Psychedelic therapies for stressed workers are becoming increasingly important in companies
According to one report, American companies are increasingly offering psychedelic therapies as a workplace benefit for employees seeking alternative treatments for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
Enthea, a startup providing third-party administration services for health insurance plans, said Fast Company that it has registered around 50 companies to begin offering this perk to its workers.
One of these companies, Dr. Bonner’s, which makes natural soap, provided around 7% of its 320 employees with access to alternative therapies through the use of ketamine, a tranquilizer with hallucinogenic properties typically prescribed by veterinarians.
An anonymous survey found that of the 7% who were treated with ketamine, a whopping 86% experienced an improvement in their post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, while 67% reported a reduction in depressive disorder symptoms.
About 65% of survey participants said they saw a reduction in symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.
The adoption of psychedelic drugs for medical and therapeutic purposes has gained momentum in the tech industry in recent years.
Earlier this year, X owner Elon Musk admitted to using microdoses of ketamine to treat depression.
Witnesses told The Wall Street Journal they saw Musk use the popular club drug Special K at parties.
Musk’s good friend and fellow tech mogul, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has also reportedly ingested magic mushrooms, also known as psilocybin.
Studies conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and other institutions have shown that patients diagnosed with depression and other mental disorders reported improvements in their symptoms.
Clinical studies have also shown that psychedelics are just as effective – if not more effective – than traditional medications for treating depression and anxiety.
A series of studies by Johns Hopkins University’s Psychedelics Research Department found that magic mushroom-assisted therapy can reduce symptoms of depression for up to a year and be effective in individuals where other treatments have failed.
The promising results have prompted lawmakers in several states to push for the decriminalization of magic mushrooms, or at least their legalization for medicinal use.
States across the political spectrum, including Arizona, Hawaii and Oklahoma, are debating legislation this year to allow research into the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin.
States such as California, Connecticut, New York, Utah and Washington are currently considering legislation to legalize therapeutic use or establish pilot programs.
In Virginia this year, two magic mushroom-related bills failed in the politically divided General Assembly.
With post wires
