Psychedelics such as magic mushrooms, ketamine and LSD are becoming more mainstream, even as they remain illegal in most countries. Tech executives like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Google co-founder Sergey Brin have advocated for certain mind-altering substances. Many in Silicon Valley claim psychedelics can help boost productivity and creativity.

Medical research has shown their potential to help treat mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. This increased awareness has led to rising demand for psychedelic retreats, particularly in Jamaica — one of a few countries that has not outlawed the consumption of psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Among them is MycoMeditations, which offers psilocybin-assisted group therapy retreats in Jamaica. Justin Townsend, its CEO, sat down with fDi to discuss the development of the psychedelic industry in Jamaica and elsewhere.

Q: How has MycoMeditations changed since you came on board in 2017?

A: Myco has been around since 2014. It was the Wild West back then: there weren’t any therapists on the retreat and it was more of a recreational focus. Since I took over as CEO, we’ve created this Western contemporary therapeutic model and are much more professional. We looked at protocols from Johns Hopkins University in the US and Imperial College in the UK on MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD, and shaped our group therapy model from that. 

Today we predominantly treat mental health. Most of our team members are licensed therapists, clinical social workers or, in some cases, associate psychologists and psychologists. 

Q: Have psychedelics and psilocybin retreats gained wider appeal in recent years?

A: Absolutely. We’ve seen unbelievable growth and are booked out months in advance. When Michael Pollan wrote the book, How to Change Your Mind, there was a big shift in the public domain around psychedelics — that was a massive help. As we look at how this rolls out into the future, we’re seeing a massive shortage of trained and experienced clinicians. 

My prediction is that we will initially see more patients going to their doctors to request psychedelics, but they will be told no. In the coming years, doctors will be under pressure to provide psychedelics, as will insurance companies. 

Q: What is your assessment of the development of the psychedelic industry?

A: One of the problems will be affordability and scale, so group-assisted therapy will be the main model for psychedelic retreats moving forward. 

In the psychedelic biopharma space, we’re out of the ‘hype’ phase and into the ‘criticism’ phase. There’s been a lot of consolidation in the last few months. We’ve seen a lot of ketamine clinics fold. We saw an organisation called Field Trip Health, which raised almost $100m, collapse in March 2023. Synthesis was a well-known retreat centre out of the Netherlands with US headquarters that also folded.

Myco is not venture-capital funded. All of our growth is from our own operating capital and we’re growing organically. 

Q: Can Jamaica become a world leader in the psychedelic industry?

A: Jamaica’s country brand is very health- and wellness-focused. It remains one of the few places in the world where psilocybin is not illegal, and has learned well from previous experience. They came to cannabis late and then they overregulated it. It’s about achieving the right amount of standardisation. Ultimately, we want to see regulations that allow the industry to thrive and don’t become too much of a burden for cultivation, retail and retreats.

Q: What does the psychedelic industry need to grow?

A: We’re going to expand into the US and Europe, so I take a more holistic global view. Until the US Food and Drug Administration approves these compounds, the banking system will not touch psychedelic businesses. There are questions over where all the revenue from psilocybin or psilocybin-adjacent services are going to be banked. 

There’s a lot of vying for who should be the gatekeeper. At one end of the spectrum, there is the medical model for psychedelic-assisted therapy. At the other end, you have the more liberal shamanic model and then in between are the wellness-type approaches. If the US restricts the models of how we operate too much, efficacy is going to go down. 

In the psychedelic industry, there is a tension between capitalism and well-meaning therapists. There’s got to be a sense of a readjustment on both sides to really make the most of this.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.