Magic mushrooms, Molly, LSD and other psychedelics are becoming mainstream medicines, despite being labelled as dangerous substances in the 20th century.
To discuss this monumental transition with psychedelics, what some dub the “psychedelic renaissance”, UWinnipeg criminologist Dr. Kevin Walby and co-author Dr. Jamie Brownlee at Carleton University published a new book, Psychedelic Capitalism, (Fernwood Publishing).
Despite the renewed appeal as idealized wonder drugs, the duo offers a critical view on psychedelics today. Providing an analysis situated in critical political economy, Psychedelic Capitalism locates this shift in the context of corporate capture, medicalization, and the war on drugs.
Contrary to the more glowing accounts made by new psychedelics companies and stockholders, Drs. Brownlee and Walby argue that today’s psychedelic renaissance is entrenching systems of social inequality, limiting access and affordability, and expanding the reach of drug war surveillance and criminalization.
As the authors put it, “Our focus is on drawing out what may be lost if the psychedelic renaissance continues toward medicalization and corporatization, and what is to be gained from a just and equitable psychedelic future rooted in the public interest.”
Dr. Brownlee and Dr. Walby will launch their book Psychedelic Capitalism in Winnipeg at McNally Robinson Booksellers on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 7:00 p.m., Winnipeg, Grant Park.
This event will be hosted live in the Atrium of McNally Robinson Booksellers, and also available as a YouTube stream.
Dr. Jamie Brownlee teaches in the areas of Canadian and international political economy, corporate crime, environmental policy, and climate change. He is the author of Ruling Canada: Corporate Cohesion and Democracy as well as Academia, Inc.: How Corporatization Is Transforming Canadian Universities.
Dr. Kevin Walby is a professor of criminal justice at UWinnipeg. He is co-author of Police Funding, Dark Money, and the Greedy Institution. He is also the director of the Centre for Access to Information and Justice and co-editor of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons.
