MAPS is a 501 (c) (3) non–profit corporation chartered in 1986 as a membership–based research and educational organization. MAPS was founded one year after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made MDMA a Schedule 1 drug and criminalized both its recreational and therapeutic uses. We are actively developing and funding clinical trials with human subjects in accordance with guidelines set forth by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the International Council on Harmonization (ICH/GCP). During this process we are training therapists to administer psychedelic drugs in therapeutic settings.

We consider ourselves to be a non–profit pharmaceutical company working to develop generic drugs. We estimate that it will take $10 million dollars and 10 years to conduct the research necessary to prove to the satisfaction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency the safety and efficacy of either MDMA or marijuana for one clinical indication. MAPS President Rick Doblin, PhD used to speak and write about a $5 million dollar, 5–year plan to develop MDMA into a prescription medicine (PDF) (or HTML Version).

We believe that psychedelics and marijuana, when used in proper settings, can be beneficial for such uses as psychotherapeutic treatment, physiological research and treatment, treatment of addiction, pain relief, spiritual exploration, creativity research, shamanic healing, psychic research, brain physiology research and related scientific inquiries.

We pursue our research mission by helping and/or sponsoring scientific researchers to design, obtain governmental approval for, fund, conduct and report on psychedelic and marijuana research in human volunteers.

MAPS explores issues surrounding pharmacologically–altered states of consciousness. We have positioned ourself directly at the center of the conflict between scientific freedom and the politically–driven strategy of the War on Drugs. The contemporary status of prohibition categorizes all illegal drug uses as destructive and blurs all distinctions between use and abuse. MAPS’ focus on altered states of consciousness also requires MAPS to deal with deep–seated cultural and individual ambivalence toward religious experiences, the exploration of the unconscious mind, fear of death and loss of control, and powerful emotional states. We take great efforts to find ways to balance the hopes and fears of government regulators, scientific researchers, drug policy advocates, patients, and people with a non–medical (e.g. spiritual, recreational, artistic, creative problem–solving) interest in psychedelic drugs and marijuana.

At present we receive no funding from pharmaceutical industries, the government, or major foundations. We rely on member donations to support our research and educational projects. If you share our sense of the value of these research projects, please become a MAPS member.