MAPS Dedicates Legacy Circle to Ashawna Hailey
Ashawna Hailey was a software pioneer and MAPS board member who cared deeply about making a better world for all. When she passed away in 2011, Ashawna left $10 million in bequests to drug policy reform organizations, including $5.5 million to MAPS. The newly named Ashawna Hailey Legacy Circle honors Ashawna’s memory and recognizes donors who follow her extraordinary lead and include MAPS in their will. Learn more: maps.org/legacy
Following Landmark Achievement, California Psychedelic Decriminalization Bill Slated for 2023 Reintroduction
- Senate Bill 519 would have decriminalized the personal possession of certain psychedelic substances, legalized life-saving public health interventions, and studied future approaches to increasing use of psychedelics
- Bill sponsor Senator Scott Wiener, who enlisted MAPS to advise on the bill, led the reform closer to passage than any previous state-wide psychedelic decriminalization legislation
- Going forward, MAPS will focus on advocating for psychedelic policy reform to include state funding for public education, harm reduction, and unarmed crisis response services.
MAPS, in Coordination with Allies, Assists U.S. Sentencing Commission in Reaching Quorum
- United States Sentencing Commission, which establishes and advises Congress on federal sentencing guidelines, reaches first quorum in 3 years and a full slate for first time since 2014
- Delayed appointments inhibited implementation of drug sentencing and other reforms to reduce disparities in the federal prison system, including First Step Act of 2018
- This concluded a year-long bipartisan effort by MAPS to support successful appointments
Statement: Biden Administration Preparing for Potential FDA Approval of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD
On July 26, a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was made public describing the Food and Drug Administration’s “anticipated approval…within approximately 24 months” of psychedelic-assisted therapies.
“We applaud the Biden Administration for taking psychedelic-assisted therapies, and their potential to treat life-threatening mental health conditions, seriously. A Federal Task Force on psychedelic-assisted therapies should take a multidisciplinary approach to ensuring that red tape, administrative delays, or insurance coverage questions don’t leave Americans suffering as they seek to access approved treatments.
For the first time, research that has been driven by philanthropists could additionally be supported by the same types of Federal grants that have funded other health care revolutions and develop patient access strategies that prioritize public benefit over profit. For decades, we have been making the case for what the Administration is now acknowledging: psychedelic-assisted therapies may become a key in addressing the most urgent mental health challenges of our time and reducing needless suffering.”
—Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director, MAPS
MAPS Launches Psychedelic Fundamentals, an Online Education Curriculum From Leading Psychedelic Organization
- Psychedelic Fundamentals is the initial offering in the new MAPS Digital Learning program introducing learners to the most important aspects of psychedelic history, research, uses, and harm reduction
- The series of short, easy-to-follow modules is the perfect starting point for people trying to learn about psychedelics for the first time, but is also useful for psychedelic veterans looking to refine their knowledge
- “This is the drug training we should have all received as teenagers.”
MAPS Appoints Jeff George and Dan Grossman to MAPS PBC Board of Directors
- Experienced healthcare leaders bring decades of experience in global drug commercialization and patient access
- Appointment brings significant pharmaceutical leadership experience to the MAPS PBC board
- MDMA-assisted therapy, a novel treatment for PTSD with FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation, is on track for NDA submission in 2023 pending results of the confirmatory Phase 3 trial
MAPS Raises Nearly $1.6 Million in Christie’s NFT Auction
- Digital art, inspired by personal experience and the potential of psychedelic healing, was donated by leading digital artists including Beeple, David Choe, and Alex Grey
- Cartography of the Mind represented the single-largest sale of art to benefit MAPS in its 30+ year history of philanthropic art sales
- Select pieces will be exhibited at Psychedelic Science 2023, marking the first time digital art will be exhibited in the extensive Psychedelic Science galleries and exhibits
