VIDEO: This Is Your Brain on Money

Welcome to my latest video presentation. In a hurry? You can read the transcript below, which I’ve edited for the sake of concision. My video contains additional details and charts, for a deeper dive.

Psychedelics have gone from hippie roots to corporate suits. Once associated with the counterculture and stigmatized as dangerous, psychedelic substances are undergoing a renaissance and they’re a major investment story in 2024 and beyond.

Before I get started with today’s video presentation, I want to point out a fact that probably never occurred to you: Money is a psychedelic, too.

When binding to the brain’s reward pathway, natural opioids in the mind release a key neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Dopamine signals your neurons to create a pleasurable feeling or “high.”

You can trigger this mind-bending phenomenon, of course, by ingesting drugs. But certain natural activities can repeat this process in the reward pathway, such as eating food, having sex, exercising…and making money. That’s why you get a thrill deep in your brain from seeing your portfolio post gains, a stock holding soar, or your 401(k) climb higher.

It’s all part of the opioid-dopamine loop that creates euphoria. I’m just as addicted to the joy of making money as you are, so let’s get our “fix.”

A “Trip” Around the Legislative Landscape

The latest legalization efforts tell a powerful story about the money-making potential of psychedelics.

The legal journey of marijuana informs the future for psychedelics. As a class, psychedelic drugs were banned on the federal level in the U.S. by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The same ban applies to marijuana. But that hasn’t stopped states from lifting restrictions on both marijuana and psychedelics.

I’ve written extensively about marijuana legalization. In this video and accompanying article, I focus on psychedelics. Cannabis and psychedelics are two sides of the same coin, with many companies making simultaneous forays into both sectors.

In 2019, Denver, Colorado, became the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms.

The cities of Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, decriminalized psilocybin in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Washington, DC, followed suit in 2020, as did Somerville, Massachusetts, in 2021, and then the neighboring Cambridge and Northampton in 2021.

Seattle, Washington, became the largest U.S. city to take this action in 2021, followed that year by Detroit, Michigan.

Oregon voters passed a 2020 ballot measure making it the first state to both decriminalize psilocybin and also legalize its supervised use. Colorado followed in 2022, when it legalized hallucinogenic mushrooms and three other psychedelics. Colorado is currently laying the groundwork to open licensed-use facilities by the end of 2024.

Various proposals to legalize certain psychedelics on a state-wide basis are pending this year in Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin. That’s an impressive roster of states.

All these bills are popular with voters in the respective states, and most are expected to pass. Investors are taking notice.

Market analysts project significant growth in the psychedelic drugs market, as the following chart shows:

For investors looking to capitalize on this emerging industry, several avenues exist. One option is to invest directly in pharmaceutical companies that are developing psychedelic-based medicines. These companies, often referred to as “psychedelic biotechs,” are conducting clinical trials and seeking regulatory approval for psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Another approach is to invest in ancillary businesses that support the psychedelic ecosystem, such as mental health clinics, retreat centers, or technology companies developing digital therapeutics platforms.

Additionally, some investors are exploring opportunities in psychedelic-focused venture capital funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to a diversified portfolio of companies operating in the psychedelic space.

Where can you find the best investment advice in the burgeoning psychedelics industry? Consider my premium trading service, Marijuana Profit Alert (MPA).

MPA can help you make money from the investment bonanza in marijuana, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, and other psychotropic drugs.

Some of my portfolio holdings are showing gains of more than 100%, 200%, and even 1,000% since recommendation.

I’m recommending one psilocybin-focused biotech stock that’s projected by Wall Street analysts to appreciate in price by 315% over the next 12 months. Intrigued? Click here to learn more.

John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

To subscribe to John’s video channel, click this icon:

This article previously appeared on Investing Daily.