Psychedelics, like many new technologies, have exposed the world as a resource to be exploited, with humans as the exploitable entities, while neglecting the prevention of issues afflicting them. Experts use the term reification to describe the process by which a specific power structure seems inherent and unalterable, perhaps even unnoticed, in daily life. Reification can lead to fatalism, silencing critical questions about who benefits from our problems. In healthcare, reification manifests as medicalization, focusing on fixing issues without addressing their causes. This approach examines individuals biologically, ignoring the systemic conditions affecting them, analogous to supplying diabetes medication in a supermarket full of sugary foods instead of tackling the root causes.
Experts use the term reification to describe the process by which a specific power structure seems inherent and unalterable, perhaps even unnoticed, in daily life. Reification can lead to fatalism, silencing critical questions about who benefits from our problems.
Medicalizing mental health does not work if one aims to tackle the underlying causes of population-level increases in mental and emotional distress. But it works very well if one's trying to come up with a solution others in power agree with, like psychedelics.
This ongoing work explores the potential dangers and challenges related to the re-medicalization of psychedelics and the commercialization of their transcendent experiences, overlooking the initial afflictions. It promises to expand into topics like epistemic injustices, health equity and access, oppression and colonial modernity, psychological safety in the workplace, and corporate governance and ethics.
