Psymposia’s Response to Heroic Hearts’ Pharma-Backed Press Conference July 11, 2024By Psymposia Yesterday’s Heroic Hearts press conference was meant to be a grassroots show of force. Sadly, what the organization and congressional leaders didn’t disclose was that their effort is funded by backers of Lykos Therapeutics, a therapy cult with a reported and documented history of cover-ups, data manipulation, and egregious psychological, financial, and sexual exploitation.  We believe in the potential of MDMA, and that veterans deserve the highest quality treatment for PTSD. It’s unacceptab ..read more

A Resource for Journalists Covering Sexual Assault in Psychedelic Therapy PsymposiaApril 7, 2023 Language used by mainstream media affects the way we think about and respond to sexual violence, and no language is neutral. When journalists repeat the misrepresentations of abusers without qualification, they retraumatize victims and perpetuate ongoing misogynistic views about sexual violence. Support On Patreon Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and media organization that offers critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. We rely on contributions from our reader ..read more

Every Disclosed Conflict of Interest at Psychedelic Science 2023 Russell HausfeldJune 21, 2023 All of the financial conflict disclosures from speakers at Psychedelic Science 2023, in one handy list. Support On Patreon Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and media organization that offers critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. We rely on contributions from our readers and listeners. Your support is vital to sustaining Psymposia. Support us on Patreon Support Psymposia’s independent journalism on Patreon and help us drive the Mystery Machine! We’re a bunch ..read more

Psychedelic Science 2023 Contract Muzzles Speakers: Two Clauses Dictate What Presenters Can and Can’t Say Russell HausfeldJune 6, 2023 In order to present at Psychedelic Science 2023, speakers must agree to two out-of-the-ordinary requests about content exclusivity and MAPS’ reputation. Support On Patreon Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and media organization that offers critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. We rely on contributions from our readers and listeners. Your support is vital to sustaining Psymposia. Support us on Patreon Support Psymposia ..read more

Support On Patreon Russell Hausfeld contributed to the reporting of this story. This is Part 4 of Psymposia’s investigation into the Church of Psilomethoxin. Click the links for Part 3, Part 2, and Part 1. In July of 2022, The Intercept reported on politicians like avowed anti-anti-fascist Dan Crenshaw and MAGA figurehead Matt Gaetz — as well as Democratic Socialist Alexandrea Ocasio-Cortez — rallying around legislation aimed at researching psychedelics for PTSD in veterans. While bipartisan efforts to “support the troops” are nothing new, the fact that politicians were advocating to d ..read more

Support On Patreon Russell Hausfeld contributed to the reporting of this story. This is Part 3 of Psymposia’s investigation into the Church of Psilomethoxin. Click the links for Part 2 and Part 1. Following more than a year of claims about the presence of psilomethoxin in the Church of Psilomethoxin’s (CoP) sacramental mushrooms — and recent revelations that these claims appear to be false  — the Church has offered a new take on its sacrament. It now states, “Our claims to the existence of Psilomethoxin, at this time, are solely based on faith, bolstered by our and our members’ own dire ..read more

Support On Patreon Russell Hausfeld contributed to the reporting of this story. This is Part 2 of Psymposia’s investigation into the Church of Psilomethoxin. Part 1 can be found here. In a livestream with Zeus Tipado on April 25, Church of Psilomethoxin co-founder Benjamin Moore announced that the Church is reverting back to its original name, “The Church of the Sacred Synthesis.” In response, Tipado enthusiastically suggested that such a change could prevent much of the pushback CoP has recently encountered, and offered a colorful analogy. “Let’s say for example, I create the Church of Can ..read more

Support On Patreon Russell Hausfeld contributed to the reporting of this story. Editor’s note: As Psymposia was preparing to publish this article, the Church of Psilomethoxin changed its website and social media channels to refer to it as the “Church of the Sacred Synthesis.” Given that the events reported in this article occurred when the Church was calling itself the “Church of Psilomethoxin,” Psymposia has decided to continue using that name for the sake of clarity. What happens when a group of veterans and lawyers start a psychedelic church? It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but s ..read more

Rick Doblin Is No Longer MAPS Executive Director. We Didn’t Notice—Did You? Russell HausfeldApril 22, 2023 The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) quietly replaced founder Rick Doblin as Executive Director with Kris Lotlikar. Support On Patreon Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and media organization that offers critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. We rely on contributions from our readers and listeners. Your support is vital to sustaining Psymposia. Support us on Patreon Support Psymposia’s independent journalism on Patreon a ..read more

A Resource for Journalists Covering Sexual Assault in Psychedelic Therapy PsymposiaApril 7, 2023 Language used by mainstream media affects the way we think about and respond to sexual violence, and no language is neutral. When journalists repeat the misrepresentations of abusers without qualification, they retraumatize victims and perpetuate ongoing misogynistic views about sexual violence. Support On Patreon Psymposia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and media organization that offers critical perspectives on drugs, politics, and culture. We rely on contributions from our readers ..read more