Media Reports: Elon Musk Takes Ketamine, Sergey Brin Uses Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, and Psychedelics Become Part of Tech Culture

Media Reports: Musk Takes Ketamine, Google Co-Founder Uses Hallucinogenic Mushrooms

American businessman Elon Musk takes ketamine, while Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, uses hallucinogenic mushrooms, and the leadership of venture capital firm Founders Fund, which invests in SpaceX and Facebook*, organized parties with psychedelics, according to the Wall Street Journal citing sources.

"Ilon Musk takes ketamine, Sergey Brin occasionally indulges in hallucinogenic mushrooms. The leadership of Founders Fund... organized parties with psychedelics," the report states.

According to the newspaper, while in the past, the use of such substances in technology companies was limited to after-work activities, it has now become part of their corporate culture.

Despite the fact that most of these substances are illegal in the United States, as noted by the newspaper, there is tolerance for them in Silicon Valley, and many companies do not conduct regular employee drug screenings. A former Tesla employee told the newspaper that although the company is against drug use, there is a high tolerance for their use outside of working hours.

Citing research firm BrandEssence, the newspaper reports that the psychedelic market was valued at $4.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $11.8 billion by 2029.

Musk, his lawyer and chief advisor, as well as a representative for Brin, did not respond to requests for comment. However, shortly after the article was published, Musk wrote on his Twitter account that ketamine is supposedly better for treating depression than antidepressants, which, in his opinion, "zombify people."

In early October 2018, Musk smoked what appeared to be a joint during a live appearance on a comedy show on YouTube. It is unknown whether it was marijuana. Musk claimed during the show that it had no effect on him. Following this, reports emerged in the media that the U.S. Air Force was considering revoking Musk's security clearance. Later, The Washington Post reported, citing sources, that due to Musk's behavior, NASA launched a security review of SpaceX and Boeing. In late November of the same year, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine stated that he trusted Musk and believed that the incident involving the alleged smoking of marijuana on the comedy show would not happen again.