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The No.1 Brain Doctor: "This Parenting Mistake Ruins Your Kids Brain!", "Alcohol or Marijuana Will Destroy Your Brain!", "A Stagnant Career Can Increase Your Chance Of Alzheimers!" - Dr Daniel Amen
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What's Wrong With Magic Mushrooms?
At 29:45 · chapter starts 26:27
The legalisation wave sweeping the US has been accompanied by a cultural narrative that marijuana is safe, natural, and good medicine. Dr. Amen is having none of it. He recounts watching Senator Cory Booker publicly shame President Biden on a debate stage in 2019 for saying 'the science isn't settled' on marijuana — and feeling furious, because his own published research showed the science was very clear. [1] — Dr. Daniel Amen "Marijuana linked to 300% rise in psychosis: Psilocybin-associated psychosis has risen 300% in recent years, illustrating the danger of wide…" 27:46 Amen's study of 1,000 marijuana users found decreased activity in every brain area; a contemporary JAMA study of 1,027 users confirmed hippocampal damage affecting memory. For teenagers, the stakes are even higher: marijuana use in adolescence is associated with significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide in the 20s. The chapter then pivots to psilocybin, where Amen is equally cautious despite the therapeutic excitement around it. He has seen the same pattern before: benzos were 'mommy's little helper,' the opioid crisis was sparked by declaring pain 'the fifth vital sign,' and marijuana was sold as innocuous. Now psilocybin-associated psychosis has risen 300% in just a couple of years. His argument is not that these substances have no therapeutic value — it's that rolling them out without understanding which vulnerable individuals they could harm is reckless.
Dr. Amen has watched the same cycle repeat: benzos were 'mommy's little helper,' opioids were prescribed for 'the fifth vital sign,' marijuana was 'innocuous.' Now psilocybin-associated psychosis is up 300%. For vulnerable people — who can't be identified in advance — one dose can trigger a psychotic break.
Psilocybin-associated psychosis has risen 300% in recent years, illustrating the danger of widespread psychedelic use without understanding individual vulnerability.
America prescribes antidepressants at 10x the rate of other countries. 85% of those prescriptions come from non-psychiatric physicians in 7-minute visits, meeting standard of care only 12% of the time. The drugs don't heal — they suppress symptoms while rewiring the brain to need them.
