Joe Mattia, founder of psychedelic resource and news site PsychedelicTimes.com, interviews M.A.P.S. (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) founder Rick Doblin, on his experiences and his insights regarding the future of MDMA assisted psychotherapy.

Rick shares some personal history, and references his own "coming out of the psychedelic closet." There's a mention of the Zendo, the harm reduction program set up by MAPS at festivals, a story about MAPS' beginnings at Esalen, and the use of Cannabis in the clinical trials.

 

Show Notes

• The history of psychedelics in the US: From William James’ experimentation with nitrous oxide in 1890 to the Controlled Substance Act in 1970 [3:58]
• The 1970s: Rick’s introduction to LSD, attendance of Stan Groff’s workshop at Esalen, and dropping out of school [8:00]
• The 1980s: Rick’s studies at Esalen, personal discovery of MDMA, and the start of MAPS as a psychedelic and medical marijuana pharmaceutical non-profit company [9:45]
• Why it’s important to work within the system [19:00]
• A possible alliance with the police, who experience high rates of PTSD and could benefit from this type of therapy [25:32]
• Current status of MDMA studies in Switzerland, Israel, Canada, and the US [29:16]
• Psilocybin research as end-of-life therapy [44:28]
• Phase 2 of MDMA research [46:46]
• Pros, cons, protocol, and challenges of using marijuana for PTSD [52:52]
• Phase 3 of MDMA research: How MAPS retains its nonprofit status by creating a Public Benefit Corp. [1:16:47]
• Phase 3 of MDMA research (cont): Therapist training program through MAPS and CIIS certification for psychedelic therapy [1:19:00]
• Zendo Project at Burning Man [1:30:43]