one. Many anti depressants can have severe withdrawal effects as well, though I suppose that is more indicative of dependency rather than addiction.
  - ddorian43 8y ago
    Yes, but xanax is only used short term I think. Withdrawal isn't the same as addicting, no ?
    - goldmouth 8y ago
      Wrong again, Xanax is prescribed for years at a time. Many people go decades taking a few mg of Xanax a day.
      - DanBC 8y ago
        In the US. In eg the UK it's somewhat difficult to get xanax, but similar meds should only be used short term. https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/alprazolam.html https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/alprazolam.html > Avoid prolonged use (and abrupt withdrawal thereafter); debilitated patients (reduce dose) (in adults); elderly (reduce dose) (in adults); history of alcohol dependence or abuse; history of drug dependence or abuse; myasthenia gravis; personality disorder (within the fearful group—dependent, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive) may increase risk of dependence; respiratory disease https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs53/chapter/Quality-statement-3-Pharmacological-treatment https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs53/chapter/Quality-statem... > NICE guidance provides recommendations on pharmacological therapies for anxiety disorders. Benzodiazepines are associated with tolerance and dependence, and antipsychotics are associated with a number of adverse effects. Therefore they should not be used routinely to treat anxiety disorders. > Healthcare professionals should be aware of circumstances in which benzodiazepines and antipsychotics may be appropriate, such as short-term care and anxiety disorder crises. Here's a website showing that alprazolam is not prescribed in the community: https://openprescribing.net/analyse/#org=CCG&numIds=0401020A0&denom=nothing&selectedTab=summary https://openprescribing.net/analyse/#org=CCG&numIds=0401020A...

natalyarostova 8y ago

Only to promptly lose it when it's blanket-banned because a 15 year old got his hands on some, and then committed suicide in the midst of a paranoid hallucination. (fwiw I think it should be legal too)