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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.