MAPS Email Newsletter:
MDMA Arrives at Canadian Customs;
1,500+ Arrive for Psychedelic Science 2013
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April 12, 2013
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Psychedelic Science 2013 is right around the corner. Next week, over 1,500 attendees from more than 30 countries will arrive in Oakland, California, for five days of conference programming, workshops, entertainment, and networking events. This will be a truly historic event: a launching platform for the next stage of research into the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana in science, medicine, and spirituality.
Meanwhile, our international research into treating PTSD with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy strides forward, and obstacles continue to be met and overcome. This week, after a 2½ year delay, the nine grams of MDMA to be used in our upcoming Canadian study finally arrived at Canadian customs from Switzerland. Receiving the MDMA at the study pharmacy will be the final hurdle before we start enrolling and treating Canadian subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD.
Here are a few highlights from the April 2013 MAPS Email Newsletter:
- The updated protocol for our upcoming study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, Colorado is approved by an Institutional Review Board
- The MDMA for our new Canadian study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD arrives at Canadian customs from Switzerland
- Brad Burge of MAPS speaks with Reality Sandwich about what we can expect at Psychedelic Science 2013
- Three new books are now available in the MAPS Store, including an all-new MAPS-published edition of a pioneering classic, an encyclopedia of ayahuasca and health in Spanish, and an intimate biography of LSD discoverer Albert Hofmann
The all-new Spring 2013 MAPS Bulletin Special Edition: Psychedelics in Psychology and Psychiatry is now available online. This is an especially exciting issue, with breathtaking art and fascinating original articles about LSD neuroscience, psychedelics in graduate school, ketamine for depression, ritual ayahuasca use in the treatment of addiction, the history of psychedelic psychiatry, and much more. Donate $40 or more and you can receive the MAPS Bulletin in the mail!
Connect with MAPS on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, and visit our YouTube channel for lectures, interviews, harm reduction information, and much more.
Learn how your donation makes a difference. Thanks to your support, we have more opportunities than ever before. It is up to us to decide what we want the future of psychedelic and medical marijuana research to be.
Looking forward,
![]() Brad Burge MAPS Director of Communications |
- Canada: MDMA Shipped from Switzerland to Canada After 2½ Year Delay
- U.S. Boulder Study: IRB Approves Amended Protocol; Site Prepares for Subject Screening
- Threyda.com Art Gallery Supports Psychedelic Science 2013
- PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE 2013: April 18-23, Oakland, CA
- AYA: Awakenings Sneak Preview Film Screening: April 17, San Francisco, CA
- Breaking Convention: July 12-14, London, England
- Ninth International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: July 21-27, Iquitos, Peru
- Free Livestream: Psychedelic Exper
ience: Healing, Growth, and Discovery: May 2, 2013, Palo Alto, CA - Reality Sandwich: Psychedelic Convergence in Oakland
- Santa Cruz Patch: Psychedelic Science Conference
- New York Magazine: Travels in the New Psychedelic Bazaar
- Reuters: First Magic Mushroom Depression Trial Hits Stumbling Block
- The Daily Campus: Stigma Shouldn’t Prevent Drug Research
- Backbencher: Medicinal Drugs: Is Psychedelic Therapy the Future?
- The San Francisco Chronicle: Sofia University to Sponsor Psychedelic Science 2013
- NOW AVAILABLE: The Healing Journey by Claudio Naranjo
- NOW AVAILABLE: Ayahuasca y Salud by Beatriz Caiuby Labate and José Carlos Bouso (Eds.)
- NOW AVAILABLE: Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD
Treating PTSD with MDMA-Assisted Therapy:
Support MAPS:
Events:
Media:
MAPS Store:
Author and filmmaker Rak Razam shares why he studies ayahuasca culture, how he’s participating in Psychedelic Science 2013, and what he’s most excited to experience in Oakland this April. Rak Razam will co-moderate the Ayahuasca Forum at Psychedelic Science 2013.
TREATING PTSD WITH MDMA-ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY
Learn more about treating PTSD with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy on
or at mdmaptsd.org.
1. Canada: MDMA Shipped from Switzerland to Canada After 2½ Year Delay
On April 8, 2013, the nine grams of MDMA to be used in our upcoming Canadian study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD were exported from Switzerland to Canada. The Canadian pharmacist worked for more than 2½ years to make the security adjustments to the pharmacy required by Health Canada for the import permit. MAPS’ efforts to design the protocol, receive all necessary approvals, and conduct the study began in 2007. Once the MDMA arrives at the study pharmacy after clearing customs, we will submit a series of minor protocol amendments to Health Canada and to the Canadian Institutional Review Board. Once the amendments are approved, which could take several weeks, we will begin screening and treating subjects. Learn more…
$584,000 estimated study cost / $568,000 still needed
Co-Principal Investigator Andrew Feldmár will give an update on training future psychedelic therapists at Psychedelic Science 2013, after U.S. Embassy finally granted him permission to enter the country after banning him for writing about psychedelic experiences he had 40 years ago.
Help us make psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medicines—donate today!
2. U.S. Boulder Study: IRB Approves Amended Protocol; Site Prepares for Subject Screening
On April 5, 2013, an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the amended protocol and informed consent documents for our soon-to-be-initiated study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, Colorado. The amended protocol includes new study measures (the Dissociative Experience Scale II/DES-II and a Visual Analog Scale for Somatic Symptoms) and updated dosage information. We have also added additional study staff, including a new therapist and intern therapist. The FDA will now review the IRB-approved amended protocol while the site prepares to begin screening subjects. Learn more…
$481,000 estimated study cost / $363,000 still needed
Principal Investigator Marcela Ot’alora will give an update on the study’s progress at Psychedelic Science 2013.
SUPPORT MAPS
3. Threyda.com Art Gallery Supports Psychedelic Science 2013
Check out the monumental art gallery in the Marketplace at Psychedelic Science 2013. Several Threyda
artists will be in attendance and offering breathtaking works of art with a portion of proceeds to benefit MAPS research. As a special post-conference offer from Threyda, all print sales on Threyda.com will also support our work. From April 23 through May 7, use code MAPS 419 to donate 50% of the sale price to MAPS!
EVENTS
4. PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE 2013: April 18-23, Oakland, CA
Psychedelic Science 2013 is next week. Don’t miss out—register now!
- Over 1,500 attendees from around the world (and counting!)
- Over 100 confirmed speakers from 15 countries
- 60 presentations qualify for Continuing Education for psychologists, social workers, MFTs, and nurses
- Up to 8.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are available for physicians in Continuing Medical Education (CME) presentations
- Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay
- Saturday Night Dinner, Address by Dr. James Doty, Tribute to Myron Stolaroff, & Performance by Phadroid
- The Marketplace of Goods and Ideas (free and open to the public), featuring the Evening Moonlight Café, Tea House, MAPS Art Gallery, Silent Auction, book signings, poster sessions, and over 30 exhibitors
Register now—space is very limited! | RSVP on ![]() |
Psychedelic Science 2013 is made possible in part by:
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Muster Foundation • Riverstyx Foundation • John Buchanan Giancarlo Canavesio and mangu.tv • Richard Wolfe |
5. AYA: Awakenings Sneak Preview Film Screening: April 17, San Francisco, CA
Icaro and the Undergrowth collective, in conjunction with MAPS, the Psychedelic Society of San Francisco, Bay Area Evolver, and ERIE (Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education) are proud to sponsor a sneak preview on April 17 of AYA: Awakenings, a new narrative documentary into the world and visions of Amazonian shamanism. The film will also screen on Thursday, April 18 at Psychedelic Science 2013.
6. Breaking Convention: July 12-14, London, England
Join MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D., MDMA-assisted psychotherapy researcher Michael Mithoefer, M.D., and dozens of other international experts on psychedelic science and culture at Breaking Convention.
Looking for more ways to get involved? Check out our Student Resources page!
7. Ninth International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: July 21-27, 2013, Iquitos, Peru
Free Livestream and in-person conversation with James Fadiman, PhD, and Brad Burge of MAPS. Learn more…
See our Events Calendar for more!
MEDIA
9. Reality Sandwich: Psychedelic Convergence in Oakland | view
Nese Devenot | April 8, 2013
10. Santa Cruz Patch: Psychedelic Science Conference | view
David Jay Brown | April 8, 2013
11. New York Magazine: Travels in the New Psychedelic Bazaar | view
Vanessa Grigoriadis | April 7, 2013
12. Reuters: First Magic Mushroom Depression Trial Hits Stumbling Block | view
Kate Kelland | April 6, 2013
13. The Daily Campus: Stigma Shouldn’t Prevent Drug Research | view
UConn Daily Campus | April 1, 2013
14. Backbencher: Medicinal Drugs: Is Psychedelic Therapy the Future? | view
Sam Woolfe | March 27, 2013
15. The San Francisco Chronicle: Sofia University to Sponsor Psychedelic Science 2013 | view
PRWeb | March 21, 2013
Explore MAPS in the Media for even more psychedelic and medical marijuana research news.
MAPS STORE
All proceeds from the MAPS Store support psychedelic and medical marijuana research and education!
16. NOW AVAILABLE: The Healing Journey by Claudio Naranjo
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The Healing Journey: by Claudio Naranjo Second Edition with a new Foreword by Rick Doblin, Ph.D. “In this remarkable book, Chilean-American psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo takes us on a scientific adventure through his groundbreaking research into new experiential methods of psychotherapy facilitated by psychedelic substances. The Healing Journey reveals these consciousness-expanding compounds to be fascinating therapeutic tools that are now—40 years after the original publication—gaining wider recognition in Western clinical and academic circles.” —Stanislav Grof, M.D., author of LSD Psychotherapy $16.95 | Now available Meet the author and get your copy signed on |
17. NOW AVAILABLE: Ayahuasca y Salud by Beatriz Caiuby Labate and José Carlos Bouso (Eds.)
Ayahuasca y Salud by Beatriz Caiuby Labate and José Carlos Bouso (Eds.) This collection of 22 articles brings together perspectives from the social and biomedical sciences as well as personal accounts of ayahuasca shamans and practitioners in order to address diverse indigenous, mestizo, and Western concepts of health, illness, and curing related to the use of ayahuasca. “This is the epitome of a 21st century book in that it ranges in its focus from the most advanced modern, scientific clinical research to the most sophisticated of anthropological discourse, to the profoundly authentic voice of indigenous healers.” —Rick Doblin, PhD, MAPS Founder Spanish | $40.00 | Now available Meet the authors and get your copy signed on |
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18. NOW AVAILABLE: Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD
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Mystic Chemist: by Dieter Hagenbach and Lucius Werthmüller Few discoveries of the 20th century have had such a crucial influence on science, society, and culture as LSD. In this book, Hofmann’s close friends Hagenbach and Werthmüller take us on a journey from Hofmann’s mystical childhood experiences with nature to his discoveries of LSD and psilocybin at the Sandoz pharmaceutical company. $38.95 | Now available Meet the authors and get your copy signed on |
Help MAPS make psychedelics and medical marijuana legally available medicines—check out our current volunteer opportunities!