Visions for a Successful 2021
Expanding MAPS with new jobs and research
January 27, 2021
Dear friends and supporters,
As we transition into a new year, MAPS is increasingly thankful for the consistent level of support from our community as we continue to advance research into the therapeutic and medical potential of psychedelics.
You can join the field of psychedelic research by applying for one of our job opportunities with MAPS, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC), or MAPS Europe. Opportunities with MAPS include the Director of Sales and Major Gifts, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Director, and Financial Controller.
MAPS PBC is hiring new roles including a Temporary Clinical Data Scientist and a Clinical Research Associate Contractor.
We are currently seeking research volunteers for Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Trials are recruiting in Charleston, South Carolina; Boulder, Colorado; Fort Collins, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Madison, Wisconsin; and San Francisco, California. Volunteers will help contribute to scientific knowledge and will help us better understand if MDMA-assisted therapy works for treatment of PTSD. MAPS conducts clinical trials under the guidance and regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with federal regulators, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). To learn more about our clinical trials or apply to be a study participant, visit our website.
A new memoir Being Ram Dass is now available to purchase! Explore the story of spiritual teacher Ram Dass in his own words and learn more about the odyssey of Ram Dass in intimate detail: how he struggled with issues of self-identity in his youth, pioneered today’s psychedelic therapies, opened the doorways to Eastern spiritual practices, and trekked to India to find his guru Neem Karoli Baba.
The Way of the Psychonaut audiobook is available for purchase in the MAPS Store. The MAPS-published audiobook is a two-volume book set in single file. You can purchase access to the film and audiobook at thewayofthepsychonaut.com. The print book and Kindle version of The Way of the Psychonaut is also available for purchase.
In this month’s edition of the MAPS Newsletter, you’ll also learn:
- Zendo Project: Beyond the Festival webinar recordings are available for purchase in the MAPS Store
- The Student Psychedelic Conference is taking place online from January 30-31, 2021
- Beautiful art prints from various artists are available for purchase in the MAPS Store
MAPS is on a mission to bring transformative change to mental health through psychedelic research and advocacy. As the leader in psychedelic research for mental health and wellbeing, we’re developing cutting-edge treatments to transform the mental healthcare landscape globally. Your tax-deductible contributions support this important work.
Follow MAPS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and reddit.
Thank you for reading the latest psychedelic research news. We hope you have a fantastic winter!
With appreciation,
Amy Mastrine
MAPS Web and Email Marketing Associate
Treating PTSD with MDMA-Assisted Therapy
Phase 3 Trials of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD: Seeking Research Volunteers
We are currently seeking research volunteers for our second Phase 3 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Volunteers will help contribute to scientific knowledge and will help us better understand if MDMA-assisted therapy works for treatment of PTSD. MAPS conducts clinical trials under the guidance and regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with federal regulators, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). To learn more about our clinical trials or apply to be a study participant, visit our website.
We are recruiting participants in the following locations:
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- San Francisco, California, United States (Private Practice)
- San Francisco, California, United States (Institution)
- Charleston, South Carolina, United States
- Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
- New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- New York, New York, United States (Institution)
- Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Not yet recruiting:
- New York, New York, United States (Private Practice)
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Be’er Ya’akov, Israel
- Tel Aviv, Israel
An Open-Label, Phase 2, Multicenter Feasibility Study of Manualized MDMA-Assisted Therapy with an Optional fMRI Sub-Study Assessing Changes in Brain Activity in Subjects with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Taking place in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Norway, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, this open-label Phase 2 study of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD will serve as the lead-in to the planned Phase 3 study in Europe providing an opportunity for clinical supervision of therapy teams to complete their training, and to validate assumptions made for statistical power calculations supporting the planned Phase 3 clinical trial. This study will also provide cross-cultural validation data on the updated version of the Primary Outcome measure, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), which will be used in the Phase 3 study. In addition, the study will gather supportive data on the safety and effectiveness of manualized MDMA-assisted therapy. This study will be the first multi-center study of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in Europe and will explore reproducibility of findings from FDA-regulated Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials to confirm the Phase 3 study design.
Study sites in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are currently screening participants, screening at the Norway site and the second Netherlands site is expected to begin early in 2021. The sites in the United Kingdom and Germany require further permissions before they can begin screening, most likely in early 2021, and the study set-up in Portugal is still in an early stage. Data gathered in European trials is hoped to provide support for a planned Marketing Authorization Application for potential approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). We are working on the regulatory submission for this study. • Learn More
MDMA Therapy Training Program Update: January 2021
The MDMA Therapy Training Program is currently supporting the final segment of training for therapists preparing for the MP18 protocol, the open-label lead in study for the European segment of Phase 3, researching MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a treatment for PTSD. A cohort of new supervisors, experienced MDMA-assisted psychotherapy researchers who have met additional training and certification requirements to provide supervision, will be supporting therapists on this protocol.
The training program will deliver trainings entirely online this year. We are excited about the possibility of expanding access to training with the shift to online education. Our program staff and various subject matter experts are continuing to engage in a training curriculum design initiative to support the growth and continued quality of the program. To better support training thousands of future therapists, we are developing training protocols for new supervisors and trainers, who are also contributing their expertise to the curriculum design initiative.
We look forward to re-opening enrollment for the MDMA Therapy Training Program in the coming months. To receive updates on 2021 trainings and training program admissions, sign up for the MDMA Therapy Training Program Newsletter.• Learn More
Support MAPS
December 2020 Giving Report: MAPS Raises Over $1.3 Million for Psychedelic Research and Education
We extend a special thank you to our monthly donors who contributed a total of $17,509 in December. Your support is vital in making our programs sustainable.
In addition to the funds raised in December, we gained support from 92 individuals in the form of a planned gift or bequest to MAPS. These planned gifts were made with the help of FreeWill, a free online tool that allows US-based individuals to plan a legacy gift for the non-profit of their choosing.
MAPS is honored to support a number of like-minded organizations by providing a fiscal sponsorship so that contributions for their social benefit projects may be tax-deductible as allowed by law. An additional $170,781 was raised by organizations that MAPS fiscally sponsors including: ICEERS ($92,935); Ayahuasca Diaries ($26,000); Auryn Project/North Star ($20,000); How We Heal ($10,350); Ceremony Health ($10,100); Psychedelic Integration (Esalen) ($8,000); Santa Fe Integrative Therapy (SFIT) ($1,424); Psychedelic Seminars ($1,300); The Psychedelic Renaissance ($520); Somatic Center Portland ($100); Bluelight ($30); MAPS Canada ($20); and Kaphi ($2).
Gratitude
We appreciate donations of any size and are particularly grateful to the following supporters for their generous contributions of $1,000 or more:
Unrestricted
- Vinny Smith and Victoria Flaherty-Smith ($300,000)
- Field Trip Health ($100,000)
- Anonymous ($100,000)
- Matthew J. Rainwater ($50,313)
- Ron Beller and Jennifer Moses ($25,000)
- Anonymous ($21,936)
- David Adam Roth ($20,000)
- Ryan Zurrer ($15,000)
- Virginia Frazier ($15,000)
- Ashley Gordon ($10,000)
- Ethan Ruby ($10,000)
- Jeffrey Zucker ($10,000)
- Jeneye Abele and Eric Warner ($10,000)
- Matthew Pearson ($10,000)
- Anonymous ($10,000)
- Chelsea Monter ($7,500)
- Anonymous ($6,000)
- Andrew Ollis ($5,000)
- Charles B. Irvin ($5,000)
- John and Carole Garand ($5,000)
- Rachel Hamilton ($5,000)
- Ronald Mis and Giorgianna Ellis ($5,000)
- Anonymous ($5,000)
- Mack Fuhrer ($4,000)
- Buckmaster Foundation ($3,000)
- Anonymous ($3,000)
- Alisa Cohn ($2,500)
- Steve Gehrman ($2,250)
- Erik Bouchard ($2,000)
- Frank Kienast ($2,000)
- John and Riley Pfeiffer ($2,000)
- Kenneth Ryan ($2,000)
- Laura Felten ($2,000)
- Philip Jensen, Yavanna Foundation ($2,000)
- Anonymous ($1,867)
- Anonymous ($1,800)
- Michael Pollan and Judith Belzer ($1,500)
- Samuel Christian ($1,500)
- Anonymous ($1,500)
- Anonymous ($1,250)
- Anonymous ($1,150)
- Ryan Deegan ($1,111)
- Roman Stalder ($1,100)
- Andrew Comrie ($1,000)
- Bessel A. Van Der Kolk ($1,000)
- Bill Fell ($1,000)
- Bill Freimuth ($1,000)
- Christian Morgan ($1,000)
- Christian Saenger ($1,000)
- Cynthia Faatz ($1,000)
- Ed Hunsinger ($1,000)
- Greg Boyd ($1,000)
- James Stewart Campbell ($1,000)
- Jeffrey Brown ($1,000)
- Jeffrey St Claire ($1,000)
- Jerry Greenfield ($1,000)
- Jiri Techet ($1,000)
- Jo Ann Uttal-Gold and Jeffrey Gold ($1,000)
- John Lochridge ($1,000)
- John O’Hara ($1,000)
- Kingsley Advani ($1,000)
- Leigh Marz ($1,000)
- Madeline Farver Berky ($1,000)
- Martha Stampfer ($1,000)
- Michael Shields ($1,000)
- MUDWTR ($1,000)
- Peter Taubkin ($1,000)
- Richard Chambers ($1,000)
- Shalom Kaiser ($1,000)
- Steve Zenone ($1,000)
- Steven B. Malkenson ($1,000)
- TJT III Gifting Foundation ($1,000)
- Whitcomb Schrage Family ($1,000)
- William Phipps Mcgrail ($1,000)
- Zachary Wasserman ($1,000)
- Anonymous ($1,000)
Zendo Project
- David Bronner, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps ($200,000)
- Connor Hill ($100,000)
- Cody Swift and Miriam Volat, Riverstyx Foundation ($20,000)
- James Lamberg ($2,000)
Health Equity
- Cody Swift and Miriam Volat, Riverstyx Foundation ($30,000)
Phase 3 Therapy Team Training (Israel)
- Moshe Tov Kreps ($50,000)
Fiscal Sponsorship Grantees
- Cody Swift and Miriam Volat, Riverstyx Foundation ($90,000) – ICEERS
- Ethan Ruby ($25,000) – Ayahuasca Diaries
- Jason Dorsett ($20,000) – Auryn Project/North Star
- David Bronner, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps ($10,000) – Ceremony Health
- David Bronner, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps ($10,000) – How We Heal
- Kat Conour, Auryn Fund ($5,000) – Psychedelic Integration (Esalen)
- Elana Horwich ($3,000) – Psychedelic Integration (Esalen)
- Jason Bushman ($2,500) – ICEERS
- Salesforce ($1,300) – Psychedelic Seminars
- Claudine Liss ($1,000) – Ayahuasca Diaries
MAPS relies on the generosity of individual donors to achieve its mission. Psychedelic science is again being conducted under federal guidelines, but no funding for psychedelic therapy research is yet available from governments or major foundations.
Together, we can legalize psychedelic medicine.
Donate now at maps.org/donate. Learn how to include MAPS in your will or estate plans.
We’re Hiring!
MAPS, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC), and MAPS Europe are currently hiring!
MAPS
- Chief of Staff to the Deputy Director
Remote - Director of Sales and Major Gifts
Remote - Financial Controller
Remote
MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC):
- Adherence and Supervision Coordinator
Remote - Clinical Systems Specialist
Remote - Clinical Supervision Program Manager
Remote - Document Control Specialist
Remote - Executive Assistant
Santa Cruz, California - Study Coordinator and Researcher
Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Temporary Clinical Data Scientist
Remote
MAPS Europe:
- Independent Rater
Portugal
Psychedelic Peer Support
Now Available for Purchase: Zendo Project: Beyond the Festival Webinar Recordings
We are excited to announce that video recordings from the Zendo Project: Beyond The Festival webinar series are now available for sale! Learn more about psychedelic peer support, harm reduction, and creating communities of compassionate care by browsing our offerings of educational content. • Learn More
Policy and Advocacy
MAPS Policy and Advocacy Team Appear on Virtual Speaking Engagements
MAPS Policy and Advocacy Director Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, M.S.W., and Policy and Advocacy Counsel Ismail Ali, J.D., participated in their first virtual public speaking engagements of the year in the first week of January to discuss therapeutic applications of psychedelics and the implications for existing drug policy approaches. Ali joined a panel for The Clarity Project, a citizen’s initiative group seeking to create patient access to psilocybin in Hawaii, and presented a Psychedelic Renaissance Talk Story. Ginsberg joined a panel for the event Drug Policy: From Illegal to Medical organized by The Psychedelic Society in the United Kingdom. Member of Parliament Crispin Blunt was also a panelist — Blunt has served as Minister for Prisons, Probation and Youth Justice and is the first Conservative to Co-chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Drug Policy Reform.
Ginsberg and Ali also contributed to an article published in a special edition of ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science on psychedelics. Entitled “Ethical Concerns about Psilocybin Intellectual Property,” the article presents to readers the overlay of one modern intellectual property instrument, the patent, onto pre-existing practices with naturally occurring psilocybin, and characterizes the manner in which patents related to psilocybin have been pursued in this context as often a “story of extraction, cultural appropriation, bioprospecting, and colonization” in tension with series of international treaties and conventions for the protection of indigenous people and traditional knowledge and culture. As presented, this circumstance, then, begs questions about how economic rewards and legal protections ought to be distributed amongst relevant parties (e.g. communities who have stewarded traditional practices with naturally occurring psilocybin for generations, and researchers and others who have taken advantage of legal and commercial protections of patents for manipulations and modern applications of the substance).
MAPS in the Media
- Tech Tonics Podcast: Amy Emerson and Her Psychedelic Mission
- January 25, 2021
- Globes English: A Trip to Better Management Skills?
- December 15, 2020
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Can Psychedelics Save the Planet? New College Alum Rick Doblin’s Mission is to Find Out
- January 11, 2021
MAPS Store
The Way of the Psychonaut audiobook is available for purchase in the MAPS Store. The MAPS-published audiobook is a two-volume book set in single file. You can purchase access to the film and audiobook at thewayofthepsychonaut.com. The print book and Kindle version of The Way of the Psychonaut is also available for purchase.
The MAPS Store features over a dozen fine art prints and originals from prominent visionary artists including Alex Grey, Martina Hoffmann, A. Andrew Gonzalez, Amy Mastrine, and many more. • Buy Now
Events
Browse our Event Calendar page for more opportunities.
Polaris Insight Center: Trainings for Clinicians, December 2020 – June 2021, San Francisco, California
Polaris Insight Center provides didactic, experiential, and residential trainings in ketamine-assisted therapy. These programs are designed to provide interested physicians, psychologists, therapists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals with principles and procedures of KAP and how to use ketamine in combination with psychotherapy in a clinical setting. • Learn More
The Student Psychedelic Conference, January 30-31, 2021, Online
Drug Science Student Society, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and The Southampton Psychedelic Research Society are proud to announce ‘The Student Psychedelic Conference’. This online transatlantic conference will take place over two days on 30th and 31st January. • Learn More
CryptoPsychedelic Summit Flashback, February 7, March 7, and April 11, 2021, Online
On February 3, 2018, the world-bridging CryptoPsychedelic Summit brought leaders in blockchain and psychedelic science together to the gorgeous beaches of Tulum, Mexico. Three years later, we’ll be streaming for the first time the 2018 Tulum videos and bringing back panelists to reflect on what remains true and what’s changed. This event takes place in 3 parts, featuring all 6 panels from Tulum and 3 live reflection + Q&A sessions. • Learn More
Participate in Psychedelic Research
MDMA Studies Sponsored by MAPS
MAPS sponsors clinical trials around the world that offer volunteers the opportunity to participate in our research studies. Our studies have strict enrollment criteria based on the goal of the study and the condition the study is investigating.
Phase 3 MDMA/PTSD trial participant enrollment is now open. Please bookmark our Participate in Research page and check it frequently for updates.
Thank you to Dr. Bronner’s for their company’s support of the MAPS Newsletter!