Psychedelics were once associated with hippies and addiction. But now MDMA and other substances are increasingly being used as drugs. Are they really effective? What do they treat? And isn’t such therapy dangerous?

The first association with LSD, MDMA, psilocybin and other psychedelic substances for many is hippies, the counterculture and the drug epidemic threatening society. However, in recent years this image has been rapidly changing. Now, psychedelics are primarily a promising therapy for treating mental disorders. Some substances have already almost reached the mass market, and hundreds more are in the early stages of clinical trials. Investor money is flowing into the industry, and authorities around the world (even Donald Trump!) are making it easier for recently banned substances to enter national medical systems. Meduza details the quiet revolution taking place in the pharmaceutical industry and the risks it poses.