Cura

Joseph Tafoya

The negative stigma around drug culture has adversely affected the legitimization of psilocybin. Associations with the hippie counter-culture of the 1960’s and subsequent backlash by the government and mainstream culture has created a negative perception around the substance, and halted all studies examining the benefits. Today several cities and states in the United States as well as Canada have voted to partially decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. New research is coming out every day about its benefits which validates the substance can be used as mental health treatment. [1] Still, there is a long way to go in changing the relationship between psilocybin and the general public’s perception. By incorporating successful brand psychology it is possible to change the psilocybin narrative within the United States, and reverse its negative stigma.

 According to social psychologist Erving Goffman, stigma lies not in the stigmatizing attribute, but in the relationship between the stigmatizing audience and the stigmatized attribute. [2] Through the narrative power of branding this relationship can be changed by getting away from any preconceived negative, cliched and stereotyped representations about psilocybin. In highlighting the positive benefits of the substance through education, changing it to an approachable product and positioning it with a familiar lifestyle that’s active and health oriented the relationship the stigmatizing audience has with psilocybin will positively change. This phenomenon can be observed in the cannabis industry, which has seen an increase in demographic diversity as more people are looking to the substance not for it’s inebriating effects, but as a supplement to live a better life.

 The perception of psilocybin can be positive if Cura is positioned as a wellness brand. Through successful branding, this strategy establishes a health-centric product that aligns values to an audience who may have previously demonized, or at best, avoided psilocybin altogether. By repositioning the narrative, the stigma can be reversed and the benefits of psilocybin will become more accessible.

[1] Malievskaia, Ekaterina.”Navigating Mental Health: COMPASS Pathways’ Psilocybin Research Program” Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Accessed June 12, 2021 https://maps.org/navigating-mental-health-compass-pathways%E2%80%99-psilocybin-research-program.

[2] Goffman Erving. “Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity” Penguin books, 1974. Accessed May 29, 2021.