POD 92: Understanding and improving MDMA with Dr. Matthew Baggott
Added 2023-11-29 00:42:16 +0000 UTCFor years I've wanted to interview Dr. Matthew Baggott, one of the word's leading experts on the human psychopharmacology and molecular neuropharmacology of MDMA and related entactogens. In this conversation we discuss his research career and his new efforts to design improved version of MDMA.
George Ricaurte Controversy - https://maps.org/research-archive/mdma/studyresponse.html
Comments
I do wonder if there would be a way to create some type of drug that would increase the amount of serotonin transporter available. Or a way to directly replace it in the brain.
Alistair The Alvarian
2024-01-17 19:50:16 +0000 UTCI'm very good at audio repair if you ever need help with that. I remove noise all the time and you can't even tell it was there.
Magic Plants
2024-01-02 10:59:59 +0000 UTCExcited to hear if they mention the Aminoinandes or Nichols work. APB's are interesting too.
Magic Plants
2024-01-02 10:59:20 +0000 UTCThis was fantastic, thank you for everything you do Hamilton 🙏 I'm curious to hear your take on Sceletium tortuosum (Kanna), a succulent found in South Africa. It's an empathogen similar to MDMA, but with more mild effects. It's legal (for now) and seems to be growing in popularity in the U.S.
Sid Edwards
2023-12-20 16:43:11 +0000 UTCI highly disagree I found MDMA highly therapeutic as a person that has been molested and raped I imagined the water it was my showerhead and honestly I haven’t been as dependent on people for my sexual needs as well as I no longer find myself as depressed over things like that
Grace Franklin
2023-12-19 03:38:23 +0000 UTCCurious about this as well. He’s obviously a very knowledgeable and probably a trained chemist/pharmacologist etc. I think he’s done a great service to the Reddit/online drug community in actively engaging many people on the topic of harm reduction. It means a lot more coming from a person whom you know has a good sense of what they’re talking about. Because almost no one in those groups knows what the fuck they’re talking about! Lol. I totally understand his motivation for anonymity though
Noah Cooper
2023-12-16 23:39:50 +0000 UTCI can't seem to find the members post tab anymore, was this recently removed?
Marco
2023-12-12 09:03:38 +0000 UTCThe purple is definitely NOT caused by borohydrides. I've never seen borohydrides produce anything other than (initially) "champagne" colored MDMA. Really though, any amount of color is unacceptable.
Learn Moore
2023-12-11 17:12:16 +0000 UTCHow to improve MDMA: Bin it, and use Mephedrone instead!
Learn Moore
2023-12-11 17:08:09 +0000 UTCThere is currently alleged MDMA being manufactured domestically in the US using the synthesis method published by MAPS available through darknet markets and the color is pure white.
Aaron Owens
2023-12-07 11:38:35 +0000 UTCYou think most consumers have an ounce of knowledge?! The market begs to differ.
CSN
2023-12-05 17:04:26 +0000 UTCEXCELLENT episode, one of my favorites. I love this idea of characterizing entactogens by their ratio of serotonergic/dopaminergic activity, I had been playing around with that idea for a little bit. I do think this is an interesting heuristic for attempting to characterize an "optimal" entactogen, especially if you wanted to design multiple drugs which were each suited to different needs. Love Dr. Baggot's note that a substance which allows for rational thought and discussion instead of MDMA's (sometimes reckless) 'love and acceptance' could be more valuable for some settings, I couldn't agree more. Could plausibly test the hypothesis that this (seroton/dopamin)-ergic balance is responsible for entactogenic effects by doing a discrimination test between MDMA and one of the less entactogenic monoamine releasers augmented with another substance to adjust the activity ratio to something very close to MDMA's.
James Moran
2023-12-03 18:44:23 +0000 UTCOn the idea of MDMAs "magic" effects being distracting for therapy: when taken in a "MDMA for couples" setting (my SO and I alone at home) I have found that 3-methyl methcathinone is very useful for honest discussion - on MDMA the discussion can often get super wacky and nonsensical due to the magic psychedelic effect, which is nice but not the best for problem-solving relationship issues... 3 methyl methcathinone produces the extreme euphoria which facilitates honesty and connection without the conversation sliding into non-sober territory which can be less useful. Loved this conversation Hamilton, thanks ❤️
Aidan
2023-12-02 09:57:35 +0000 UTCThere’s been a brown/purplish variety floating around nyc in the last 3-4 years that I’ve seen.
John John
2023-12-01 15:37:39 +0000 UTCI have talked to him in DMs a few times. He's extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Awesome figure in the community!
Helmer
2023-12-01 11:46:15 +0000 UTCId love to hear more about the Borax combo and Borax himself. Have you tried any version of it yourself, Hamilton?
Helmer
2023-12-01 11:45:22 +0000 UTCThis one was super interesting sir thanks for doing it. I really enjoy this type of content.
Ari Givony
2023-11-30 11:47:56 +0000 UTCIt was MDA that electrified me and turned my interest in science towards medicinal chemistry in 1968 or so when a friend was visiting the notorious Sausalito houseboats, and came back with a few grams. Being fifteen didn't seem to matter to the older kids handing it out for free....and being so young, we proceeded to eat most of it over the next few days. We'd all tried LSD a few times, but something about MDA was magical - we had a variety of fascinating experiences, somehow surviving with nothing worse than being burned out for a few days...but I remember sitting at my desk as that summer ended and back to school time came close, thinking, "I've got to learn how to make that stuff!" Speaking of MDMA in the 1980s and couples therapy, there was a popular bumper sticker in those days that said, "Don't get married for three weeks after XTC!". ;*[}
Steven
2023-11-30 06:28:40 +0000 UTCWith various phenethylamines, there seems to be a pink impurity that shows when overacidifying - I've heard of this occuring with amphetamine, 2C-H and TMA-2, and probably various others. Your take on that? Acetal hydrolysis is out of the question for that, and weird phenol degradation products can't be the case for amphetamine either.
p4nix
2023-11-29 20:17:19 +0000 UTCGreat interview, I've wondered if you might have a discussion around newer-gen entactogens and this is about as fitting of an interviewee as one could find.
myguymikey
2023-11-29 19:00:36 +0000 UTCBack in 2012-2015 there was a lot of BK-MDMA going around in The US. I always considered it like a weird middle ground between Meth and MDMA, it was less psychedelic or Empathogenic than MDMA but much less stimulating than Meth. The main problem I found with it was that it didn't last long enough so it needed to be redosed a lot to maintainthe empathogenic effect. It also gave me less depression after it wore off than MDMA does. Kind of miss it.
Chris DeLuague
2023-11-29 15:34:59 +0000 UTCAt around the hour mark, the Borax Combo is discussed. Hamilton, I know that you are somewhat active on internet drug forums, including reddit. Have you interacted with Borax? He is a very interesting figure in the online drug nerd world.
Anthony
2023-11-29 11:48:45 +0000 UTCNice. Looking forward to this. Thanks, Hamilton!
Leigh Bergin
2023-11-29 08:11:01 +0000 UTCI'm also only seeing purple colored MDMA out west (Reno) subjectively it seems to be just as good as the classic champagne colored. I've been told it's due to the precursor being used
Warped Vision
2023-11-29 08:03:35 +0000 UTCIt's not purple dye.
M
2023-11-29 07:23:41 +0000 UTCI had to stop on Hamilton's comment about the Spirit Molecule.. YES! That was my full takeaway from that book, and what I suggest to anyone interested in that stuff.
John Niles
2023-11-29 05:48:47 +0000 UTCMy understanding is that purple MDMA is caused by borohydrides. That said, there is absolutely a trend with black market producers to dye their crystals purple. I've seen one confirmed report of purple dye being used as a form of "stealth", but I think it's most commonly done because people think it's cool and there are even some people who seem to think that purple MDMA is somehow qualitatively "better".
Dan Arnold
2023-11-29 04:00:38 +0000 UTCAnd coloring xtal won't increase profits by any means. If anything it will reduce them if the consumers have an ounce of knowledge. The dutch have been and will continue to be the best producer for decades to come . Until things shift.
M
2023-11-29 03:06:31 +0000 UTCIt's definitely an impurity. Grape vine says it's of Canadian origin.
M
2023-11-29 03:04:52 +0000 UTCAwesome I love the med chem interviews you do
Richard Nixon
2023-11-29 01:50:17 +0000 UTCThank you for responding! Hearing more will be interesting. Big fan of your work it's nice to hear these things talked about scientifically instead of stoners rambling with half truths and drug myths.
Moe Massa
2023-11-29 01:38:36 +0000 UTCI strongly suspect it's an impurity derived from acetal hydrolysis when the HCl salt is made with aqueous HCl, I have seen similar things happen when using aqueous HCl to make HCl salts of MDPEAs. I will address it on a Q&A if someone sends in the question.
Hamilton Morris
2023-11-29 01:25:49 +0000 UTCPurple mdma showing up in midwest. I read that a different cooking method is causing this but I can't help but think dealers are coloring crystals to increase profits. If anybody knows more about this I'd be interested to hear it.
Moe Massa
2023-11-29 01:18:39 +0000 UTCYea I wanna eat some crystals so bad
Devan Ghai
2023-11-29 00:59:03 +0000 UTCLove this guy…I feel like most people aren’t as familiar with him & his work as they should be!
Char!
2023-11-29 00:49:38 +0000 UTC
