There’s a connection between CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia and the corner of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. In a minute, I’ll explain why this improbable connection could represent “the next big thing” for investors. First, a spy story.

In 1943, a scientist at drug giant Sandoz dosed himself with an experimental substance that gave him remarkable mind-bending sensations. The U.S. government learned of these experiments and procured a supply of the new drug for federal research. After World War II, this powerful hallucinogenic substance was studied by the CIA as a potential “mind control” weapon to fight the Cold War.

The substance? Lysergic acid diethylamide, otherwise known as LSD. Although still illegal, LSD is experiencing a surge of investor interest that shows no signs of letting up.

The CIA conducted LSD experiments on hundreds of human beings (often without their knowledge or consent) during the 1950s and 1960s in a program called MK-ULTRA.

The covert CIA program was rife with abuses. Some individuals who were deliberately given massive overdoses either died or suffered permanent psychic scars. The program eventually was discontinued, without the CIA ever achieving its goal of finding a drug that could render humans into obedient automatons.

The great irony? The CIA inadvertently popularized LSD and in so doing, revolutionized civilian society. People who safely took LSD under the auspices of MK-ULTRA went on to become enthusiastic advocates of the drug. Their evangelizing for LSD kick-started the psychedelic counter-culture of the 1960s.

Notably, LSD was used in the early 1960s by beat author Ken Kesey (author of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) as part of his participation in MK-ULTRA and then later with a group of San Francisco-based friends that included rock musicians such as The Grateful Dead.

So yes, there’s a line from former CIA Director Allen Dulles to LSD advocate Timothy Leary. And that line is leading to your local pharmacy counter.

Some conspiracy theorists argue that the late Timothy Leary was a CIA undercover agent whose mission was to subvert political radicalism by turning kids to drugs. I find that theory to be a stretch. Regardless, LSD is here to stay.

LSD, the subject of Cold War spy craft and counterculture lore, is poised to become a mainstream consumer product.

From Woodstock to Rite Aid…

In a recent survey, the influential medical journal The Lancet found that LSD (when taken properly) is among the safest recreational drugs (see chart).

A recent study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence reports that LSD use in the U.S. increased 56% between 2015 and 2018, including a huge 223% increase among individuals aged 35 to 49. These are the most recently available empirical numbers; rough estimates from other sources suggest that the percentages have gotten even higher from 2018 to 2024. Welcome to the Psychedelic Renaissance.

Known colloquially as acid, LSD remains illegal at the federal level. However, it’s currently undergoing above-board research by federal authorities that’s nothing like the previously nefarious efforts of the CIA.

The heads of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health recently evaluated the status of research into psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD and attested to the therapeutic potential of these federally prohibited controlled substances.

Johns Hopkins University has been performing studies on psilocybin and LSD and their effects on a wide variety of mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

In November 2019, the FDA gave psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms, its second “breakthrough therapy” designation. The designation fast-tracks the development and review of drugs. An increasing number of neuro-pharmaceutical companies are operating clinical drug trials of psychedelic treatments.

Denver, Colorado in May 2019 became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin fungi, aka magic mushrooms. The historic legal change triggered a seismic shift from cost-to-coast and gave birth to an exciting investment theme.

The cities of Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, decriminalized psilocybin in June 2019 and January 2020, respectively. Washington, DC did the same in November 2020, as did Somerville, Massachusetts, in January 2021, and then the neighboring Cambridge and Northampton in February 2021 and March 2021, respectively. Seattle, Washington, in October 2021 became the largest U.S. city to do so; Detroit, Michigan, followed suit in November 2021.

Oregon voters passed a 2020 ballot measure making it the first state to both decriminalize psilocybin and also legalize its supervised use. Colorado followed with a similar measure in 2022.

As with LSD, the use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the U.S. is illegal under federal law.

However, several states and localities throughout the country are currently considering initiatives that would lift legal restrictions on magic mushrooms, as well as psychedelics such as LSD. The November 2024 elections will be pivotal on many levels, including the legal status of psychedelics.

A report from the federal Creating Options for Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission (COVER) recommends expanding research into the potential of marijuana and psychedelics such as LSD to treat military veterans with PTSD and other maladies.

The commission issued this recommendation: The VA Department should “engage with other federal agencies, as appropriate, to research the potential short- and long-term risks, as well as benefits, of medical cannabis and psychedelic drugs.”

It all adds up to enormous momentum for companies involved in marijuana and psychedelics. Biotechnology firms to develop medical treatments from psychedelic drugs are increasingly going public, with the potential for huge investor gains.

Cannabis already is Big Business and as such, the major pot players are likely to co-opt the psychedelics movement through internal investments and mergers and acquisitions. I’m keeping an eye on the accelerating movement to bring LSD into the mainstream.

Crypto’s new bull market has started…

I regularly write about the opportunities in cannabis and psychedelics. But I also want to emphasize the big profits that await you in crypto.

If you think crypto is too dangerous an investment, think again.

Read This Story: Cannabis and Crypto: The “Disruptive Duo”

If you’re worried you can’t figure out crypto…don’t be.

Our in-house crypto expert, Alex Benfield, will make it easy for you. He’ll walk you through everything, step by step.

Get in on the crypto action…now. To learn more about Alex’s new trading service, Crypto Trend Investor, click here.

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John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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