As the original article notes it does appear to have a psychoactive effect beyond the sensation of burning pain (though if a sensation of pleasure is a psychoactive effect why wouldn't a sensation of pain be?).

I found additional sources going into the likely pharmacology of this effect:

> Namely, capsaicin and vanillin (and anandamide itself) are all agonists of the TRPV1 receptor, which stimulates production and release of endogenous anandamide. When mixed with N-linoleoylethanolamide and N-oleoylethanolamide from cacao, which inhibit anandamide breakdown, the levels of endogenous anandamide are augmented further. When breakdown of anandamide is inhibited pharmacologically or genetically, anandamide is able to produce a state of intoxication similar to tetrahydrocannabinol in rodents and nonhuman primates

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6706955/