A groundbreaking work of narrative journalism exposing the race to profit off the psychedelic revolution, and the immense power of the mental health industry.
When investigative journalist Olivia Goldhill started reporting on psychedelics a decade ago, the science suggested these criminalized drugs would transform the mental health industry. Studies showed that psychedelics could alleviate depression and trauma and were set to be the first new mental health treatment in a generation. But as she kept reporting, she discovered their promise was under threat. A battle was brewing-a fight not just for control of psychedelics, but for the very meaning of the drugs. Hippies and scientists believed tripping was the gateway to a more holistic approach to mental health, built around therapy and community support. But billionaire-backed entrepreneurs also saw an opportunity and worked to quash these efforts with cutthroat pharmaceutical tactics, churning out pills for profit. Meanwhile, activists in Oregon had a radical plan to create their own version of psychedelic therapy, entirely outside of the medical sphere. In Empire of the Mind, Goldhill dives into the world of corporate behemoths, nonprofits, and community activists, each fighting for the future of these potentially transformative-and lucrative-psychedelic drugs. With gripping on-the-ground reporting, she sounds an urgent alarm about how one of the last vestiges of counterculture could end up tamed into a capitalist product.