Ethics
Hamilton Morris Hired by Psilocybin Startup COMPASS Pathways, Ends “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia” On Vice
by Russell Hausfeld , David Nickles
Hamilton Morris, the creator of Vice’s “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia,” will cease working with Vice on the show following the third season. He has joined psychedelic pharmaceutical corporation COMPASS Pathways as a chemistry consultant.
COMPASS Pathways’ Psilocybin Patent Questioned By UK Patent Examiner
While COMPASS has issued a response defending the validity of its patents, one of the co-inventors says the patent examiner’s opinion is probably “a valid one.”
The Third Wave’s Paul Austin Has Been Accused of Stealing Information For His Psychedelic Provider Directory
The Third Wave copied information from Psychedelic.Support and MAPS Integration List without permission to use for its own directory.
MAPS Canada’s “Clarifying Misinformation” Letter by Mark Haden is Full of Misinformation
In response to Psymposia's reporting on outgoing MAPS Canada Executive Director Mark Haden's resignation following a year full of controversies, Haden published a statement entitled “Clarifying Misinformation” that was full of misinformation and factual inaccuracies. In the following article, we set the record straight.
COMPASS Pathways Is Trying to Patent Psilocybin for More Mental Health Conditions Than You Can Name
by Russell Hausfeld , David Nickles
News that COMPASS Pathways is attempting to patent psychedelic therapy room specifications and therapist behaviors started an online firestorm about the company’s “monopolistic and shady behaviors,” but so far the debates have missed the biggest threats lurking in COMPASS’s international patent applications.
After a Year of Controversy, MAPS Canada Executive Director Mark Haden Announces Resignation
During a Psymposia investigation into the alarming 5-MeO-DMT practices of Dr. Martin Ball, Mark Haden announced his resignation from MAPS Canada.
Psychedelic Authoritarianism Harm Reduction: “QAnon Shaman” Edition
Jake Angeli's tattoos provide a lens into how fascists and white supremacists have appropriated aspects of Pagan/Heathen culture and spirituality.
Livestream #2: Team trip reports and experiential typewriters
Weeoo weeoo livestream alert for Thursday, December 17th at 8PM ET!!. Last time we popped bottles and jammed in the comments - come hang out with us again for some reflections on 2020.
An Open Letter and Call to Action for MAPS Canada
by Keeno Ahmed-Jones , Ava Daeipour
The following is an open letter by two former co-leads of the MAPS Canada Diversity Committee. It was written in response to a variety of racist and prejudicial behaviours they experienced from MAPS Canada leadership and the organization at large during their eight-month tenure as unpaid volunteers, including obstruction—by leadership—of their efforts to address long-entrenched discriminatory practices in the psychedelic research domain and to implement initiatives to combat race-based health disparities.
Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories in Psychedelia
Conspiracy theories are nothing new when it comes to psychedelia. But in the context of coronavirus, they've become significantly more harmful.
A Response to “Early Reflections on Interviews with Palestinians and Israelis Drinking Ayahuasca Together”
As Israel prepares to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley—with US support—what is the expected role of psychedelics in resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict?
Forget Plant-Based Medicine, MDMA is Now Made From Crude Oil
MAPS claims the most sustainable way to produce commercial MDMA is through the use of petrochemical feedstocks.
We Need to Talk About MAPS Supporting The Police, The Military, and Violent White Supremacism
For decades, MAPS and other proponents of psychedelic medicalization have justified their emphasis on treating police and soldiers as a political strategy in service to mainstreaming psychedelic drugs. This strategy perpetuates the logic of white supremacism, capitalism, and imperialism.
Magical (Psychedelic) Thinking in the Era of Climate Change and COVID-19
Two of our biggest crises—COVID-19 and climate change—lay bare the magical thinking that pervades psychedelic discourse: that individual experiences of oneness will necessarily transform our society for the better.
The George Floyd protests have reframed the debate around surveillance, encryption, and facial recognition
The current spotlight on toxic law enforcement culture has propelled conversations about facial recognition and biometric surveillance into mainstream politics. Banning facial recognition is necessary to avoid automating racism and further institutionalizing white supremacy.
DARE to Resist White Supremacy and The Police
American policing is a white supremacist institution that has repeatedly demonstrated the degree to which it values property over human life. Our struggles against the police are inseparably entwined with similar struggles around the world, and they cannot be disconnected from larger struggles for human rights.
Decriminalization offers an ethical counterbalance to address sexual misconduct in psychedelic therapy
Sexual violence is already notoriously under-reported, and barriers— including distrust in police—are amplified when victims are also members of a criminalized subculture and were under the influence of illegal drugs when the violence occurred.
MindMed’s CEO Jamon “JR” Rahn Wants Nothing To Do With Those Psychedelic Decrim People
"I want nothing to do with those kinds of folks who want to decriminalize psychedelics,” Rahn told Forbes."
Field Trip Announces “World’s First” Virtual Psychedelic Therapy, But Forgets To Mention They Aren’t the First and No Psychedelics Are Involved
Field Trip Ventures leads the charge to use “psychedelic” as a marketing buzzword for any kind of niche therapy.
Bicycle Day 2020 Was Truly Historic, But Not for the Reasons You Think
Jamon A. Rahn, CEO of psychedelic pharmaceutical startup MindMed, offered a glimpse of the future of psychedelic science, including proprietary data and hints of an “LSD neutralizer.”
Ethics
Hamilton Morris Hired by Psilocybin Startup COMPASS Pathways, Ends “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia” On Vice
by Russell Hausfeld , David Nickles
Hamilton Morris, the creator of Vice’s “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia,” will cease working with Vice on the show following the third season. He has joined psychedelic pharmaceutical corporation COMPASS Pathways as a chemistry consultant.
COMPASS Pathways’ Psilocybin Patent Questioned By UK Patent Examiner
While COMPASS has issued a response defending the validity of its patents, one of the co-inventors says the patent examiner’s opinion is probably “a valid one.”
The Third Wave’s Paul Austin Has Been Accused of Stealing Information For His Psychedelic Provider Directory
The Third Wave copied information from Psychedelic.Support and MAPS Integration List without permission to use for its own directory.
MAPS Canada’s “Clarifying Misinformation” Letter by Mark Haden is Full of Misinformation
In response to Psymposia's reporting on outgoing MAPS Canada Executive Director Mark Haden's resignation following a year full of controversies, Haden published a statement entitled “Clarifying Misinformation” that was full of misinformation and factual inaccuracies. In the following article, we set the record straight.
COMPASS Pathways Is Trying to Patent Psilocybin for More Mental Health Conditions Than You Can Name
by Russell Hausfeld , David Nickles
News that COMPASS Pathways is attempting to patent psychedelic therapy room specifications and therapist behaviors started an online firestorm about the company’s “monopolistic and shady behaviors,” but so far the debates have missed the biggest threats lurking in COMPASS’s international patent applications.
After a Year of Controversy, MAPS Canada Executive Director Mark Haden Announces Resignation
During a Psymposia investigation into the alarming 5-MeO-DMT practices of Dr. Martin Ball, Mark Haden announced his resignation from MAPS Canada.
Psychedelic Authoritarianism Harm Reduction: “QAnon Shaman” Edition
Jake Angeli's tattoos provide a lens into how fascists and white supremacists have appropriated aspects of Pagan/Heathen culture and spirituality.
Livestream #2: Team trip reports and experiential typewriters
Weeoo weeoo livestream alert for Thursday, December 17th at 8PM ET!!. Last time we popped bottles and jammed in the comments - come hang out with us again for some reflections on 2020.
An Open Letter and Call to Action for MAPS Canada
by Keeno Ahmed-Jones , Ava Daeipour
The following is an open letter by two former co-leads of the MAPS Canada Diversity Committee. It was written in response to a variety of racist and prejudicial behaviours they experienced from MAPS Canada leadership and the organization at large during their eight-month tenure as unpaid volunteers, including obstruction—by leadership—of their efforts to address long-entrenched discriminatory practices in the psychedelic research domain and to implement initiatives to combat race-based health disparities.
Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories in Psychedelia
Conspiracy theories are nothing new when it comes to psychedelia. But in the context of coronavirus, they've become significantly more harmful.
A Response to “Early Reflections on Interviews with Palestinians and Israelis Drinking Ayahuasca Together”
As Israel prepares to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley—with US support—what is the expected role of psychedelics in resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict?
Forget Plant-Based Medicine, MDMA is Now Made From Crude Oil
MAPS claims the most sustainable way to produce commercial MDMA is through the use of petrochemical feedstocks.
We Need to Talk About MAPS Supporting The Police, The Military, and Violent White Supremacism
For decades, MAPS and other proponents of psychedelic medicalization have justified their emphasis on treating police and soldiers as a political strategy in service to mainstreaming psychedelic drugs. This strategy perpetuates the logic of white supremacism, capitalism, and imperialism.
Magical (Psychedelic) Thinking in the Era of Climate Change and COVID-19
Two of our biggest crises—COVID-19 and climate change—lay bare the magical thinking that pervades psychedelic discourse: that individual experiences of oneness will necessarily transform our society for the better.
The George Floyd protests have reframed the debate around surveillance, encryption, and facial recognition
The current spotlight on toxic law enforcement culture has propelled conversations about facial recognition and biometric surveillance into mainstream politics. Banning facial recognition is necessary to avoid automating racism and further institutionalizing white supremacy.
DARE to Resist White Supremacy and The Police
American policing is a white supremacist institution that has repeatedly demonstrated the degree to which it values property over human life. Our struggles against the police are inseparably entwined with similar struggles around the world, and they cannot be disconnected from larger struggles for human rights.
Decriminalization offers an ethical counterbalance to address sexual misconduct in psychedelic therapy
Sexual violence is already notoriously under-reported, and barriers— including distrust in police—are amplified when victims are also members of a criminalized subculture and were under the influence of illegal drugs when the violence occurred.
MindMed’s CEO Jamon “JR” Rahn Wants Nothing To Do With Those Psychedelic Decrim People
"I want nothing to do with those kinds of folks who want to decriminalize psychedelics,” Rahn told Forbes."
Field Trip Announces “World’s First” Virtual Psychedelic Therapy, But Forgets To Mention They Aren’t the First and No Psychedelics Are Involved
Field Trip Ventures leads the charge to use “psychedelic” as a marketing buzzword for any kind of niche therapy.
Bicycle Day 2020 Was Truly Historic, But Not for the Reasons You Think
Jamon A. Rahn, CEO of psychedelic pharmaceutical startup MindMed, offered a glimpse of the future of psychedelic science, including proprietary data and hints of an “LSD neutralizer.”