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Dear MAPS Members and Supporters, We have a lot of great news to share with you this month. There has been major progress with our clinical research – our US MDMA/PTSD veterans study has officially started, our ibogaine/opiate dependence outcome study has enrolled its first subjects, our LSD/end-of-life anxiety study has enrolled two new subjects, the study design for our marijuana/PTSD research has been finalized, and a whole lot more has taken place since our last email update. Details about all of our accomplishments are below. This month we have kicked off a campaign to gain hundreds of new MAPS members by the end the year. A total of 5,226 people have been MAPS members since our inception in 1986. Our goal is to add another 524 members by December 31, 2010, to reach a total of 5,750 people who have ever become members. If you aren’t yet a MAPS member, please become a member today. As an added bonus, the next 200 new members who sign up will have their donation magnified by a generous donor who will give an additional $25 gift to MAPS. All MAPS members receive our tri-annual Bulletin. Signing up today will ensure you receive a copy of the Bulletin we are preparing for December. If you can donate more than $60, you can choose one of several MAPS published books as a free premium gift. There are several more ways for you to participate with MAPS. We could use your support with our efforts to end the federal government’s monopoly on the supply of marijuana for research. You can help out by visiting our medical marijuana production facility campaign page and contacting your senators. Are you interested in meeting us at an event? We have events coming up in Denver, Boulder, Los Angeles, and Oakland. MAPS’ Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., will be speaking at the Science and Nonduality conference in San Rafael, CA this month, and heading down under to Australia to speak at the Entheogenesis Australis in December. MAPS’ Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar_Klosinski, Ph.D., will be speaking at the Women’s Visionary Congress in Petaluma in a few weeks. Details about these and other ways for you to be involved are in the news items below. If you aren’t yet a member, there is no better time than now to become one. If you are a member, please encourage your friends to support our work. Together, we can keep changing our world.
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Sincerely, Randolph Hencken, M.A.
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What’s happening this month at MAPS:
(Articles are below)
- MDMA/PTSD News
Veterans MDMA/PTSD Study Begins
Second Amendment to Veterans Protocol Approved by IRB, Submitted to FDA
Preparation of Final Report to FDA on Initial MDMA/PTSD Study
Paper in Progress: Long-Term Follow-up to First U.S. MDMA/PTSD Study
Swiss MDMA/PTSD Data Being Processed
Rick Doblin to Visit Israel to Prepare New MDMA/PTSD Study
Rick Doblin to Visit Jordan to Prepare MDMA/PTSD Study
Health Canada Requests Additional Information from Pharmacist Regarding Importing MDMA for our Study
MAPS Grants $5K to Franz Vollenweider for Physiological Study of MDMA/PTSD Subjects
Marijuana News
MAPS’ New Marijuana/PTSD Protocol Finalized
Take Action! End the Government’s Obstruction of Marijuana Research
MAPS Hires Lobbyist for Marijuana Production Facility/Professor Craker Campaign
Rick Doblin’s Marijuana Talk from P.O.T. Conference Now Online
Ibogaine News
First Two Subjects Enroll in Ibogaine Outcome Study
Valerie Mojeiko Presents at Ibogaine Conference in Barcelona, Oct. 13-16
LSD News
Swiss IRB Approves Subjects for LSD Study with Life-Shortening Illnesses
Psilocybin News
MAPS Grants $10K to Beckley Psilocybin/Brain Imaging Study
Participate
We’re Seeking Donations for our 2010 eBay Holiday Auction
Denver Marijuana Summit, Nov. 6
Principles and Practices of MDMA-Assisted Therapy Workshop, Boulder, CO, Nov. 7
MAPS/SSDP Autumn Gala, Boulder, CO Nov. 7
Lakeside: The MAPS Autumn Gala in Oakland, CA, Nov 12
Join MAPS in Los Angeles on Dec. 10-11
Rick Doblin at Science and Nonduality Conference, San Rafael, Oct 20
Women’s Visionary Congress: Oct 22-24, Petaluma, CA
Entheogenesis Australis Psychedelic Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 4-5
Support MAPS: Purchase Garfield’s “Daylighting” EP, Recorded Live at MAPS Conference
Other News
Chapel of Sacred Mirrors Releases Human/Nature Journal
Announcing The Psychoactive Substances Research Collection at Purdue University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
Veterans MDMA/PTSD Study Begins
From Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, MAPS’ clinical research team visited Charleston, SC, to initiate our much-anticipated MDMA/PTSD study with veterans with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD from the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars. Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., and Clinical Program Manager Amy Emerson met with Clinical Investigator Michael Mithoefer, M.D., Co-Investigator Annie Mithoefer, B.S.N, Site Coordinator Andrew Stufflebean, and Independent Raters Mark Wagner, Ph.D. and Joy Wymer, Ph.D.
The team trained the investigators and site staff on our new protocol and developed the study’s framework. In addition, the team discussed how to establish inter-rater reliability, meaning how, when scoring an individual’s answers to study measures, different raters can obtain statistically equivalent data. The inter-rater reliability process will be replicated at our other study sites. Defining this process is important for an eventual meta-analysis of all of our MDMA/PTSD research studies.
On Sept. 30, MAPS Information Technology Specialist and Accountant Josh Sonstroem went to Charleston to serve as the “unblinded randomization monitor.” This monitor oversees the pharmacists during preparation of the MDMA into the various doses required for the study. Sonstroem and the pharmacist are the only people who know which capsules contain a full MDMA dose, a partial dose, or an active placebo dose.
Two potential study subjects have passed prescreening, which is conducted by phone using an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved script. The researchers ask a series of questions to determine if an applicant is eligible for the study before conducting a more thorough screening. Potential subjects then take a psychiatric exam to verify chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD, and a physical exam to determine if there are any health factors that would exclude them from the study.
Dr. Mithoefer and Annie Mithoefer are able to work with up to three subjects a month. If these two subjects pass the next screening, we will still be recruiting subjects. We’re especially looking for subjects who live in or near Charleston. If you know of any potential subjects, please let them know about the study. If you have contacts in Charleston who could help us promote the study to veterans, please email Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Second Amendment to Veterans Protocol Approved by IRB, Submitted to the FDA
On Sept. 20, the second amendment to our study protocol was approved by the IRB. On Sept. 30, we submitted that amendment and our revised investigator’s brochure to the FDA. The amendment returned the NEO personality inventory test to the protocol, and added the Mystical States of Consciousness Questionnaire, video recording of the Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (CAPS) interview, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PGI).
The personality test was in our first study, and measures if there are any changes to a subject’s personality as a result of the treatment. Johns Hopkins’ researcher William Richards, Ph.D, developed the Mystical States of Consciousness Questionnaire. We will administer it right after treatment sessions to track any correlation between mystical experiences and overcoming PTSD. Our hypothesis is there will not be a correlation, since some subjects don’t have mystical experiences and yet still benefit from the treatment. We added the PGI measure, which assesses whether people experience significant life improvements as a result of the treatment. Similar to a quality-of-life measure, which was already in the protocol, the PGI measure tracks personal growth, for example when a subject returns to work after participating in our study. In our last study, we gathered anecdotal reports of growth, but could not quantifiably report it to the FDA.
We’ve also added video recording of the CAPS interviews to help us develop training materials for our independent raters.
We are recruiting subjects in or near Charleston. If you have contacts who could help us promote
the study to veterans, please email Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Preparation of Final Report to FDA on Initial MDMA/PTSD Study
From Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D. and Clinical Program Manager Amy Emerson were in Charleston, SC, where they archived the research data from our first U.S. MDMA/PTSD pilot study for long-term storage in preparation for any FDA audits. The documents have also been duplicated for security measures in case any were damaged or destroyed.
Berra, Amy, Ilsa Jerome, and the Mithoefers are working on a comprehensive Final Clinical Study Report for the FDA, which is set to be finished and submitted early next year. It will contain detailed information about everything relevant to the study, such as how it was conducted, how we worked with the Institutional Review Board (IRB), how and what we communicated to the FDA and the DEA, and all of the data, both analyzed and in its raw form. The FDA may conduct an independent analysis of the raw data to verify our conclusions. Essentially, “the final report is a pretty wrapped-package of the entire clinical trial,” according to Berra.
Paper in Progress About Long-Term Follow-up to First U.S. MDMA/PTSD Study
On Sept. 27, we completed the long-term follow-up study to our initial US MDMA/PTSD pilot study. Our team is now diligently working on preparing a scientific paper about the results. This study demonstrated that treatment benefits were maintained post-treatment. Some subjects improved further and some subjects experienced more PTSD symptoms, with average treatment benefits slightly increasing (getting better) over time. Subjects were interviewed a mean of 40 months after the treatment, so we can conclude treatment benefits were maintained at least 40 months afterward on average. This finding is more important than our initial finding of substantial therapeutic benefits persisting for two months after treatment.
Notably, no subjects reported any harm from participating in the study. Nor did any subject develop a substance abuse problem. Critics of our research expressed concern that giving a drug of potential abuse to PTSD sufferers could result in drug abuse problems. We now have evidence showing that in our initial subjects, this fear did not materialize.
We hope to have the paper finalized by December and submitted to a journal early in 2011. To that end, we’ve enlisted the help of Tim Brewerton, M.D., a statistics expert who has authored numerous journal publications.
Swiss MDMA/PTSD Data Being Processed
The experimental treatments in our Swiss MDMA/PTSD study were completed in January 2010. In January 2011, we will collect follow-up data from one remaining subject. The clinical research team is developing standardized data-entry conventions to aid analysis. Most of the data from the study already has been entered into a validated database. Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., will travel to Switzerland in February to collect the final data from Clinical Investigator Peter Oehen, M.D. While Berra is in Switzerland, she will close the study and archive the data the same way she archived the data this past month for our U.S. MDMA/PTSD study.
Rick Doblin to Visit Israel to Prepare New MDMA/PTSD Study
From Oct. 18- 23, MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D. will be in Israel and Jordan, where he will meet with Clinical Investigator Moshe Kotler, M.D., of our Israeli study, to discuss starting a new Israel MDMA/PTSD study. Meanwhile, MAPS’ clinical research team is finishing an abbreviated report about our initial Israeli MDMA/PTSD study to submit to the FDA and the Israeli Ministry of Health. Five subjects were enrolled, of which four completed treatment. There were no safety problems for any subjects. There were too few subjects to conduct a statistical analysis, nevertheless, the report will be a detailed review of the study with all the raw data summarized. Sponsoring the project was an excellent learning experience both for us and for the Israeli team. We feel confident we can conduct a new study in a rigorous manner.
Rick Doblin to Visit Jordan to Prepare MDMA/PTSD Study
On Oct. 2, Jordanian Principle Investigator Nasser Shuriquie, M.D., attended a workshop with the Jordanian Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) to enhance his knowledge about clinical research procedures in preparation for conducting our Jordanian MDMA/PTSD study.
On Sept. 20, the last of the necessary documents were submitted to the Jordanian Ethics Committee (the Jordanian version of an Institutional Review Board) at Al-Rashid Hospital for review. We have had conditional study approval since spring, but were asked to submit several updated documents to the Ethics Committee. The documents include our most recent investigator’s brochure and insurance statements. We have purchased insurance for the subjects, and liability insurance for the therapists and research staff. We are in the process of obtaining insurance for the Clinical Research Organization (CRO) we have hired to monitor the study. After the Ethics Committee reviews and approves the protocol, it will be submitted to the JFDA.
From Oct. 22-24, MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., will be in Jordan. While there, he will meet with Dr. Shuriquie, other therapists and administrators from the Al-Rashid Hospital, and staff at Antaea Medical Services, Ltd., the CRO that will monitor the study. Our partnership with the CRO allows us to rely on a local group to monitor the study. At the same time, the CRO is sharing study responsibility.
The Jordanian study has led MAPS to make a major contribution to the PTSD treatment field—we are creating the first Arabic version of the Clinicians Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), the world’s leading measure of PTSD. Currently there is no Arabic version of the CAPS. We’ll first fund the translation of the English version into Arabic. We will then have the Arabic translation retranslated back into English, making any necessary corrections should the original English version differ from the translated version. Luz, a U.S. translation company, will then certify the final version. We will then donate the Arabic version to The National
Center for PTSD, which created the original version of the CAPS. We’re hoping that the availability of an Arabic version of the CAPS will facilitate other PTSD studies and treatments in the Arab world.
Health Canada Requests Additional Information from Pharmacist Regarding Importing MDMA for Our Study
On October 8, a conference call was held between our Canadian pharmacist, Colin Holyk of Kerrisdale Pharmacy, Vancouver, and MAPS’ clinical research staff. The team planned our continuing negotiations with Health Canada regarding the importation of our Canadian study’s supply of MDMA from Switzerland.
On Sept. 15, Health Canada requested additional information from Holyk regarding the import permits and licensing. We have all the necessary study approvals and can start as soon as we obtain the MDMA. This study has been inching through the approval process for years. Our best guess is that it will take several more months to obtain the import/export permits and have the MDMA shipped from Switzerland to Vancouver.
We also are preparing to submit a protocol amendment to our Canadian Institutional Review Board (IRB) to make protocol changes that will align with all of our other MDMA/PTSD studies. This includes adding one-year follow-up measures and audio and video recording of the treatment sessions. This consistency is important so we can conduct a meta-analysis when all studies are complete. The audio and video recording will help us train therapists and independent raters when we move on to the large-scale multi-site studies.
MAPS Grants $5K to Franz Vollenweider for Physiological Study of MDMA/PTSD Subjects
On Sept. 29, MAPS donated $5,000 USD to Franz Vollenweider, M.D., University of Zurich, for his research with subjects from our Swiss MDMA/PTSD study. Dr. Vollenwieder evaluated all 12 subjects from the study before and after MDMA/PTSD treatment. The evaluations consisted of EEGs, startle-reflex tests and heart-rate variability, the results of which are related to the severity of PTSD. The analysis is almost complete and a paper is being written for publication. The physiological study cost more than $5,000; Dr. Vollenweider raised the rest of the funds elsewhere.
MAPS’ New Marijuana/PTSD Protocol Finalized
On Oct. 3, Research and Information Specialist Ilsa Jerome, Ph.D., Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., and Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., finalized the study design for our investigation of marijuana as a treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are preparing to submit the protocol and informed consent forms to the FDA by the end of this month. We currently consider marijuana usage to be more useful in treating symptoms of PTSD and requiring regular administration, while MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is aimed at achieving a cure by getting to the core of the problem.
Take Action! End the Government’s Obstruction of Marijuana Research
Marijuana research is being obstructed by a government monopoly on the supply of marijuana that can be used in federally-regulated research. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) holds this monopoly. We need your help to develop marijuana into an FDA-approved medicine by joining our campaign to persuade the DEA to issue a license to Professor Lyle Craker at UMass Amherst to produce marijuana for FDA-approved research. In February 2007, DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mary Ellen Bittner ruled that licensing Professor Craker would be in the public interest and recommended the DEA issue him a license. Unfortunately, Acting DEA Administrator Michelle Leonhart refused to accept the ALJ’s recommendation. You can help facilitate research by letting your Senators know that this obstruction is unacceptable. More information can be found at www.maps.org/mmj/campaign.
MAPS Hires Lobbyist for Marijuana Production Facility/Professor Craker Campaign
On Sept. 22, MAPS signed a contract with The Raben Group, a Washington, D.C., lobbying group. The Raben Group will initially review and analyze the political situation relating to the Craker case, then provide MAPS with recommendations on next steps for MAPS to consider. If MAPS and The Raben Group agree that securing the license is possible, The Raben Group will develop supporting materials; assist with outreach to other organizations or people willing to support MAPS’ efforts; schedule and staff meetings with the Department of Justice; and provide any necessary follow-up to Department of Justice staff as well as strategic counsel to MAPS.
According to IRS rules, technically none of this work counts as lobbying since we are not trying to change any laws. Instead, we are working with a regulatory and enforcement agency, the DEA, to encourage it to follow the recommendations of DEA Administrative Law Judge Bittner. The judge determined that it would be in the public interest for DEA to issue a license to Prof. Craker to grow marijuana for MAPS for federally-regulated research.
Rick Doblin’s Marijuana Talk from P.O.T. Conference Now Online
The address by Rick Doblin, Ph.D., at the fifth annual Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, held in Pacific Grove, CA, April 5, 2008, is now available to view on the MAPS website. Rick spoke about MAPS’ ongoing struggle to end the federal government’s monopoly on marijuana available for federally approved research.
First Two Subjects Enroll in Ibogaine Outcome Study
On Sept. 27, the first two subjects enrolled in our new ibogaine study at Pangaea Biomedics, a treatment facility in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. It is led by Principal Investigator Valerie Mojeiko and co-investigator Tom Kingsley Browne, Ph.D. The researchers are collecting data from opiate-dependent subjects for one year after ibogaine-assisted detoxification to evaluate the long-term outcomes of ibogaine treatment.
Brown met with both subjects and administered the Subjective Opiate Withdrawal Scale and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Both subjects are happy to participate, Brown said. One subject had difficulty answering all of the ASI questions because of withdrawal symptoms, so the interview was finished by phone Sept. 29.
“It feels great to have the first two subjects enrolled and to be doing this work,” Brown said.
The entire study will enroll 30 subjects and follow them for a year after treatment.
Valerie Mojeiko Presents at Ibogaine Conference in Barcelona, Oct. 13-16
From Oct. 13–16, MAPS Deputy Director Valerie Mojeiko will participate in an international ibogaine conference in Barcelona. She will speak about MAPS’ ibogaine outcome study. The workshop is organized by the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service, whose executive director is Ben De Loenen, the filmmaker of “Ibogaine Rites of Passage.” Presenters include Kenneth Alper, M.D., Jeff Kamlet, M.D., Rakefet Rodriguez, M.D., Antoni Aguilar Chastellain, M.D., Cleuza Canan, and Anwar
Jeewa.
Swiss IRB Approves Subjects for LSD Study with Life-Shortening Illnesses
On Sept. 17, the Swiss Ethics Committee approved two new subjects for our LSD study (subject Nos. 10-11) who have anxiety related to illnesses that will likely reduce their lifespan, though their conditions are unlikely to be fatal in the next few years. The subjects suffer from Parkinson’s disease and Bechterew’s disease. Since this is an exploratory study, we’ve decided it is worthy of scientific investigation to accept a few subjects with major anxiety due to a life-shortening disease rather than an immediately life-threatening one. This will enable us to gather preliminary information about a broader range of potential subjects for future LSD-assisted psychotherapy research.
MAPS Grants $10K to Beckley Psilocybin/Brain Imaging Study
On Sept. 29, we wired $10,000 USD in grant money to help fund a British study that aims to discover how psilocybin works in the brain. The study investigators, Robin Carhart-Harris, Ph.D., Richard Wise, Amanda Feilding and David Nutt, Ph.D., will use brain imaging to measure the effects of psilocybin on brain activity and connectivity at rest, during attentional processing and during autobiographical recollection. The researchers will measure increases and decreases in activity induced by the drug in different regions of the brain. The study is part of the Beckley Foundation/Imperial College Psychedelic Research Programme, and is supported in part by $10,000 grants from both MAPS and the Heffter Research Institute.
Researchers, already armed with an understanding of functional and effective connectivity, hope the study will reveal network relationships between different brain regions and show whether activity in certain regions is exerting a causal or driving influence over activity in others. The researchers hope to address the hypothesis that psilocybin lowers repression and facilitates autobiographical recollection. If this hypothesis is supported, it will: 1) indicate that psilocybin can facilitate the recollection of memories, 2) offer a biological explanation for how this occurs, and 3) indicate how psilocybin might be useful as an adjunct to dynamic psychotherapy.
We’re Seeking Donations for our 2010 eBay Holiday Auction
MAPS is seeking donations for auction items to be sold at our fall fundraisers in Boulder, CO, and Oakland, and Los Angeles, CA, and online in our eBay holiday auction this December. If you are able to donate goods, merchandise or gift certificates for services, please contact Brian Wallace, MAPS Director of Field Development, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Denver Marijuana Summit, Nov. 6
On Nov. 6, MAPS will partner with Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Marijuana Policy Project, and Safer to host the Marijuana Summit in Denver. This will be a forum about cannabis legislation, research and business. Speakers will include Jeff Jones, examining California’s Prop. 19 marijuana legalization initiative election results; Dr. Sue Sisley reporting on Arizona’s Prop. 203 to legalize medical marijuana; Steve Fox, Director of Government Relations at MPP, reviewing national trends in all the marijuana initiatives; Aaron Houston, Executive Director of SSDP, reporting on SSDP activities around the country on marijuana initiatives; Mason Tvert, of SAFER, discussing developments in Colorado; Rick Doblin, considering MAPS’ medical marijuana projects in light of the election results; and others yet to be determined. Save the date – we will send more information about this event in the coming weeks.
Principles and Practices of MDMA-Assisted Therapy Workshop, Boulder, CO, Nov. 7
On Nov. 7, in Boulder, CO, MAPS’ Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and Marcela Ot’alora G.L.P.C., a co-therapist from our former MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the PTSD clinical study in Spain, will lead the Principles and Practices of MDMA-Assisted Therapy Workshop. Discussion will revolve around therapist techniques utilized during MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and participants will explore issues discussed in MAPS’ MDMA/PTSD Treatment Manual, lessons learned from MAPS’ MDMA/PTSD pilot study, and theoretical applications of these techniques for use outside of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. MAPS’ MDMA/PTSD drug development program also will be discussed. Tickets are available now.
MAPS/SSDP Autumn Gala, Boulder, CO Nov. 7
On the evening of Nov. 7, MAPS is partnering with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) for an Autumn Gala Celebration. MAPS’ mission includes educating the public about the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana. SSDP mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while fighting counterproductive drug war policies.
MAPS and SSDP share a mutual interest in rational, science-based education in respect to marijuana, MDMA, LSD, Ibogaine, and other substances, and also in promoting alternative models of regulation for these substances. Addresses by MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and SSDP Executive Director Aaron Houston and Associate Director Jon Perri are planned.
Videos from both organizations will air throughout the evening, with music and dancing late into the night. We recommend purchasing a ticket soon to guarantee entry to this extraordinary evening of policy, medicine, and entertainment. Tickets are available now.
Lakeside: The MAPS Autumn Gala in Oakland, CA, Nov 12
On Nov. 12, MAPS will host Lakeside, an autumn gala celebration and silent auction. This event will take place at the Lake Chalet Bar and Grill overlooking scenic Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. Attendees will enjoy a light dinner, drinks and entertainment, and will have the opportunity to go on a peaceful gondola ride around Lake Merritt.
Organizational and research updates will be shared by MAPS founder and Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., and members of the MAPS Clinical Research Team. Tickets are available now.
Join MAPS in Los Angeles on Dec. 10-11
MAPS has planned a fantastic weekend in Los Angeles on Dec. 10 and 11. Tickets for the events below will be available soon.
Reception at 99 High Art Collective, Venice, CA, Dec. 10
At 6 p.m. Dec. 10, Dec. 10, join fellow MAPS members, new friends and MAPS staff at 99 High Art Collective in Venice for a reception for Catalysts, our Los Angeles mini-conference. 99 High Art Collective is a one-of-a-kind visionary art gallery that organized a live mural painting at Psychedelic Science in the 21st Century. The reception is open to the public and admission is free.
Catalysts: The Impact of Psychedelics on Culture, Cognition, and Creativity mini-conference, Los Angeles, Dec. 11
This mini-conference will feature presentations on psychedelic science and clinical research, the impact of psychedelics on cognition and creativity, and presentations on psychedelic influences in art and culture. This event will take place at The Downtown Independent theater in downtown Los Angeles. Speakers include:
• Rick Doblin, Ph.D., founder and Executive Director of MAPS
• Charles Grob, M.D., UCLA psilocybin researcher
• Matt Baggott, Ph.D., UC Berkeley
• Alicia Danforth, Ph.D. student (ITP, UCLA psilocybin researcher)
• Julie Holland, M.D. (NYU School of Medicine, psychiatric emergency services)
• Stephan V. Beyer, Ph.D., J.D. Author of “Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon and other titles
• James Fadiman, Ph.D. “Psychedelics as Entheogens: How to Create and Guide Successful Sessions”
• Larry Hagman, television star of the series Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie, discusses his own LSD therapy
Critical Components: A MAPS Benefit Event, Los Angeles, Dec. 11
MAPS will host a benefit event to generate funding for our clinical research projects and general operations. Attendees will enjoy food and drinks while hearing the latest in research updates from MAPS founder and Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., as well as members of the MAPS Clinical Research Team.
Flux: A Late Night Party at Temple of Visions, Los Angeles, Dec. 11
Temple of Visions in downtown’s Gallery Row displays world-class contemporary mystical art and is hosting Flux, a benefit party for MAPS. The Downtown Independent theater is only a few blocks from Temple of Visions, so attendees will find it an easy walk or taxi over from the day’s earlier events. Flux will feature an incredible lineup of musicians and performers late into the night. This event is open to the public; tickets will be available through the MAPS website this fall.
Rick Doblin at Science and Nonduality Conference, San Rafael, Oct 20
Rick Doblin, Ph.D., will be one of the presenters at the Science and Nonduality conference on Sunday, Oct. 23. The conference will be held in San Rafael, CA Oct. 20-25. Registration is open. Learn more at www.scienceandnonduality.com.
Women’s Visionary Congress: Oct 22-24, Petaluma, CA
The fourth annual Women’s Visionary Congress: Consciousness, Healing and Social Justice, will take place at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) Earthrise Retreat Center in Petaluma CA, Oct. 22-24. The congress features the work of visionary women healers, researchers, activists, priestesses, rangers and artists who study consciousness and altered states. The gathering supports the transfer of knowledge among women who apply the insights of their spiritual path to strengthen their communities. Gentlemen are welcome.
Presenters include: Martina Hoffmann, Carolyn Garcia, Kat Harrison, Nicki Scully, Betsy Gordon, Marsha Rosenbaum, Valerie Corral, Alica Danforth, Maria Mangini, Annie Oak, Karen Vogel, Micah Frazier, John Perry Barlow, Robert Venosa, David Coyote, Pebbles Trippet, Irina Alexander, Tea Faerie, Annie King, Stephanie Schmitz, Kristina Cazador, Jessica Lucas, Diana Slattery, Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Stephens, Ann and Sasha Shulgin, and MAPS Clinical Research Associate Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D.
Tickets are $325. Contact Natalie, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 707-498-8877.
The Women’s Visionary Congress is presented by the nonprofit Women’s Visionary Council and is a benefit for the V Fund, which supports the work of visionary women.
Mark your calendars for the Visionary Council’s upcoming Psychedelic Masquerade Love Ball on Feb.19 in Berkeley, CA.
Entheogenesis Australis Psychedelic Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 4-5
The second indoor Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) Symposium will be held at the University of Melbourne. EGA will bring MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., to Australia to headline this year’s Symposium. As a not-for-profit association, EGA creates a supportive environment fostering mature, open discussion about psychoactive plants and chemicals. EGA seeks to explore ways to assess societal impacts and examine the positive applications of plant-based psychoactives and empathogens. The conference aims to provide an unprecedented professional and engaging program in the field of psychedelic studies. EGA expects the 350 tickets to sell out quickly this year – if you will be in Australia, make your plans well in advance. Learn more at http://www.entheo.net.
Purchase Garfield’s “Daylighting” EP, Recorded Live at MAPS Conference and Support MAPS.
MAPS’ supporter Michael Garfield played live electronic improvisations on acoustic guitar at Psychedelic Science in the 21st Century. Michael has made an EP of the live set and i
s offering downloads on a “pay what you like” basis with proceeds being split with MAPS.
All sounds on the EP are improvised, solo acoustic guitar recorded live through hardware effects and live looping. There is no software manipulation, multi-tracking, or post production gimmickry. Support Garfield, and by doing so, support us, by downloading a copy at http://www.michaelgarfield.net.
Chapel of Sacred Mirrors Releases Human/Nature Journal
The latest Chapel of Sacred Mirrors’ Journal is now available from CoSM. The sixth volume features visionary art and eco-visionary writings about humans and nature. Contributors include beekeeper David Wolfe; activist Julia Butterfly Hill; Omega Institute CEO Skip Backus; visionary author J.P. Harpignies; raw-food rabbi Gabriel Cousens; deep ecologist John Seed; eco-psychologist Ralph Metzner; mycologist Paul Stamets; eco-art curator Amy Lipton; realist Brigid Marlin; Santo Daime artist Isabela Maria Hartz; imaginary cityscape artist Akiko Endo; master woodblock artist Mitsuru Nagashima; sculptor Kate Raudenbush; visionaries Alex Grey, Mark Ryden, Steven Kenny, Allyson Grey and Daniel Mirante; and internationally renowned nature painters Walton Ford and Alexis Rockman. Proceeds from the Journal go toward building The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
The Archives and Special Collections Division of the Purdue University Libraries has announced the Psychoactive Substances Research Collection and is accepting contributions of primary source materials. The collection is documenting the international history of psychoactive substances and their benefits to medicine and healing, and exploring the contributions of notable scientists to psychedelic research. Collection organizers are looking for additional materials; in particular, they are seeking manuscripts; diaries; research notes and data; correspondence; photographs; awards and certificates; and oral histories. Materials relating primarily to the counterculture drug movement of the 1960s and 1970s are not needed.
The collection is under the stewardship of David Nichols, professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Purdue, and co-founder of the Heffter Institute.
For more information on this collection including a complete listing of materials and links to related archival collections, visit www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol/psychoactive, or contact Stephanie Schmitz, special projects archivist via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or call her at (765) 494-2904.
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