Matthew J. Baggott

Matthew John Baggott is an American neuroscientist who studies entactogens, hallucinogens, and other psychoactive drugs.^{[5][6][1][7][8]} He is considered to be an expert on MDMA and other entactogens and is an influential figure in the psychedelic medicine movement.^[9][8][10]

Matthew J. Baggott
Other names	Matt Baggott
Alma mater	University of Chicago; University of California, Berkeley[1][2]
Occupation(s)	Neuroscientist; Data scientist
Years active	1980s–present[1][3][4]
Organization(s)	Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS); Tactogen
Website	https://mdma.expert/ https://tactogen.com/

Baggott is co-founder and CEO of Tactogen, a public benefit corporation started in 2020 that is developing novel MDMA-like drugs as medicines.^{[5][6][1][7][11]} Baggott had previously worked with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) studying and developing MDMA as a potential medicine.^[7][8][5] He had also formerly worked in a research lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) affiliated with Alexander Shulgin and Peyton Jacob III, and became well-acquainted with Shulgin while in the lab.^{[12][7][8][13]} Baggott was involved in the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical studies of MDMA and MDA.^[4][2][1] He has been active in scientific research since the 1980s^[1] and has been studying MDMA since that time.^[4][14] Baggott was also previously a data scientist and then director of data science and engineering at Genentech.^[1] He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and his doctorate degree in neuroscience from UCSF.^[1][7][8]

In January 14, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) proposed moving five unscheduled and relatively obscure psychedelic tryptamines, including 4-OH-DiPT, 5-MeO-AMT, 5-MeO-MiPT, 5-MeO-DET, and DiPT, into the Schedule I controlled substances category in the United States.^[15][16] Baggott and Tactogen, as well as a large number of other individuals and organizations, publicly challenged and opposed the proposal.^{[17][18][16][19][20]} In July 22, 2022, under significant pressure, the DEA withdrew the proposal.^[16][19]

Selected publications

• Baggott M, Heifets B, Jones RT, Mendelson J, Sferios E, Zehnder J (November 2000). "Chemical analysis of ecstasy pills". JAMA. 284 (17): 2190. doi:10.1001/jama.284.17.2190 (inactive 1 July 2025). PMID 11056589.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
• Lester SJ, Baggott M, Welm S, Schiller NB, Jones RT, Foster E, Mendelson J (December 2000). "Cardiovascular effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial". Ann Intern Med. 133 (12): 969–973. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-133-12-200012190-00012. PMID 11119398.
• Baggott, Matthew; Jerome, Lisa; Stuart, Reid (1 August 2001), 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): A Review of the English-Language Scientific and Medical Literature (PDF) (1 ed.), Multidiscplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
• Baggott, Matthew; Mendelson, John (2001). "Does MDMA Cause Brain Damage?". In Holland, J. (ed.). Ecstasy: The Complete Guide: A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA. Inner Traditions/Bear. pp. 110–145, 396–404. ISBN 978-0-89281-857-0. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
• Harris DS, Baggott M, Mendelson JH, Mendelson JE, Jones RT (August 2002). "Subjective and hormonal effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in humans". Psychopharmacology (Berl). 162 (4): 396–405. doi:10.1007/s00213-002-1131-1. PMID 12172693.
• Baggott, Matthew John (Spring 2010). Other Times I Can Barely See: The Effects of Hallucinogens on Vision and Attention (Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience thesis). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
• Baggott MJ, Siegrist JD, Galloway GP, Robertson LC, Coyle JR, Mendelson JE (December 2010). "Investigating the mechanisms of hallucinogen-induced visions using 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA): a randomized controlled trial in humans". PLOS ONE. 5 (12): e14074. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...514074B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014074. PMC 2996283. PMID 21152030.
• Baggott MJ, Kirkpatrick MG, Bedi G, de Wit H (June 2015). "Intimate insight: MDMA changes how people talk about significant others". J Psychopharmacol. 29 (6): 669–677. doi:10.1177/0269881115581962. PMC 4698152. PMID 25922420.
• Baggott MJ, Coyle JR, Siegrist JD, Garrison KJ, Galloway GP, Mendelson JE (April 2016). "Effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on socioemotional feelings, authenticity, and autobiographical disclosure in healthy volunteers in a controlled setting". J Psychopharmacol. 30 (4): 378–387. doi:10.1177/0269881115626348. PMID 26880224.
• Bershad AK, Miller MA, Baggott MJ, de Wit H (December 2016). "The effects of MDMA on socio-emotional processing: Does MDMA differ from other stimulants?". J Psychopharmacol. 30 (12): 1248–1258. doi:10.1177/0269881116663120. PMC 8753974. PMID 27562198.
• Baggot MJ (2018). "Seed crystal: on the contributions of Alexander Shulgin to the science of consciousness". The Commemorative Edition of Pihkal and Tihkal. Berkeley: Transform Press. pp. 474–482. ISBN 9780963009661. OCLC 1176317484.
• Baggott MJ, Garrison KJ, Coyle JR, Galloway GP, Barnes AJ, Huestis MA, Mendelson JE (2019). "Effects of the Psychedelic Amphetamine MDA (3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine) in Healthy Volunteers". J Psychoactive Drugs. 51 (2): 108–117. doi:10.1080/02791072.2019.1593560. PMID 30967099.
• Matthew Baggott (18 June 2023). "Better Than Ecstasy: Progress in Developing a Novel Class of Therapeutic with Matthew Baggott, PhD". YouTube. Tactogen. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
• Baggott M (23 June 2023). Beyond Ecstasy: Progress in Developing and Understanding a Novel Class of Therapeutic Medicine. PS2023 [Psychedelic Science 2023, June 19–23, 2023, Denver, Colorado]. Denver, CO: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.
• Baggott, Matthew J. (1 October 2023). "Learning about STP: A Forgotten Psychedelic from the Summer of Love" (PDF). History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. 65 (1): 93–116. doi:10.3368/hopp.65.1.93. ISSN 2694-3034. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
• Johnson CB, Walther D, Baggott MJ, Baker LE, Baumann MH (September 2024). "Novel Benzofuran Derivatives Induce Monoamine Release and Substitute for the Discriminative Stimulus Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine". J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 391 (1): 22–29. doi:10.1124/jpet.123.001837. PMC 11413916. PMID 38272669.