Psychedelic Candor

(9) An Update on the Johns Hopkins Clergy Study

A spiritual conference in the midst of an investigation.

(8) The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: Religious Freedom

In the final piece [https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-cc5], I wrap up the series with some final theological reflections on what I believe is a case study in the shadow of psychedelics happening in the highest-profile research. I discuss the perverse incentives and the profaning of religion, science, and the sacred. I turn to the Christian mystic Thomas Merton in order to find grace amid moral injuries, grounded hope, an alternative vision, and religious freedom. Transcript: https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-cc5

(7) The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: The Message is the Medium

In part seven [https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-4b9], I focus on a June 2023 presentation where the researchers presented their high-level findings. I examine the narratives the researchers are attempting to present in furthering their spiritual agendas, the lack of transparency around their financial conflicts of interest and their involvement, and how the incentives of psychedelic capitalism and drug legalization beget psychedelic marketing. I discuss how much the fear of cultural backlash looms large in the minds of researchers, and how many so-called psychedelic “thought leaders” have failed to take accountability for the death and psychological destruction that has happened as a result of their irresponsible advocacy. Transcript: https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-4b9

(6) The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: In the Name of the Holy Spirit

In part six [https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-7b6], I call for an investigation based on an unreported boundary violation that allegedly happened during the study based on a participant’s report. This boundary violation has been known by members of the Hopkins research team for years, but not only has it not been acknowledged, but the subject has been financially rewarded. I describe how I came to see it was a de facto psychedelic “baptism” of a Christian clergy into the psychedelic worldview of a researcher who has publicly asserted for decades that he wishes to integrate psychedelics into religion. Given what we know about the spiritual motivations driving this psychedelic research, the widely-observed nature of psychedelic hypersuggestibility, and the flagrant disregard for healthy boundaries in the researcher environment, I believe what happened in this study put the autonomy, agency, and dignity of research subjects in serious jeopardy. Transcript: https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-7b6

(5) The Religious Science of Johns Hopkins: The Silence and the Smile

In part five [https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-9dd], I talk about how Hopkins researchers and funders created a complex web of conflicts of interest that led to financial incentives and social status among participants in the psychedelic research world. I share why I left the non-profit, including a disgusting reaction from a clergy member to hearing stories about psychedelic abuse. I also talk about the code of silence on abuse that has long permeated the psychedelic research world, an environment with utopian dreams to create “net zero trauma” and mass mental health healing, but values public relations over real people. Transcript: https://www.psychedeliccandor.org/p/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-9dd