Psychedelic Companies Hope At-Home DNA Tests Bring Better Highs
An emerging industry aims to help people pick the best drug for their ailments—and the right dose.
Illustration: Fatchurofi Muhammad for Bloomberg Businessweek
Spit into a tube and pop it in the mail, and the lab results may lead to a better high—or at least a safer one. That’s the premise of a home saliva testing kit sold for $199 by Endocanna Health Inc., which looks for 57 genetic traits that could influence a customer’s response to marijuana, so they can select the best strain and correct dose. The company also plans to look at similar factors for a range of psychotropic drugs.
“Your DNA is your blueprint,” says Len May, chief executive officer of the Burbank, Calif.-based startup. “It gives you a GPS that can guide you to an experience that is more optimal and helps you avoid sharp corners.”