CCHR: 'Plant-Based' Psychedelics Push Masks Synthetic Drugs and Billion-Dollar Profits

LOS ANGELES - Amzeal -- By CCHR International

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International is alerting consumers that aggressive marketing of psychedelics as "plant-based" or "natural" remedies is misleading. These substances—including ibogaine (a powerful hallucinogen derived from the African iboga shrub), psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms), and MDMA (ecstasy)—are actually synthetic, lab-produced chemicals that carry serious risks.

The caution comes following an Executive Order signed on April 18, 2026 that orders acceleration of research, regulatory review, and access to psychedelic compounds for serious mental health issues. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration are tasked with creating pathways under the Right to Try Act, originally designed to help patients with life-threatening illnesses obtain experimental treatments that have passed early safety testing but are not yet fully approved.

"Switching one mind-altering drug for another is like switching seats on the Titanic," said Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. "Consumers—some already experiencing adverse effects from antidepressants and other psychiatric treatments—are being misleadingly told psychedelics are natural remedies. In reality, they are laboratory-synthesized chemicals. The plant's name is borrowed, but the plant is skipped to produce it chemically. It is akin to saying a lab-manufactured psychedelic is herbal tea in a pill."

CCHR highlights that while active molecules like psilocybin occur naturally in fungi or plants, pharmaceutical versions are chemically synthesized under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards for precise dosing and regulatory compliance. LSD, for example, is a semi-synthetic compound produced through complex lab processes, not a direct plant extract.

Dr Roger McFillan writes, "This is the same clinical world that produced the SSRI disaster, dressed up with a new molecule and a softer word. Make the distinction clear. A plant medicine is not a pharmaceutical."[1]

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This distinction matters as investor projections for the misleadingly named "Botanical and Plant Derived Drugs Market" have surged to an anticipated $79.74 billion by 2031, following the Executive Order, dramatically higher than pre-order psychedelic market forecasts of $8.75 billion by 2031.

CCHR points to growing evidence of serious adverse effects. Antidepressants, often compared in marketing strategy, have well-documented issues, including the potential for emotional numbing, personality changes, prolonged withdrawal, and increased suicide risk, particularly among some teens. A 2017 study in Frontiers in Psychiatry described some of them as "largely ineffective and potentially harmful."[2]

Some proposals suggest combining psychedelics with existing antidepressants, raising concerns about compounded chemical exposure. Psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline act on serotonin systems, echoing mechanisms once falsely promoted as correcting a "chemical imbalance" in depression requiring SSRI antidepressants—a theory thoroughly debunked in a 2022 Molecular Psychiatry study.[3]

Real-world incidents illustrate possible dangers:

• A UK artist died by suicide after consuming hallucinogenic "tea" at a retreat. A coroner linked her deterioration to the substance.[4]
• An off-duty pilot ingested psilocybin mushrooms 48 hours before a flight and attempted to shut off engines mid-flight, endangering 83 people.
• In 2023, a U.S. Army Specialist, after consuming psilocybin at a music festival, shot and killed two people and wounded three others while hallucinating.[5]

Author Erica Rex cautions: "There is this assumption that psychedelics are going to heal people, but that is not actually how it works. They open things up. And if the structure around that is not solid... it can go very wrong."

Psychedelic treatments are positioned as drug-assisted psychotherapy in controlled clinical settings, often requiring extensive therapist hours. Estimated MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy could cost $7,543 per patient, mostly for therapist compensation. In Australia, costs reach $20,000 for sessions and counseling.

Ketamine clinics already demonstrate profitability, with vials costing about $40 wholesale but billed at $1,000+ per treatment. Over 1,000 U.S. clinics operate off-label, with psychiatrist salaries in Los Angeles averaging $353,165. The broader ketamine market generated $3.1 billion in 2022.

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More than 80 companies are now developing psychedelic compounds, fueled by venture capital and declining antidepressant revenues. Pharmaceutical interest follows a 3,001% rise in SSRI/SNRI antidepressant prescriptions from 1991 to 2018, followed by revenue declines after generics entered the market.[6]

Clinical trials face significant challenges, particularly blinding, as participants easily identify active drugs due to their intense effects. One high-dose psilocybin trial showed 94% correct guessing.

The FDA recently granted priority review to applications for psilocybin and methylone (a synthetic substance similar to MDMA).

CCHR emphasized that patients must understand these are synthetic, mind-altering substances—not natural herbal remedies—and that long-term risks remain understudied amid aggressive marketing and investor pressure.

"History shows some psychiatric drug promises can lead to public harm while generating billions in profits," Eastgate concluded. "Approving these synthetic psychedelics could expose millions of vulnerable consumers to mind-altering chemicals marketed under false 'plant-based' pretenses. CCHR strongly opposes all approval of these substances and calls for them to be kept off the market to protect public safety and informed consent."

CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor Thomas Szasz, has helped secure over 190 mental health protections worldwide through its investigations into psychiatric abuses.

Sources:

[1] Roger McFillan, M.D., "The Next Chemical Cage Has a Beautiful Door," Radically Genuine, 19 Apr. 2026,

[2] Michael P. Hengartner, "Methodological Flaws, Conflicts of Interest, and Scientific Fallacies: Implications for the Evaluation of Antidepressants' Efficacy and Harm," Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7 Dec. 2017

[3] "Medicating misery by doling out antidepressants is based on a myth: NHS psychiatrist PROFESSOR JOANNA MONCRIEFF reveals the shameful truth about Big Pharma," The Daily Mail, 13 Jan 2025

[4] David Cox, "Is the therapeutic potential of hallucinogens risky and overhyped?" The Guardian, 19 Aug. 2023, James Tozer, "Artist, 32, took her own life after drinking hallucinogenic 'tea' in trendy shamanic healing ritual at £620-a-head retreat, inquest hears," Daily Mail, 6 Jan. 2023

[5] "Man Accused in Fatal Shooting Spree at Beyond Wonderland Festival Pleads Not Guilty," Billboard, 7 Jun. 2023

[6] Marwan Alrasheed,  et al., "Drug Expenditure, Price, and Utilization in the U.S. Medicaid: A Trend Analysis for SSRI and SNRI Antidepressants from 1991 to 2018," J Ment Health Policy Econ., 1 Mar. 2021