Grassroots psychedelic and drug reform journalism. 100% independent.
Mission
Changing the way people think about drugs.
Vision
Psymposia envisions a post-prohibition world based on science, information, and education. Drug reform is human rights, women’s rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights. Drug reform intersects with nearly all aspects of society, and is the next social movement of the 21st century.
The Issues
Decriminalization
Possession of small amounts of drugs cannot be a law enforcement issue. Complete drug decriminalization would move billions away from law enforcement and into education and treatment. In addition to improving public health across the board, complete decriminalization would allow for the exploration of alternative models to medicalization while increasing therapeutic access.
Equal Access
In order for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to actually revolutionize the treatment of mental health, we believe everyone should have safe, affordable, and equal access to its benefits.
Open Science
We support open science and the values outlined in the Statement on Open Science and Open Praxis with Psilocybin, MDMA, and Similar Substances.
The Human Cost
Drug prohibition disproportionally affects impoverished communities and agricultural drug-producing regions, and often leads to forced migration. To fully understand why drug prohibition must end, we need to refocus our attention on the human cost of prohibition in Latin America and around the world.
Diversity
From researchers to patients, we advocate for increased diversity in psychedelic science. The national average in clinical trials is 86% white people, and is currently reflected in various clinical psychedelic studies. This affects health care outcomes and must become a bigger priority and be addressed.
Beyond Mental Health
While psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy potentially represents a revolution in the treatment of mental health, achieving positive mental health outcomes while reducing rates of depression and suicide goes beyond drugs and therapy. To seriously address mental health we must deconstruct the social and political barriers that prevent people from receiving the real help they need.
Focusing only on mental health limits our understanding of suicide and depression because it ignores the violent and/or marginalizing policies that often contribute to negative mental health in the first place.
Beyond Medicalization
Prescription psychedelics and medicalization are not enough. These systems are often exclusionary by nature and require access to insurance plans most people do not have access, thereby limiting access. Ensuring equal access to more effective medicines and therapies is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead it requires a multidisciplinary approach that looks closely at culturally specific health care systems and community driven interventions. Going beyond medicalization requires complete decriminalization.
“Understanding the positive role psychedelics might play in the healing of the human soul is something Dr. Bronner’s takes very seriously. We applaud Psymposia for its crucial work in the community to educate about psychedelic medicine at a time when most of our society still treats the subject as taboo.” – Dr. Bronner’s
“Psymposia in its present state looks like an organization of the future — putting people and the possibility for a healthy global culture, not money, first. Combining an enlightened approach to drug policy with science education, Psymposia supports the investigation of psychedelics and their possible uses in expanding human thinking, well being, and long-term ecosystem stability. I would wager that an alien, visiting Earth a hundred years from now, if it does indeed still find viable human communities, will find Psymposia-like organizations among our descendants.” – Dorion Sagan, Science writer
“When we think about drug policy reform we often forget about psychedelics. Remarkable progress is being made in psychedelic research, yet there remains a great deal of untapped potential when it comes to synergizing with other successful movements for civil rights, public health, and criminal justice reform. Psymposia is connecting the dots between drug policy reform and psychedelic science and facilitating nuanced, long-overdue discussions about what sensible psychedelic drug policies might look like.”
– Jag Davies, Director of Communications Strategy, Drug Police Alliance
