Hi, I'm the Amper Mac, and welcome to Axios Recap. Today is Monday, May 17th.

Tech stocks are up, lots of in-store mask mandates are down, and we're focused on the growing

push to legalize psychedelics. May is Mental Health Month in the U.S., where the NIH estimates that nearly one in five adults

lives with a mental illness. But you'd be pretty hard pressed to find anyone who thinks the

U.S. mental health care system is a well-oiled machine. The biggest problem, of course, is accessibility.

As you might know, booking an appointment with a therapist can be kind of like

the early days of trying to get a vaccine, and in some geographies, even tougher. But there's also

a reality that existing treatments don't always work, including pharmaceuticals, which is why a group

of scientists and entrepreneurs are pushing U.S. regulators to approve the use of certain psychedelics,

including LSD and MDMA. Three things to know. First, clinical research on psychedelics to treat

mental illness isn't a new thing. It's been going on for decades. What has changed, though,

is that a group of companies has sprung up to exclusively focus on it, and they're getting

significant support from big Wall Street investors. In fact, two of them are already publicly traded,

including one called MindMed, whose CEO will speak to in a moment. A third one, backed by Peter

Teal, just filed for an IPO of its own. Two, these companies are not agitating for recreational psychedelics to be

legalized. This is about creating a pathway for FDA approval of what would be prescription drugs,

likely taken under medical supervision. Three, if and when this rises higher in the political zeitgeist,

don't be surprised to find some interesting partisan bedfellows.

Mental health issues, particularly for veterans, rarely fall along party lines.

So in 15 seconds, we want to learn more about why psychedelics could help alleviate some of

America's mental health crisis, plus better understand the very treacherous path to legalization

with J.R. Ron, CEO of MindMed.

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