talk about consumption cannabis and other legal drugs may sound like science fiction. I personally consider myself a futuristic entrepreneur. The reason for this is that I firmly believe that every entrepreneur who wants to innovate, do something new or help in the evolution of any industry, should have the ability to be a visionary futurist. It is in our hands to shape the future as much as we can with our ideas and solutions.
One of my favorite writers on this subject is Isaac Asimov (1920-1996), a Russian-born, naturalized American, biochemist by profession. He was a teacher at different universities and a great writer of science fiction works, which today have become principles for things like the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots. I refer to his story because he strikes me as one of the great innovative minds of the last century. He managed to be a visionary futurist, helping to take a big step in the technological evolution of the human being.
Something that at the time was considered out of reality, today takes on a value of great importance in the development of new technologies.
The use of cannabis and other drugs that will soon be legal
With this article, I intend to share with you a little of what for me is the future of the consumption of cannabis and other drugs that will soon be legal.
As a context, since the decade of the 90s the wave of legalization and decriminalization of cannabis began in some parts of the world. Once this began to advance thanks to the verification of the medical, recreational, economic and political benefits, a chain reaction of legalization was generated around the world. This has opened the door for researchers and investors to look at new uses for old drugs, which has allowed the start of studies and therapies with entheogens. These show promise for solving health problems and for offering new options for safe recreational substances.
The first thing I want to share with you about my futuristic vision is what my team and I believe it is necessary to monitor today in order to generate the necessary data to situate ourselves in a future of educated and responsible consumption of different drugs. It is necessary to understand the elements to assess in the consumption of any substance, whether for medicinal therapy or a recreational experience:
The objective
The first thing to do is define an objective, whether medicinal or recreational, it is necessary to define it in order to follow the process and the appropriate rules for safe consumption and a pleasant experience.
genetics and metabolism
Each human being has unique characteristics in their genetics and metabolism, which will be reflected in how any substance is transformed, used, used and digested in each specific person.
substance to consume
Substances have different compounds or molecules, which interact in different ways in the body of consumers, this is an essential and necessary characteristic to identify which substance can help with the desired objective.
Method of consumption and dosage
Once the characteristics of the user and the substance of choice and/or recommendation are understood, it is necessary to define a method of consumption or route of administration of the substance, as well as its dosage. In this sense, finding the ideal product and dose takes time and is different for most people.
The Set and Setting
Once this step is reached, it is of utmost importance the place where the therapy or experience will be carried out to enhance the results and meet the objective. As well as the mental and physical situation in which the patient/user finds himself in order to have better results.
Process and evolution
The process and its evolution become the objective to be monitored in order to perfect the therapy or experience. This will generate the necessary data in search of improvements.
In our vision, all these characteristics have to be accompanied, recommended and monitored by our experts. This being the short-term objective, now we can let our imagination run wild and talk about what future drug use will be like.
What would medicine be like with several legal drugs?
Just as the Jetsons from the moment of their creation (1962) posed a futuristic world, I would like you to accompany me on this imaginary trip to a future with various drugs such as cannabis, mushrooms, ketamine, MDMA, LSD, Peyote, among other entheogens that are currently undergoing testing in scientific protocols in search of validating their efficacy and safety in treatments against some of the main mental health problems, and in some cases physical health that humanity suffers today, such as:
- Mental diseases
- Depression
- PTSD (Post Traumatic Deficit Syndrome)
- Anxiety
- Fight against strong drug addictions (heroin, cocaine, smoking, alcoholism, etc.)
- Others
On the other hand, no less important, it is also necessary to think about having new options for substances for recreational use in a totally safe, legal, guided and controlled scenario.
In my utopian future, I imagine a medicinal treatment with automated control of the release of substances so that patients spend less time worrying about taking their medicine, that is non-invasive, with mechanisms directed to specifically attack the target. Alternative routes of administration, simplified, with 100% efficient absorption, personalized dosages, applied at the ideal time and with 0 unwanted side effects.
Digital and wearable therapies
Patients will be able to go to the doctor in search of a diagnosis, they will be asked to carry out certain types of studies and tests in order to generate a complete profile. They will be offered different options of monitoring devices, let’s think of a smart watch or patches with technology that have the ability to analyze in real time the state of the patient’s body and deliver medications.
The therapies will be digital and totally personalized, understanding that each person is different, the combinations of molecules necessary to create the ideal medicine and meet the specific objective of each patient will be designed with the help of artificial intelligence, with this a more lasting effect will be achieved. , accurate, easy to administer, less frequent and with better results.
For example, when a patient is diagnosed with a condition such as stress that is at a level that affects their body and wants to receive treatment, they can use a monitoring and dispensing device, which at the time the patient releases an alarming amount of cortisol (the stress hormone), the system will generate an alert to the patient, asking if they require a personalized substance to counteract the side effects caused by the hormone.
In the case of a higher risk disease, for example, a patient with heart problems and prone to a heart attack, you can configure the option that the medication is administered automatically, as soon as the body generates the alerts of a heart attack will dispense the medication.
recreational use
In the recreational aspect, it is necessary to understand that each drug has different substances that cause certain types of specific effects such as euphoria, relaxation, concentration, happiness, hallucinations, and various sensations that are stimulating to create an atmosphere around the experience and push to achieve the desired goal. You can choose between different consumption methods and product presentations, which will also be designed to achieve the desired experience and objective.
The experience should be guided by an expert on the subject, imagine that a person arrives at the clinic in search of a relaxing and introspective experience, the specialist on his first visit will do a simple test to generate a user profile, the intelligence system artificial intelligence and data analysis will generate a range of options regarding products and possible consumption methods to achieve the objective, these will be presented to the user so that he can make a decision.
The products will be optimized to reduce unwanted side effects and free from the risk of creating dependency. Once the consumer has chosen, the ideal set and setting will be recommended to enhance the desired experience.
For example, if the user’s objective is to have a relaxing and introspective, contemplative experience, the recommendation of probable scenarios will be made, a beach at sunset, a cabin in the woods, isolation cabins, specific smells and of course music that helps exalt the senses.
In the event that a user wants to have an experience in the company of more people in a meeting, the system will design an ideal combination of molecules, so that each person or user reaches the goal, let’s think of an effect of unstoppable laughter, total empathy and extreme happiness, accompanied by a recommendation of food, music and a good wine.
Understanding the body and how it works
The idea of a future where we can understand the functioning of the body in such a way and have the technology and information necessary to develop something like this, is an essential part of my vision of the future in the consumption of cannabis and other drugs.
In my vision, evolution always has to be to improve in every way. Projecting this type of utopia generates a north, an ideal that pursues, beyond selling products or medicines, solving current problems in search of improving health and recreational experiences.