5CAST w/ Andrew Callaghan Episode 12: "The Fight for Legal MDMA" ft. Hamilton Morris
September 27, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of 5CAST features Andrew Callahan in conversation with Hamilton Morris—celebrated journalist, chemist, and psychedelic researcher—to examine how a network of activists, paid operatives, and pharmaceutical rivalries derailed the FDA’s approval process for using MDMA in PTSD therapy. The episode unpacks the convoluted interplay between activism, media manipulation, and corporate interests that led to the defeat of MAPS’s landmark push to legalize MDMA-assisted treatment for trauma, despite outstanding clinical results. Rich with Hamilton’s inside knowledge and trenchant criticism, the conversation reveals the dark politics at the heart of psychedelic legalization, calling into question motives behind recent anti-psychedelic reporting, the co-optation of “progressive” causes, and endemic dysfunction in both journalism and advocacy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who is Hamilton Morris? (01:21 – 02:22)

• Hamilton is best known for “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia,” an investigative docuseries on psychoactive substances, blending scientific rigor with immersive storytelling.
• He’s also an active psychedelic chemist, independently creating new compounds and now working outside legacy media on Patreon documentaries.

“[I] invented a bunch of new psychedelic drugs, published it in scientific journals... Now I am totally independently making documentaries about the chemistry of psychedelics.” —Hamilton Morris [01:39]

2. The Media’s Longstanding Neglect & Misrepresentation of Drug Issues (04:06 – 06:42)

• Hamilton recounts how Vice’s willingness to commission reporting on psychoactive substances was once unique but also stigmatized in mainstream journalism.
• Even as attention to psychedelic medicine increased, legacy media remained ill-equipped or disinterested in nuanced, honest coverage.
• Drug policy is persistently marginalized, though overdose deaths far outnumber major wartime losses.

“It’s totally normalized for journalists to do an absurdly bad job covering [drugs]… that’s just expected.” —Hamilton Morris [05:24]

3. Shift in Drug Reporting: From Hype to “Psychedelic Negativity” (12:11 – 18:15)

• Early 2020s reporting was overwhelmingly positive about “the psychedelic renaissance.”
• After 2018, with new clinical evidence, activism and media focus swung toward “entrepreneurship of psychedelic negativity”—with outlets like Symposia launching campaigns framing drug legalization and commercialization as exploitative, colonial, or dangerous.

“There’s a term for it... ‘Entrepreneurship of psychedelic negativity.’ Almost its own micro-economy of people writing about ‘the gentrification of consciousness.’” —Hamilton Morris [16:44]

• Convoluted claims against MDMA therapy included accusations of the “gentrification of consciousness,” anti-veteran rhetoric, and moral panics over patents that distracted from core issues of drug prohibition.

4. The Role of Symposia and Paid Activism (23:55 – 33:27)

• Symposia, an activist journalism collective, is identified as primary agitator against MDMA legalization. Morris alleges it was infiltrated by unhinged actors and funded by USONA, a pharmaceutical competitor to MAPS’s MDMA efforts.
• The group mixed valid critique with outsized “policing,” cancel campaigns, and documented encouragement of sabotage (up to “militant tactics”) against rivals—a campaign that ultimately self-destructed in scandal, infighting, and exposure of members’ questionable behaviors.

“The sorts of people that tend to appoint themselves as police officers to protect a space are often the least ethical, craziest people in a given group.” —Hamilton Morris [24:17]

• Funding sources and personal vendettas (e.g., the Sarlo family foundation) were often obfuscated or misrepresented, misleading grassroots activists.

5. How USONA Manipulated Media and Public Opinion (27:49 – 33:41)

• USONA, via direct funding and influence on Symposia and allied journalists at Vice, planted negative stories about their business opponent, Compass Pathways, often without factual basis.
• These tactics included leaking, planting “cancel” stories, and mobilizing activists for reputational and operational sabotage.

“USONA would... issue all their stories through this one Vice blogger... Vice was a perfect tool for this particular thing. No one has been surprised at all that this happened.” —Hamilton Morris [27:49]

6. Collapse of Clinical MDMA Approval (45:50 – 53:19)

• Despite decades of effort, positive trials (67% of participants in remission), and elaborate safety protocols, the FDA was swayed by public hearings influenced by Symposia and its supporters.
• Misrepresentation and exaggeration of isolated abuse incidents, false testimony, and coordinated public comment “astroturfing” eroded institutional confidence.
• Result: MDMA for PTSD remains Schedule 1, with vulnerable populations denied access to breakthrough therapy.

“So this keeps going…. There was one group that was particularly active in anti-psychedelic reporting. They became... they were terrorizing everyone in the psychedelic world. They were called Symposia.” —Hamilton Morris [22:54]

7. Journalism, Legal Threats & the Weaponization of Law (09:59 – 11:33, 65:25)

• The old rationale for working at legacy outlets—legal protection—is eroding, and legal threats are now widely used as tactical censorship.
• Morris discusses ongoing legal threats (defamation, harassment) from Symposia and affiliated philanthropists, noting the role of “fact-checking” as a shield against lawsuits rather than a pursuit of truth.

8. The Deeper Political and Personal Motivations (62:45 – 64:03, 121:23)

• Much of the movement against MDMA therapy was rooted not in authentic anti-capitalism or concern for patients, but in personal vendettas and rivalries:
  • A major funder (Susie Sarlo) opposed MAPS after a family inheritance dispute.
  • USONA’s agenda was driven by vengeance against Compass, not patient safety.
  • Paid activists used progressive language as smokescreen for business and personal goals.

“It has nothing to do with anything but a personal vendetta.” —Andrew Callahan [121:35]

9. The Failure of Policy, Advocacy, and the Left (61:08 – 62:14)

• Infighting and “cannibalistic” tendencies within left/progressive activism made the broader movement vulnerable to manipulation and self-destruction.
• Legitimate concerns around abuse, indigenous knowledge, and ethics became tools for sabotage rather than reform.

“Cohesion is required and it’s so easy to manipulate. As we’ve now seen, we had one pharmaceutical company and one family exploit a couple psychos on the left and cause a massive amount of damage to psychedelic progress.” —Hamilton Morris [61:30]

10. Lessons for Policy and Harm Reduction (83:14 – 87:56)

• Hamilton makes the case for full drug legalization and pragmatic, regulated approaches over punitive, prohibitionist models.
• The destruction of MDMA’s prospects is a microcosm of larger failures—misplaced blame, media distortion, and overfocus on marginal risks.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the scope of media manipulation:
  • “When a story gets complicated enough, it just starts to sound like the gibberish of a conspiracy theorist.” —Hamilton Morris [30:46]
• On “paid protestors” and controlled opposition:
  • “It’s typically not true, but I find it really interesting here that the company USONA is using this sort of like anti capitalist, anti fascist language to do their bidding...” —Andrew Callahan [33:27]
• On the FDA rejecting MDMA:
  • “The FDA ruled against it… No. Yeah, the FDA ruled against it.” —Hamilton Morris [53:14]
• The most dangerous drugs are the legal ones:
  • “Benzodiazepines are a really good way to fuck yourself up... it’s very easy to medicalize your own use.” —Hamilton Morris [79:42]
• On the tragic irony of “anti-abuse” activism:
  • “If the stated goal of preventing sexual abuse were real, then having a formalized, approved clinical framework... would be the best way to prevent that type of abuse.” [122:37]
• On how movements get sabotaged:
  • “A major moral of this story is just how much damage a group of psychos can do... Like, people that have stuff to do are busy. They don’t want to be in a Twitter war with crazy people.” —Hamilton Morris [118:56]

Timeline of Important Segments (Timestamps, MM:SS)

• Intro to Symposia drama: 00:00–01:17
• Hamilton’s background & current work: 01:21–02:52, 73:58–76:01
• History of drug reporting at Vice: 04:06–08:03
• Legacy and pitfalls of journalistic ethics: 08:35–10:51
• Paid activist sabotage of MDMA trials: 12:11–19:00, 44:03–58:28
• Allegations, legal threats & inside stories: 31:21–43:11, 65:25–66:28
• MAPS trials, FDA hearings, the “cancel campaign”: 45:50–53:41
• Effects of the MDMA rejection: 58:28–61:08
• Dangers of left/progressive self-destruction: 61:08–62:41
• Funding, vendettas, and why MDMA was really derailed: 62:45–65:21, 121:23–121:52
• Advice for listeners and final thoughts: 127:35–128:04

Conclusion & Takeaways

The effort to legalize MDMA for PTSD therapy suffered a decisive defeat not due to bad science or medical risk, but because of orchestrated activist/media sabotage, funded by rival pharmaceutical interests and unresolved personal vendettas. The episode exposes how progressive rhetoric and identity politics can be weaponized—by those with something to lose—against the very movements they seem to serve. Hamilton Morris and Andrew Callahan offer a clarion warning for future activism and reporting: always interrogate motives, follow the money, and don’t let manufactured outrage distract from real solutions.

“Be suspicious of the news, regard it with suspicion, but also be smart about it. Be critical. Make your own news... it’s an existential responsibility to develop a well calibrated detector and understanding the world.” —Hamilton Morris [127:35]

[Links to Hamilton's Patreon and coverage suggested by hosts]