MAPS Bulletin 2021: Vol. 31, No. 2
As the psychedelics space continues its faster-than-light expansion, controversies have exploded over the types of patents being filed and the roles they may play (e.g., Gerber et al., 2021; Leite, 2021; Love, 2021). Are patents fundamentally at odds with a psychedelic ethos, or can they find a healthy role in the ecosystem?
As Rick Doblin explains, “psychedelics are tools; they’re not good or bad in and of themselves. It’s how they are used. It’s the relationship you have with them” (Doblin, 2020). The same can be said of patents. Patents can be tools of profit maximization, resource extraction, and bitter competition. Or they can be tools of outcome optimization, resource allocation, and careful cooperation. While generally wielded as the former, we have the opportunity to reimagine our relationship with them—and choose to use them as tools to facilitate and support ethical ways of doing business. Our choice will shape how the psychedelics ecosystem develops, with potentially profound economic, social, and cultural implications.
