September 20th is known throughout the United States of America as the day for celebrating and supporting magic mushrooms. To celebrate this occasion, Paul Stamets, took to Instagram to ask followers and Instagram users to support certain not-for-profit corporations that are working to “legalize the use of psilocybin and psilocybin mushrooms.” Mr. Stamets is a writer that supports usage of magic mushrooms and considers himself to be an expert on things fungi. I also consider myself to be a citizen scientist and lover of fungi. As a lover of fungi, I have purchased and read a handful of Mr. Stamets’ books and have found them to be generally informative.

Yesterday, I commented on Mr. Stamets’ Instagram post asking users to support certain not-for-profit corporations working to legalize the use of magic mushrooms. In my comment, I asked Mr. Stamets if he cared to help not-for-profit corporations owned by individuals of color. Mr. Stamets responded by deleting my comment.”Mr.Colonizer, I mean Stamets. Do you support any nonprofit owned and operated by people of color and not just white folks and colonizers???” I believe that my use of the word “colonizer” triggered Mr. Stamets, and he reacted by deleting my comment. Following his deletion, Mr. Stamets elected to block my account entirely.

I found Mr. Stamets’ actions to be both strange and a bit confusing. Overall, I find that people in positions of power often talk a good talk. when it comes to ‘walking the walk,’ these individuals will only walk it if the outcome will line their pockets with money or put them in a position of power to control and colonize others for their purpose. I figured that my comment would either provide Mr. Stamets with an excellent opportunity to support an initiative involving people of color or engage in a meaningful dialogue about why it would not be appropriate to support such an initiative.

All that being said, I am not saying that Mr. Stamets needs to explain himself to me or anyone else. If you claim to care about #humanity, #community, #mentalhealth, and whatever other issue that has been popularized as a humanitarian hashtag, however, it is somewhat cowardly to block a person that may disagree with your opinion. It shows a fear of confrontation and discourse on a subject matter to take this position. The reality is that people of color are excluded or left out of the picture when it comes to operating and controlling the business. When, in fact, there would be no business without people of color. Word to Kilindi Iyi.

Many not-for-profit corporations are owned and operated by people of color. Yet, Mr. Stamets only feels the need to support or endorse those entities run by Caucasians. For example, this week, there was a conference for psychedelics that people of color organized. Mr. Stamets did not attend the conference nor mention any of the involved not-for-profit corporations, possibly because they are not owned or operated by Caucasians. Many pioneers of the psychedelic space are people of color that dedicate their lives to study the benefits of magic mushrooms. In my perspective, it is disrespectful and disingenuous not to pay homage and give credit to these people. Unfortunately, this happens far too often, and I am not surprised in any way by this occurrence.

The not-for-profit corporation that Mr. Stamets and many others often cite in the psychedelic space is the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (“MAPS”). A review of MAPS’ website reveals that MAPS was founded in 1986 and is a “501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses; of psychedelics and marijuana.” MAPS’ website also states that the company “furthers its mission by developing psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medicines, training therapists, and working to establish a network of treatment centers supporting scientific research into spirituality, creativity, and neuroscience educating the public honestly about the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana.”

According to MAPS’ statement of fiscal position, MAPS receives approximately $16,922,268 in donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and endowments in the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year (FY 19-20). A review of MAPS’ finances reveals that MAPS spent approximately $14.7M on psychedelic research, harm reduction, advocacy, and education initiatives during FY 19-20. Based on MAPS’ finances, this would mean that MAPS either used $2.2M on operating expenses or pocketed $2.2M in profit as reserves for future expenses. Where do you think that money went? Do you believe it went to serve MAPS’ mission?

There is much more that I could say on this issue, but I think I have said enough for the time being. If Mr. Stamets supports people of color, his actions would indicate such. If Mr. Stamets is not a colonizer, his movements will demonstrate that as well. Time and time again, people will say that they care about helping people only to have their actions indicate otherwise. Until Mr. Stamets is willing to have an honest dialogue on the subject at hand, I’m going to continue to view him as a colonizer and not a man of honor. Mr. Stamets – let’s talk like grown men so we can make a profound difference and promote the use of magic mushrooms to the entire world.

Links To Articles Referenced for information in this post:How Big Pharma is Hijacking Psychedelic Legalization for Profit MAPS Financial Report How Big Pharma Is Hijacking The Psychedelic Space

Links To POC Organizations That You Can Support:Oakland Hyphae Darren Le Baron Kilindi Iyi TheUyogaFarm Oyi Sun Tamerrian Institute Divine Master Alchemy