Summer 2009 Vol. 19, No. 2 Research Edition
Our Canadian MDMA/PTSD study will be ready to begin once we receive a license to import MDMA into Canada. We are not sure how long this will take–perhaps several more months. The principal investigators, Ingrid Pacey, MD, and Andrew Feldmar, MA, both participated in our MDMA/PTSD training seminar held in Austria in June. We have approval from Health Canada and a Canadian Institutional Review Board (IRB). The protocol and informed consent forms have been finalized. Our clinical monitoring team completed their pre-study visit and are currently preparing the other documents for the study, such as the case report forms, standard operating procedures, and other essential documents.
Our pharmacist in Canada has received an information packet from Health Canada with an application and instructions for a license to import a Schedule 1 substance. Unfortunately, the process of getting the importation license is taking longer than we had initially anticipated. Our pharmacist will become the first and only person to have a license to import MDMA into Canada for scientific research (or, for that matter, for any other purpose). We are hoping that we will be able to start the study by November 1 and are eager to begin this second North American study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD.
We have received our first financial pledge for this study from supporter and Canadian drug harm reduction expert Mark Haden, in the amount of $800. We are seeking a Canadian nonprofit to partner with us so that Canadian donors can receive tax deductions. We are planning to have a fundraiser in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday, October 24, where we will reach out to our Canadian supporters. MAPS President Rick Doblin, PhD, will be in Vancouver that weekend to speak at the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s national convention. If you are interested in attending the fundraiser, please contact Randolph@ maps.org or call 831-429-6368 for more information.
MAPS supporters may recognize Ingrid from MAPS’ educational Psychedelic Crisis video, which can be viewed on the MAPS website. Andrew made national headlines when the US Customs in Vancouver barred him from entering the US for having written about his own LSD use in the 1960s. Andrew was featured in a very funny Colbert Report segment.