Psychedelics


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


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.

“Acid Revival” portrays a resurrected scientific field, notably more conservative than its historic predecessor


Through candid interviews with modern psychedelic researchers, Danielle Giffort’s "Acid Revival" presents a profession obsessed with how it is perceived by mainstream audiences and desperate not to repeat the “mistakes” of the 1960s.

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.

Turn Off Your Mind, Relax—and Float Right-Wing?


On January 6th, 2021 at least two psychedelic heads stormed the United States Capitol. Strange as it may seem, those adhering to right-wing politics haven’t just established a beachhead in the psychedelic renaissance—they’re maneuvering to own it.

Timothy Leary’s Castalia Foundation Has Been Co-opted to Promote Conspiracy Theories about COVID and Elite Pedophile Rings


The Castalia Foundation — originally founded in part by Timothy Leary — "resurfaced" in 2020 with anti-mask content, praise for Donald Trump, and paranoid discussion around the sexual abuse of children. 

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.

Jake Angeli: The Psychedelic Guru Who Stormed The Capitol


Capitol insurrectionist Jake Angeli is a self-appointed psychedelic guru who has opined about the urgent need for psychedelic shamanism to heal the world’s biggest problems.

Psymposia 2020 Staff Book Picks


The Psymposia staff reflects on some of the books that kept us company throughout 2020, which we'd like to recommend to our readers for 2021. The list includes works of intersectional analysis, psychedelic history, surveillance capitalism, and more. We hope you appreciate these insights as much as we do.

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.

Christopher Valore (AKA The Architect) talks “Conductor,” His Virtual-Reality, Psychedelic-Visual Sandbox Platform


Christopher Valore discusses his love of virtual reality; the early days of his company, Club Transcendia; and development of his first official release, “Conductor.”

Thea Riofrancos on the Implications of Global Energy Transition and the Impacts of Lithium Extraction


Thea Riofrancos is a political scientist whose research has focused on political conflict related to extraction, energy, and infrastructure in a rapidly warming and politically unstable world. She also serves on the steering committee for Democratic Socialists of America for a Green New Deal.

The Big & Dandy List of Psychedelic-Mining-Extractive-Industry Ties


This list is by no means exhaustive, but it spotlights a number of psychedelic pharmaceutical companies and executives with ties to extractive industry.

Why are so many extractive industry executives speculating on psychedelics?


Extractive industry is highly speculative by nature and firms are risk tolerant—they either “strike gold” or they don’t. When their gambles fail, psychedelic startups can take over their corporate shells to quickly go public with minimal regulatory scrutiny.

Will Extractive Industry Bring Its Disregard for Indigenous People Into The Psychedelic Industry?


A mining firm’s conflict with Argentinian communities illustrates extractive industry’s practices and values, and raises questions about how these corporate approaches will translate into the psychedelic pharmaceutical industry.

As Psychedelics Enter the Mainstream, Mining Companies Look to Dig Up Profits


Canadian mining and exploration company AIS has had a number of executives move on to found psychedelic pharmaceutical businesses. Why? Because psychedelics are where the money’s at.

An Open Letter and Call to Action for MAPS Canada


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.

Psychedelic Media Should Stop Parroting Corporate Press Releases


When the media republishes statements from psychedelic pharmaceutical startups and their executives with little-to-no vetting, it functions as a corporate megaphone and damages the field of psychedelic science.

Psychedelics


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


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.

“Acid Revival” portrays a resurrected scientific field, notably more conservative than its historic predecessor


Through candid interviews with modern psychedelic researchers, Danielle Giffort’s "Acid Revival" presents a profession obsessed with how it is perceived by mainstream audiences and desperate not to repeat the “mistakes” of the 1960s.

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.

Turn Off Your Mind, Relax—and Float Right-Wing?


On January 6th, 2021 at least two psychedelic heads stormed the United States Capitol. Strange as it may seem, those adhering to right-wing politics haven’t just established a beachhead in the psychedelic renaissance—they’re maneuvering to own it.

Timothy Leary’s Castalia Foundation Has Been Co-opted to Promote Conspiracy Theories about COVID and Elite Pedophile Rings


The Castalia Foundation — originally founded in part by Timothy Leary — "resurfaced" in 2020 with anti-mask content, praise for Donald Trump, and paranoid discussion around the sexual abuse of children. 

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.

Jake Angeli: The Psychedelic Guru Who Stormed The Capitol


Capitol insurrectionist Jake Angeli is a self-appointed psychedelic guru who has opined about the urgent need for psychedelic shamanism to heal the world’s biggest problems.

Psymposia 2020 Staff Book Picks


The Psymposia staff reflects on some of the books that kept us company throughout 2020, which we'd like to recommend to our readers for 2021. The list includes works of intersectional analysis, psychedelic history, surveillance capitalism, and more. We hope you appreciate these insights as much as we do.

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.

Christopher Valore (AKA The Architect) talks “Conductor,” His Virtual-Reality, Psychedelic-Visual Sandbox Platform


Christopher Valore discusses his love of virtual reality; the early days of his company, Club Transcendia; and development of his first official release, “Conductor.”

Thea Riofrancos on the Implications of Global Energy Transition and the Impacts of Lithium Extraction


Thea Riofrancos is a political scientist whose research has focused on political conflict related to extraction, energy, and infrastructure in a rapidly warming and politically unstable world. She also serves on the steering committee for Democratic Socialists of America for a Green New Deal.

The Big & Dandy List of Psychedelic-Mining-Extractive-Industry Ties


This list is by no means exhaustive, but it spotlights a number of psychedelic pharmaceutical companies and executives with ties to extractive industry.

Why are so many extractive industry executives speculating on psychedelics?


Extractive industry is highly speculative by nature and firms are risk tolerant—they either “strike gold” or they don’t. When their gambles fail, psychedelic startups can take over their corporate shells to quickly go public with minimal regulatory scrutiny.

Will Extractive Industry Bring Its Disregard for Indigenous People Into The Psychedelic Industry?


A mining firm’s conflict with Argentinian communities illustrates extractive industry’s practices and values, and raises questions about how these corporate approaches will translate into the psychedelic pharmaceutical industry.

As Psychedelics Enter the Mainstream, Mining Companies Look to Dig Up Profits


Canadian mining and exploration company AIS has had a number of executives move on to found psychedelic pharmaceutical businesses. Why? Because psychedelics are where the money’s at.

An Open Letter and Call to Action for MAPS Canada


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.

Psychedelic Media Should Stop Parroting Corporate Press Releases


When the media republishes statements from psychedelic pharmaceutical startups and their executives with little-to-no vetting, it functions as a corporate megaphone and damages the field of psychedelic science.