‘We spark curiosity’: how the psychedelics industry is taking on Davos

theguardian.com:

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland – where the financial and political elite gather to more or less decide the fate of the world – looked a little different this year.

For the first time since the cold war, Russia was blacklisted from the event, its typically lavish party house replaced with a gruesome multimedia exhibit on the promenade titled Russian War Crimes. Due to Covid concerns – which has kept the event out of commission for the last two years – the forum was held in the spring instead of the typical January, so world leaders were cheated out of their ski breaks in the Swiss Alps.

And to the surprise of many, psychedelic drugs were one of the hottest topics of discussion on the streets of Davos.

Like the Russian War Crimes exhibit, the Psychedelic House of Davos was one of several satellite events happening in conjunction with the World Economic Forum (though not directly associated with it). As with every year, each building along the promenade of downtown Davos hosted different countries – including India, Poland and Ukraine – businesses such as the Wall Street Journal, and industries like blockchain and cryptocurrency, which put on weeklong parties with speakers, panelists and networking mixers, all designed to seduce world leaders into supporting their agenda.

“We spark curiosity with the neon sign out front,” said Maria Velcova, one of the organizers of Psychedelic House of Davos. “Once people get curious and brave enough to come down here, they realize that this isn’t some underground electronic dance party. They find themselves meeting world-renowned scientists, clinicians, policymakers, people from for-profit and non-profit sectors, and experts from leading academic institutions.”

While