All language subtitles for Last.Week.Tonight.with.John.Oliver.S10E01.February.19.2023.Psychedelic.Assisted.Therapy.1080p.HMAX.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track4_[eng]

Welcome, welcome, welcome to
"Last Week Tonight."

I'm John Oliver, thank you so much for
joining us. We are back!

After three long months and what has
been one very busy week,

especially for Fox News, a network
whose very name is a lie,

in that it provides neither news nor,
indeed, foxes.

Now, you may remember, they're being
sued by Dominion Voting Systems,

the company at the center of Trump's
election conspiracy theories-

theories which were repeatedly
amplified by hosts on Fox.

And in a legal filing made public
this week,

we got a glimpse at Fox's internal
communications during that time.

Privately, top anchors and executives
mocked trump's lies,

calling them "ludicrous," "really crazy
stuff," and "totally off the rails."

Even as those same hosts went on the
air arguing completely otherwise.

All right, these election challenges
are still going on

and disturbing irregularities
have been found

and must be investigated
to the fullest.

Wow. If I were a Fox viewer,
I'd feel pretty betrayed by that.

This is like finding out that Big Bird
regularly texts Elmo, "Fuck them kids."

And Elmo agrees.

This filing shows the extent to which
Fox hosts

did not believe the shit that
they were selling.

Which is completely fine if you work
for QVC and have to fill an hour

on why a bejeweled Squatty Potty
will change your life,

but it's a bit more concerning when
you pretend to be the news.

But perhaps the most fascinating thing
is how terrified major Fox figures were

of losing their audience to more
conspiracy-friendly networks

like Newsmax, with Tucker Carlson
at one point saying,

"An alternative like Newsmax could be
devastating to us."

They seemed to understand that
acknowledging Biden had won

was alienating their viewers.
Sean Hannity wrote to a producer,

after the network called the election
for Biden,

"Respecting this audience
whether we agree or not is critical.

Fox has spent the month spitting
at them,"

to which the producer replied, "Right,

our best minutes from last week were on
the voting irregularities."

Which-remember-they all knew were
bullshit.

And look, on one hand,
I kind of get it.

We also face pressure to maintain
our audience.

It's just we do it the old-fashioned
way, by having integrity, self-respect,

and the blind fortune of airing
right after hit,

prestige dramas that people actually
want to watch. It's not difficult.

But multiple Fox hosts seemed to see
telling the truth

as a potentially existential threat.

After Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich
fact-checked a Trump tweet about

votes being destroyed, Tucker Carlson
texting his colleagues,

"Please get her fired, seriously,
what the F?

It's measurably hurting the company.
The stock price is down."

Look, as egregious as that is,
it does definitely track,

as the list of fireable offenses at
Fox News seems to be,

"Making stock price go down or being
a sexual monster for decades,

parentheses, but only if people outside
the company find out about it."

But instead of going deeper into that
sewer,

we're going to turn
to the continuing fallout

from the train derailment
in East Palestine, Ohio.

As you probably know, two weeks ago,

a Norfolk Southern freight train
went off the rails,

releasing large amounts of hazardous
chemicals.

And the situation continues to be
troubling.

Tonight, outrage growing

less than two weeks after that massive
train derailment

and the controlled
burn of hazardous chemicals

sent up a toxic plume of black smoke
in East Palestine, Ohio.

Residents demanding answers complaining
of burning eyes, nausea, headaches

and a pungent odor,
and reporting dead animals.

Officials confirming 3,500 fish killed
by the chemicals.

Don't tell me it's safe.

Something's going on if the fish are
floating in the creek.

Right. That frustration makes sense.
Because unless that train was carrying

a bunch of small, loose, already-dead
fish, that looks bad.

This has been a nightmare for local
residents.

Initially,
many were evacuated,

before a "controlled release" of the
train's contents,

which looked like this.

Then just two days later, they were
told that it was safe to return,

despite the fish cemetery that was now
actively floating downstream,

and initially they were given just
a thousand-dollar check

as an inconvenience fee.
It's frankly no wonder

a meeting on Wednesday night
quickly got contentious.

Outrage poured over at a town hall in
East Palestine last night

as anxious residents grilled state
and local officials.

- Is everybody satisfied with my answer?
- No!

Yeah, of course, they weren't!

And one of the reasons that fire chief
was the one getting yelled at

was because no one from
Norfolk Southern showed up,

with the company later explaining
their absence,

citing the "growing physical threat"
to their employees.

And, you know what,

you certainly would not want them
exposed to that level of toxic anger.

Not without at least giving them a
thousand-dollar check first,

you know, for the inconvenience.

And look, the National Transportation
Safety Board

is conducting an investigation into the
causes of this crash,

so we don't yet have answers on exactly
what went wrong.

That said,

some of the things Norfolk Southern
workers are telling reporters

about that train are pretty worrying.

CBS News has learned that some of the
company's employees

had previously expressed concern over
the excessive size and weight

of the 151-car train,

which was 9,300 feet long and weighed
18,000 tons.

They say it had suffered at least one
breakdown on its route

before it derailed in East Palestine.

That's not great!
And it should say something that

employees were raising concerns about
the 18,000-ton combustible centipede

that the company was operating.

Because that's not something you can
just brush off, like me being told,

"I think you should show your parent
company a little more respect."

I'll do that if you can tell me who the
fuck it actually is right now.

Then I'll give my deadbeat business
daddy

the exact amount of respect
that they deserve.

And troublingly,

this is part of a larger trend of
trains getting longer and heavier,

even as companies have operated with
smaller staffs.

And workers have claimed

that this was widely known as a
difficult train to run.

And that, while its official name was
32N,

it had a nickname
among some rail workers of "32 Nasty."

Which sounds like a bra size that was
on sale at Victoria's Secret

until, like, two years ago.

The thing is, this accident is exposing
much more than just chemicals.

It's exposing some much broader
big issues

in how freight trains
like 32 Nasty are regulated-

one of which even seemed to startle
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

This train apparently

was not considered a high hazardous
material train.

Even though some rail cars did have
hazardous material on board,

and while most of them did not,

that's why it was not categorized as a
high hazardous material train.

Frankly, if this is true-and I'm told
it's true- this is absurd.

Oh, come on, Mike! What're you really
so confused about? Everyone knows,

it's not dangerous if only part of
something can kill you.

That's why Russian roulette is a great
activity for a child's birthday party.

It's the new pin the tail on the
donkey.

Where have you been? They love it!
It's fine. And I will say,

I don't know exactly how to regulate or
classify hazardous materials on trains,

but a key question for me would be,
if it derails,

will authorities have to turn it into
an apocalyptic mushroom cloud

to try and mitigate the damage?

'Cause if the answer's yes,
I don't know,

maybe slap that "hazardous" label on
it, just to be on the safe side.

Another issue that's now being
discussed is

antiquated braking systems,
as on many trains,

each railcar receives the stop signal
one after the other,

instead of all at once,
costing valuable seconds.

And a lot can happen in even small
amounts of time.

For instance, a few minutes ago,

you were excited to see this show come
back, weren't you? Not so much now!

The Obama administration actually took
steps to address this,

issuing a rule in 2015
requiring railroads to use

electronically controlled pneumatic
brakes on especially dangerous trains,

which remember, the East Palestine
train supposedly wasn't.

But train companies lobbied against it,

Congress held it up, and the Trump
administration finally killed it.

And it's not like people weren't
warning us

about the risks of doing that.

Because here is a rail accident
investigator in Ohio at that time.

A controlled pneumatic braking system
could make a big difference

versus what these have now.

There have been fires,
explosions

all caused
because they're using

this ancient,
150-year-old braking system.

It's been available for at least
20 years.

And they don't want to put it in
because it costs money.

Exactly, and that is pretty frustrating

because a train's ability to stop is
kind of important.

It's in the top three things that
trains need to do,

along with go, and teach children their
only value to society is having a job.

And again, we don't know yet exactly
what caused this crash in Ohio.

Maybe classifying that train as
hazardous

and requiring those brakes would've
helped. Maybe not. But in general,

it sure seems like we need to be
tightening things up going forward.

Train worker unions have been warning
us about safety issues for a long time.

And it really feels like we should
maybe start listening more

to the people who actually run
these trains,

rather than just to those who profit
from them.

Because if you ask yourself whether
this is an acceptable way

to run a vital national industry, if I
may quote the people of East Palestine,

the answer should pretty clearly be-

- No!
- Exactly. And now, this.

And Now: Jim Cramer Will Not Shut Up
About His Brioni Suits.

We can talk about that

but I want to talk to you about how
nice you're looking in that suit.

- I don't know who makes that suit.
- That's a Brioni.

- Look at this, it's a nice Brioni.
- You look-you look amazing, by the way.

Well, isn't that what the dollar is
telling you at this point?

Dollar is saying don't be so gloomy, go
to Italy and go buy Brioni suits.

Who wears black shoes
with a olive suit?

It's a-first of all, it's a Brioni
suit, it's worth a lot more than you.

I mean, I'm on the-the back and forth
here with Milan and Brioni.

This is a Super 180 Brioni!
I got this in Milan!

40% off, buy one, get one Brioni!

We both wear Brioni or I don't know if
he wears Brioni.

This, by the way, is a Brioni.

I wear Brioini. Brioni.

They have the Brioini men's super150
two-button notch lapel suit.

David, this is the first time this has
ever happened.

I'm buying with one click on air
right now.

You're not buying a Brioini suit
on Amazon.

- This used to be a $2,100 suit-
- You're not buying it.

They have it for $2,004.
This is a saving of 100.

- Add to cart and then-
- No way, no way.

I just add it to the cart, David.

That's stu-you can't buy a Brioni suit
on Amazon. What's wrong with you?

My god, all right, let's move on.

Moving on. Our main story tonight
concerns drugs-

y'know, the substances that gave us
most music,

seasons one and two of "The West Wing,"

and this spectacular clip of a BBC
reporter getting inadvertently wasted.

Burning behind me is eight and a half
tons of heroin, opium, hashish,

and other narcotics.

Burning behind me...

Quick! Quick, quick, quick!
We just need one more.

Exquisite.

That deserves the Pulitzer Prize for
"Reporter on Most Drugs."

I'm not sure what my favorite part is
there-his little giggle,

the idea that someone thought,
"Let's put a guy downwind from

an eight-and-a-half ton pile
of burning narcotics,"

or the fact that its main effect on him
seems to be

to turn him into a total sweetie pie.

Specifically, we're going to talk about
psychedelics-

a category that includes drugs like
psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA.

And let me first say, I know,
anyone with my face, voice,

and generally off-putting aura
who talks about drugs

is usually warning you about
the devil's lettuce.

But I'm no fucking narc.
In college,

I practically majored in herbology with
a minor in ganja-neering.

They-they called me Sonic the Hedgehog
because I rolled tightly.

Also, I've done blow on tour with
Ozzy Osbourne,

who's also my dad, by the way.
So, I'm in the scene, okay? I get it.

The truth is, lots of people use
psychedelics.

Some for spirituality,
some for healing,

and some, like A$AP Rocky,
just for fun.

The first time he did LSD, it started
to kick in just as he was having sex,

with some surprising consequences.

No lie, a rainbow shot out of my dick.

And it had a sound with it, like-like a
piano or some shit.

I have no idea why there was a rainbow
coming out of my penis.

I don't even like rainbow.

Excellent. Every sentence is better
than the last there.

"A rainbow shot out of my dick"-
fantastic.

"It had a sound with it, like a piano
or some shit"-I love it.

"I have no idea why there was a rainbow
coming-coming out of my penis"-

now, he's introduced suspense
to the story!

"I don't even like rainbows"-
what a way to stick the landing.

Also, I'm pretty sure that A$AP Rocky

just gave Skittles their next
commercial.

"Skittles: taste the dick rainbow."

But tonight,

we're going to focus on one particular
use of psychedelics-in therapy.

It's a field that you may've heard
about recently,

in stories featuring testimonies from
some very satisfied patients.

I had all this access to my mind

and I could control where
I was thinking and going.

It connected me back to my body,
like I could feel my body again.

It made me feel more comfortable
with-with living, you know,

because you're not afraid of dying.

It's like doing therapy while being
hugged by everyone who loves you

in a bathtub full of puppies
licking your face.

Wow. That is a pretty powerful
endorsement.

He makes it sound pretty nice there.

It would sound nicer if a rainbow also
shot out of your dick,

but that's only because A$AP Rocky
has now raised the bar

on what constitutes a pleasant human
experience.

That last guy is a veteran who claims
that psychedelic treatment

not only helped him with PTSD
but saved his life-

and he is not the only vet
who has benefited.

I had three experiences at full dosage,

but the effects after the first
treatment were profound.

I would have said a 60% reduction
in my symptoms immediately.

I felt a-a mighty change had occurred.

60% immediately. It is not often you
see those kinds of results

after your first therapy session.

Especially now that so much of it
happens over Zoom.

Usually, day one is spent for
introductions and trying to figure out

what the fuck that thing behind
yourtherapist's head is.

That can't be what
I think it is, right? It just can't be.

And look, it's not just anecdotal.

A recent clinical trial of
MDMA-assisted therapy found that,

for those suffering from PTSD,
just two months after treatment,

67% no longer qualified for a PTSD
diagnosis.

And that is not even getting into the
promise that psychedelics have shown

in treating conditions like addiction
and depression.

The fact is, all of this is hugely
encouraging.

But it is worth knowing, we've actually
been here before with psychedelics,

and we fucked it up-and if we are not
very careful in the years ahead,

we could go backwards again.

So, tonight, let's talk about
psychedelic therapy-

its history, its potential, and what
the pitfalls ahead might be.

And let's begin by acknowledging a lot
of these medicines,

especially psilocybin, are nothing new
to Indigenous communities,

who've been conducting rituals
involving mushrooms, peyote, ayahuasca,

and other ceremonial medicines, far
longer than western civilization has.

But interest in psychedelics outside of
Indigenous communities

really picked up around the middle of
the last century.

LSD was first synthesized
in a Swiss lab in 1938.

And a banker at J.P. Morgan named
R. Gordon Wasson

popularized magic mushrooms,

after hearing about an Indigenous
Mexican woman named Maria Sabina,

who used them in healing ceremonies,
and tracked her down in 1955.

After several attempts,

he finally convinces Maria Sabina to
let him taste the "magic mushrooms,"

as they came to be called.

He comes back and writes an account of
his adventure

that is published in Life Magazine of
all places.

Now, this is astonishing.
This is 1957 when it comes out,

thousands of words in the biggest
magazine in America.

This article, when it's published,
is a sensation.

It's true. Wasson was basically the
very first white guy who did shrooms

and then made it
his entire personality.

That article started a stampede of
hippies and celebrities

into Maria Sabina's village,
that turned her neighbors against her

to such a point that they burned her
house to the ground.

So, you can add magic mushrooms to the
list of things completely ruined

by finance bros, along with vests,
dating apps, and the middle class.

But it wasn't just bankers and hippies
drawn to the power of these substances.

The U.S. military actually conducted
experiments to see if they could be

dropped on enemy troops
to incapacitate them-

and lucky for us, they filmed those
experiments for posterity.

Here is a group of normal soldiers

responding correctly to a series of
routine drill commands.

After receiving a small dose of LSD,
they're confused and undisciplined.

Yeah, you really got 'em there.

Those soldiers went from
"tightly choreographed parade"

to "tourists trying to decide
where to have lunch,"

and all it took was a tiny bit of
chemical warfare. It's brilliant!

But even as the army was dicking around
trying to invent a literal love-bomb,

some researchers were using LSD
as a mental health treatment.

In 1966, CBS News

followed a man who received LSD as part
of his treatment for alcoholism

and reported on its startling results.

Six months after treatment with LSD,

six months after his release
from the alcoholics' ward

at Spring Grove Hospital,

Arthur King has started over.

At the age of 33,

he has gone back to school, something
he talked about doing for years.

In evening classes,
he's studying accounting.

Have you had anything to drink,
for example?

No, I haven't. Nothing at all.

And I haven't had any desire to drink
anything.

That is incredible,
but also-that guy is 33?

I know that I'm hardly one to talk,

as a legal 45
but a spiritual octogenarian,

but holy shit,

people sure aged a lot worse back when
we painted everything with lead

and let people smoke
in the delivery room.

Unfortunately, by the late 1960s,

psychedelics became increasingly
associated with the counterculture.

And as the government cracked down on
that movement,

they began an era of anti-psychedelic
hysteria. And it was intense.

Junk studies made dubious
but terrifying claims,

like that LSD could warp
your chromosomes,

and education films employed a wide
range of tones, and scare tactics,

like these.

This is a fetus from a mother not
receiving LSD, a normal fetus.

This is a fetus from the mother
receiving LSD.

I know doctors, and I know lawyers,

and I know the most stable people in
the world

that have taken trips on LSD
and are still waiting to return.

Unfortunately, these dreamy,
psychedelic trips

are very often one-way.

Okay, okay.
That is quite the smear campaign,

from the hamster fetus that looks like
dino nuggets,

to the woman screaming at you about all
the doctors and lawyers she knows,

to the hearse that apparently makes
house calls.

And while all of that was nonsense,

I do kind of miss the days when we used
to get dressed up

to watch our drugged-out relatives
get carted off to the morgue.

"Honey, they'll be hauling Jimmy's body
to its final stop before hippie hell,

quick, where's my tie clip?

Helen! Tie clip! The neighbors may see,
they're gonna think we're poor,

get it together, Helen,
and find my tie clip! The boy is dead!"

Tall tales about LSD ran rampant.

At one point, a Pennsylvania state
commissioner claimed

"half a dozen tripping
Pennsylvania college students

stared at the sun so long
that they went completely blind."

But the truth is, he made it up!
He later admitted the hoax,

saying that he'd attended a lecture on
the use of LSD by children

and became so concerned, he wanted to
scare people away from the drug.

But the hysteria hit its absolute peak

when Nixon
passed the Controlled Substances Act,

which "placed LSD and psilocybin

in the most restrictive legal category"
possible, alongside drugs like heroin,

essentially stopping medical research
dead in its tracks.

One researcher described the work
as being put in the "deep freeze."

And when scientists started working
with MDMA,

it, too, got swept up into the panic,
with the journal Science alleging that

just one use can cause permanent
brain damage in monkeys,

a study that got a lot of attention
before being retracted

after it was found that the monkeys
hadn't actually taken MDMA at all,

but instead, had been given meth.

And that is a very different drug!

Any study's result is going to change
if the independent variable

is suddenly, and unexpectedly,
fucking meth.

"We've studied the vaccine for Covid

and the participants are going apeshit
for it!"

But in recent years, perceptions have
finally begun to shift,

with the FDA granting breakthrough
status

to support the study of MDMA
for treating PTSD,

and doing the same
for psilocybin to treat depression.

And at this point,

let's talk about exactly why
psychedelics can be so effective.

Different ones can work in different
ways, but for instance,

research shows that MDMA dampens
the response in the amygdala,

which is the threat-detecting center of
the brain, meaning that

you're able to confront and process
trauma that you can't otherwise face.

Here-here is one researcher explaining
how it works

with a story about taking MDMA
recreationally in his younger days.

I can remember at one time
after a rave,

all of us lying around all loved up and
somebody said,

"Oh, wow, this is amazing. It's so
beautiful. Everything's so perfect."

And someone said, "Let's think of the
worst possible thing we can imagine,"

and someone said, "Let's- let's imagine
our mums dying."

And then someone said,
"It's not that bad."

And

I didn't know it then,
but that really was what MDMA does.

It allows you to think about

and go to those dark, difficult,
forbidden avoidant memories

that you normally wouldn't be able to
touch.

That is fascinating, and I'm so glad
that that worked out for him,

but "let's imagine our mums dying"
doesn't sound like an amazing time.

It sounds like a rave DJ'd
by Werner Herzog.

"Life is fleeting.
Let's imagine our mums dying

as a solemn reminder that all we have
is tonight.

Now, wave your hands in the air as if
our slow passage towards oblivion

makes you just not care."

Now, to be clear,

psychedelic therapy involves much more
than just taking a pill.

These drugs alone don't automatically
produce results.

Usually, treatment entails multiple
sessions lasting most of the day,

in which you may take MDMA or
psilocybin

under the supervision of medical
professionals,

and then follow up with processing
and aftercare.

They are not a replacement for
conventional talk therapy,

they just seem to make you
significantly more receptive to it.

Just watch this former firefighter
narrate video of himself

undergoing MDMA-assisted therapy.

This is your first medicated treatment
session.

Correct.

This is the beginning of some
interesting revelations on this video.

Are you feeling completely conscious
and you're in control and-

Yeah, I felt like I was able to relax

even when I was talking through
probably my most traumatic memories.

I don't think I'd seen a dead person
until then.

First one was gruesome, too.

It was like being able to take
a big breath,

you know, after being stuck underwater
for a long time.

Yeah, and you can see the utility of
having two people

either side of that man,
talking him through the experience.

And if it sounds like I'm treating

"having two people to talk to about
your feelings" like a radical idea,

you do have to remember that I was born
tragically and medically British.

What is interesting is, though,
it is not just that your fear is muted,

your brain's ability to make other
connections

and forge new neural pathways
is also heightened. Meaning that

these sessions can fundamentally alter
the way you process things.

That is thought to be one reason why
psychedelics are so promising

for treating conditions like
addiction and depression.

And why they're proving especially
useful for dealing with trauma.

That is what makes this form of therapy
particularly appealing to veterans,

as PTSD is an urgent issue for them.

In 2019, over 6,000 veterans died
by suicide,

a rate substantially higher than
the general population.

And it's not like the VA's current
treatment methods

are particularly effective.
Remember the guy from earlier,

who compared psychedelic treatment
to a bathtub full of puppies?

Listen to him describe
the mental health care from the VA

that he initially received.

I drove to Womack Army Medical Center
at Fort Bragg,

and I said I was gonna kill myself.

They gave me six Xanax,

told me not to take 'em all at the same
time because it might kill me.

They asked if I had guns at home,
and I said, "Yes, a lot,"

and they said-asked if I had ammo,
I said, "Yeah, plenty."

And they said,
"Okay, when you get home,

give all your guns to a neighbor," this
is like four o'clock in the morning.

And they said,
"Come back after the holidays."

Okay, I knew the VA's mental health
services were subpar,

but I didn't know they stooped to

"here's a bunch of ways to kill
yourself, but honor system, don't.

And anyway, see you after the saddest
time of the year!"

Thankfully, that guy saw such a
profound change from MDMA therapy

that he's now helping to lead a
movement to allow psychedelics

to be used to treat conditions like
PTSD,

enlisting help from democratic
lawmakers like AOC,

and even Republican lawmakers like
Rick Perry and Dan Crenshaw.

And that kind of bipartisan consensus

has brought us to the tipping point
that we're at right now.

Because so far, in the U.S.,

these drugs have only legally been
available to people in clinical trials.

But over the next year,

it is widely anticipated that the FDA
will approve MDMA for clinical use,

with psilocybin expected to follow
a few years later,

and maybe even LSD one day.

Meaning that we may be about to finally
realize

some of the huge potential of
psychedelics, which is great.

But it is worth being very careful at
this point to make sure that

we don't repeat past mistakes, or,
indeed, make new ones.

And those who work in this field point
to a few big areas for caution.

The first concerns how psychedelics are
administered, and by whom.

Because while people have used these
drugs recreationally forever,

and will continue to, at parties,
at raves, in nature,

or to really liven up a baptism,

psychedelic-assisted therapy is not for
everyone. For example,

anyone with a history of schizophrenia
or psychosis may want to steer clear.

And even if you are a good match,

because these drugs can put you
in an incredibly vulnerable state,

experts emphasize the importance of
trying them in a controlled setting,

which ideally would involve two people
present at all times,

and even videotaping the session, like
that one that you just saw earlier.

They advise this not just for your own
safety,

but also because,
for all their potential benefits,

these drugs aren't always a bathtub
full of puppies.

We tell people that their experiences
may vary,

from very positive to,

you know, transcendent and lovely,
to literally hell realm experiences.

Hell realm?

As frightening an experience
as you have ever had in your life.

Now, that does sound bad,

although to be fair, you don't need to
take drugs to get to the hell realm.

After all, that is why airports have
Sbarros.

But it is important to note that

even those in studies who've
reported hell-realm-type experiences

have often still felt that
they'd benefited from the treatment.

But safety is not the only worry here.

There are also concerns over
accessibility.

These treatments are likely to be very
expensive,

and there are some players angling to
make them even more so.

Just look at Compass Pathways,

a for-profit psychedelic company
backed by Peter Thiel.

It sought, and obtained, patents to

protect its formulations of
psychedelic compounds,

which already seems pretty aggressive
for a drug that, remember,

has been around for thousands of years.

And Compass' executives seemed
pretty defensive

when they were pressed about this.

Do you really believe that your form of
psilocybin is novel and non-obvious?

Well, it doesn't really matter
what we believe.

What does matter is what
the U.S. Patent Office believes,

what the U.K. Patent Office believes,
what Germany, what Hong Kong believes.

And all of them believe that actually
it is,

because we have the granted patents.

Okay, but, we shouldn't necessarily
trust the U.S. Patent Office

as an arbiter of good judgment.

This is the same place that issued
patents for an umbrella for your beer,

a tricycle with a lawnmower attached to
it, and a stick.

That's it, just a stick for animals to
play with.

Someone at the patent office saw that
and said,

"We've never seen a stick before!
Approved!"

So, take what they believe
is important with a big pinch of salt.

And look, it's not just
the drug formulation,

Compass has also tried to patent
other aspects of what's often called

the "set and setting" of treatment,

from the room comprising
soft furniture,

or being decorated using muted colors,

to the subjects lying on a bed
or on a couch,

or a therapist responding to things
a patient is saying.

Which is just the entire fucking
concept of therapy.

It'd be like me patenting the concept
of

"wearing a suit while sitting
at a desk."

I'm clearly not the only person
who does this.

Now, if I were to patent the concept of
doing that

while making you wonder why the fuck
your TV is still on

after "The Last of Us" has ended, then
yeah, that would be uniquely my thing.

Now, those "set and setting" patent
applications are still pending,

but the very fact they applied for them
at all is a pretty clear sign of just

how aggressive companies in this space
intend to be going forward.

And it is not like these treatments are
going to be cheap to start with,

experts project a course of psychedelic
therapy

is likely to cost upwards of $15,000.

And given that, as we've discussed
before on this show,

there is currently a massive shortage
of mental-health professionals,

due in part to how fucked-up
our health insurance system is.

You can see how this could quickly
and easily become a big mess,

or only accessible to the wealthiest
Americans.

So, there is a lot to figure out here,

even before you get into questions
like,

"Who will regulate psychedelic
therapy?"

Because the FDA is in charge of drugs,

but it doesn't regulate the practice of
medicine.

Now, state laws could cover it,
state regulatory agencies could,

or professional organizations might,
but someone has to,

because if they don't, people are
likely to get hurt,

which could then send us all the way
back to fearmongering, bans,

and research getting put on ice.

Which is the last thing that we should
want to happen.

Because there is massive potential
here.

These treatments have shown that they
can sometimes have lasting effects.

Remember the world's oldest 33-year-old
that you saw earlier,

whose LSD treatment seemed to have
curbed his alcoholism?

CBS caught up with him
a quarter-century later

to see how things were going,
and the answer was pretty well.

LSD allowed me to see my own mind.

There was a problem that I had to
resolve, and I faced it,

and it disappeared.

Far as I'm concerned,
I wouldn't take a million dollars

for the peace of mind
that I obtained from this therapy.

It was that good, that refreshing,
that rejuvenating.

And that enduring.

Exactly. 30 years later, he was still
feeling benefits from the treatment,

which is striking.

And you would think that we'd have
acted on evidence like that,

but instead, it seems we've spent
the last half-century

terrifying people with bogus science
and giving meth to monkeys.

But the good news is,
we are finally moving forward.

And hopefully, we will do that with
real caution and real care.

Because if we do, maybe, just maybe,

one day, you will see ads for
psychedelic therapy on TV

with a voiceover warning you that
side effects may include

visits to the hell realm and rainbows
shooting out of your dick.

And now, this.

And Now:

A Retirement Tribute to NBC four
Washington's Beat Poet Pat Collins.

That bittersweet goodbye for our News four
family, after 50 years in journalism,

our friend and colleague, Pat Collins,
is retiring.

JP's, a gentlemen's club
in Glover Park.

Tonight, no gentlemen.

Tonight, no ladies.

Tonight, just a lot of nothing.

This is how it goes.

"Are you all right, sir?

Do you need some help, sir?

Do you need to get something out of
your car before we steal it, sir?"

Look at the list. Look at the list.
Look at the list!

Aisle number nine.
Aisle number nine.

Attention: major shoplifting job on
aisle number nine.

Why is this man running,

and why is he running with one shoe on
and one shoe off?

Wait a minute, here's his other shoe!
It's in this bag!

And then, and then,

not long after the takeoff of that
United 767 plane,

a passenger leans back in his seat into
the lap of another passenger.

There's a fight, and the pilot decides
to turn the plane around.

They scrambled two F-16 fighter jets
from Andrews,

and they flew above the United plane,

escorting it back
as it landed here in Dallas

because you never can be too sure.

That's our show,
thanks so much for watching.

We'll see you next week, good night!

No comment from the school
about this case

or any disciplinary action
they dish out to a student,

but when you think about it,
you might see their point.

It starts with a banana, then all of a
sudden you have an apple, an orange,

and-and maybe a grape,
and before you know it,

you have fruit salad at the schools.

We can't have that.