Episode 58 - Rick Doblin, PhD - MAPS: Past, Present and Future

This all new episode of the MAPS podcast needs no introduction. Our very own Rick Doblin beams in with Zach and takes us through an oral history of MAPS from the early fledgling days to the leader in psychedelic research that it is today. Also, the talk gets personal when Rick reminisces on memories of Timothy Leary, Laura Huxley and Ram Dass from the first Psychedelic Science conference in 1990. This interview is a beautiful glimpse into the history of psychedelic research and one mans passion for a mission that many said could not be fulfilled. It is not to be missed. 

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and puppy, with three empty rooms from his children who have all graduated college and begun their life journeys