Articles

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As COMPASS Pathways continues its attempts to build a psychedelic monopoly, Usona Institute keeps publishing open research

Since COMPASS Pathways filed for a controversial psilocybin patent in 2018, Usona Institute has consistently placed its research findings in the public domain.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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LSD Chemist William Leonard Pickard Has Been Released From Prison

LSD chemist and longtime drug war prisoner, William Leonard Pickard, was officially released from prison on July 27, 2020. Pickard had been locked down since 2000 and was slated to serve two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 h

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Aldous Huxley on the decline of mental health following “progress” in capitalist democracies

Aldous Huxley’s thoughts on “progress” in capitalist democracies, why people take drugs, and the role of psychedelics in people’s lives.

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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.

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The Politics of Grief During a Pandemic

The grief we live with during the COVID-19 pandemic is political.