"Months before Antonio Gracias took a leading role in the department of government efficiency's dismantling of the federal government, he was at Burning Man. In the dusty Nevada desert, Gracias, a billionaire private equity investor and one of Elon Musk's closest friends, attended Nova Heaven, a sunrise rave tribute to victims of the Hamas-led 7 October terrorist attack, and found himself dancing next to Rick Doblin the US's most prominent advocate for psychedelic drugs."
"Although his usual billionaire-casual attire would look more at home on Shark Tank than at a rave, he is part of a growing movement among Silicon Valley's right wing that has become enamored with the potential both therapeutic and commercial of consciousness-altering drugs. Earlier that year, the pharmaceutical arm of Maps, a for-profit public benefit corporation called Lykos Therapeutics, had raised $100m as it awaited a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision on whether to allow MDMA for psychotherapy treatment of PTSD."
Antonio Gracias attended Burning Man and spoke with Rick Doblin while showing interest in psychedelics. Rick Doblin founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps) and has pursued legalization of MDMA for trauma treatment. Gracias donated $1m to Maps in 2020 and $16m to fund psychedelics research at Harvard in 2023. Maps' pharmaceutical arm, Lykos Therapeutics, raised $100m while awaiting an FDA decision on MDMA for psychotherapy for PTSD. FDA approval could grant Lykos exclusive US therapeutic sales rights for six years and potentially create a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical enterprise.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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