Summer 2011 Vol. 21, No. 2 Research Edition
“I originally found out about MAPS 12 years ago.
Several years earlier, I had chosen to study pharmacology at university..Still, I couldn’t help but notice and feel somewhat uneasy about the way in which clinical psychiatry tended to view these hallowed alchemical tools..In fact I was completely discouraged by my tutors to pursue any career relating to the study of psychedelics, as this would be tantamount to committing professional suicide. But the more I studied, the more I saw how modern psychiatry dealt with the human condition: if there’s a problem, then it’s best swept under a pharmacological carpet of dulling therapy rather than daring to deal with the causes.
So I looked for others in a similar position and found MAPS.. All this hard work that they do is bringing some much-needed evidence into the realm of scientific understanding—evidence that will ultimately allow psychiatry revise the way in which it sees the human condition, allowing them to better help those suffering from conditions like PTSD, drug dependency, and anxiety due to life‑threatening illnesses.
I see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to help out with something that could potentially make such a difference to so many people’s lives here on earth. And if, while doing this, there is also a chance to help society overcome any fear or negative preconceptions
that it might harbor about psychedelic research..well, you can count me in.”
May we count you in too? www.maps.org/donate
