The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelical Studies ( MAPS ) is a 501 (c) (3) membership-based organization that works to raise awareness and understanding of psychedelic substances. MAPS was founded in 1986 by Rick Doblin, and is now based in Santa Cruz, California.
MAPS helps scientists design, fund, and obtain regulatory approval to study the safety and effectiveness of a number of controlled substances. MAPS works closely with government regulators around the world such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Agency for Drugs (EMEA) to ensure that all sponsored research protocols comply with ethical and procedural guidelines for clinical drug research. Included in the MAPS research effort is MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); LSD and psilocybin for the treatment of anxiety, cluster headaches, and depression associated with late-life issues; ibogaine for the treatment of opiate addiction, ayahuasca for the treatment of drug addiction and PTSD; medical marijuana for PTSD; and alternative delivery systems for medical marijuana such as vaporizers and water pipes. The MAPS official said the organization's main goal is to build a network of clinics where these and other treatments can be administered along with other therapies under the guidance of trained doctors and therapists.
In addition to sponsoring scientific research, MAPS holds continuous medical education conferences (CME), sponsors and presents lectures and seminars on the state of medical and psychedelic marijuana research, provides psychedelic impact reduction services through the Zendo Project at events such as music festivals and Burn Man, and publishes a triannual magazine-style publication, MAPS Bulletin, with updates on ongoing research efforts, legal struggles, and educational initiatives. MAPS also publishes books relating to the science, history, and culture of psychedelic research and psychedelic therapy.
Video Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
Histori
Terapi psikedelik
The psychoactive nature of LSD was discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann when he accidentally swallowed small doses through the skin while studying the compound. Controlled studies on human subjects began soon afterwards and Hofmann's colleague Werner Stoll published his findings on the basic effects of LSD on human subjects in 1947.
After early European and American research efforts investigated whether LSD could reliably induce psychotic disorders, some began evaluating LSD's potential to assist in traditional Freudian psychotherapy in the 1950s. Studies of the effects of LSD on human creativity and spirituality were also conducted during this period.
The next major development in the history of psychedelic research is the rediscovery of psilocybin by Western societies because of the appearance of an article in the 1957 issue of Life magazine written by R. Gordon Wasson detailing his experience of digesting psilocybin mushrooms in a shamanic ceremony in Mexico.. European research on the use of psilocybin as a psychotherapeutic agent (Duche; Delay et al. ) was published in early 1961. An article by Pichot on the basic effects of psilocybin on 137 normal and unhealthy subjects emerged. in the Lancet medical journal of the same year.
In the early 1960s, Harvard University was the site of two experiments involving psilocybin. The first was the Concord Prison Experiment which began in 1961 under the supervision of lead investigators Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether assisted psilocybin psychotherapy techniques can permanently reverse the criminal and anti-social tendencies of 32 prisoners of state approaching parole and prevent them from being imprisoned again. The Leary team combines the administration of synthetic psilocybin in session guided by various tests and support sessions during and after release.
The next Harvard experiment with important implications for the development of psychedelic research was the Good Friday Trial of Walter Pahnke in 1962. Pahnke sets out to determine whether psilocybin can be used to facilitate a "mystical" experience and if this experience can lead to a permanent and beneficial personality transformation. To do so, he recruited 20 Protestant divinity students, 10 of whom would take a synthetic psilocybin and 10 of them would take a placebo. The experiment took place in the basement chapel where audio from the Good Friday service performed in the main chapel on the upper floor was broadcast. Throughout the short history of LSD research, people who are not affiliated or affiliated with a scientific organization distribute LSD supplies outside the laboratory setting. Soon the line between legitimate research and personal experimentation began to blur for some, and in early 1962 fellow faculty members at Harvard openly criticized Leary and Alpert for abandoning scientific principles and experimenting with LSD outside of official research settings. A few months later the university will fire both professors for violating university regulations by giving LSD to students. The controversy at Harvard coincides with greatly increasing FDA restrictions on LSD procurement for scientific research; although some research continues, most research takes place before the new FDA restrictions do not. After restricting its manufacture and distribution in 1965, the US government fully criminalized LSD in 1968, after which European countries that hosted psychedelic research followed.
In the United States, legal psychedelic research was reduced to only one program - a study conducted at the Spring Grove Center in Baltimore focusing primarily on end-of-life therapy and continued until 1974. The study, led by Pahnke and Grof, resulted in the care of more than 100 patients terminals, including 31 in a controlled LSD psychotherapy study.
Throughout the 1980s, MDMA was given in psychiatric and counseling settings, but the use of recreation also became increasingly widespread. MDMA research was largely discontinued in 1985 by US government initiations to ensure the temporary classification of the compound as a drug Schedule I (a permanently made classification in 1988). When psychedelics gain increased recognition as potential psychotherapeutic agents, so are they recognized in popular culture for their recreational use.
Established MAPS
Anticipating that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will move to criminalize MDMA in light of the increasing popularity of drugs in recreational use, Rick Doblin, Alise Agar and Debby Harlow are organizing a nonprofit group called Earth Metabolic Design Laboratories (EMDL) to advocate potential therapeutic use of MDMA. In 1984 DEA has announced its intention to designate MDMA as the substance of Schedule I, a category that will severely limit and regulate the availability of drugs, as well as indicate that no medical use is received and the potential for abuse is high.
EMDL organizes supporters to petition the DEA for a scheduling session on MDMA. Dr. George Greer, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Professor James Bakalar, and Professor Thomas Roberts contribute to the argument that MDMA is included in Schedule III, a category that will more easily enable future research and enable the continued use of it in psychotherapy. Despite these efforts, the DEA pursued emergency scheduling in 1985, citing an imminent risk to public health.
Because MDMA is now considered illegal, held in the same category as substances such as heroin, the only way to use it in scientific investigation is through a long and expensive FDA approval process. Holding the belief that MDMA has the unique potential to help psychotherapy and ultimately become a prescription drug, Rick Doblin is seeking a merger for MAPS as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit research and education organization. The establishment of MAPS is a major step towards a future that envisions what Doblin calls "non-profit pharmaceutical companies." Chartered in 1986, MAPS has since contributed over 12 million dollars towards the scientific studies of psychedelics and marijuana in therapeutic applications.
Maps Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
Project
Since 1986, MAPS has distributed over $ 20 million to fund medical and psychedelic research and education. These include:
- Erowid and MAPS have been collaborating on two major reference database projects since 2001. Erowid has been providing expertise and is working to develop and coordinate the construction of the MDMA Reference library online and MAPS started working on similar projects with Albert LSD Library and the Psilocybin Hofmann Foundation.
- Design a study to examine smoked or smoky marijuana in PTSD treatment related to veteran warfare, which will evaluate the efficacy and safety of some herbs. This study has received FDA approval. MAPS is pursuing the appropriate purchase of strains from the US federal government.
- Attempts sponsored by Prof Lyle Craker, Medicinal Plants Program, Department of UMass Amherst Plant and Soil Sciences, to obtain a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration for marijuana production facilities.
- The sponsored analytical research on the effects of cannabis vaporizer, which leads to the first human study of cannabis vaporizers performed by Dr. Donald Abrams of the University of California, San Francisco.
- Funding Dr.'s success. Donald Abrams for approval for first human research in 15 years into therapeutic use of marijuana, along with a $ 1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- Obtained the FDA's Orphan Drug permission to smoke marijuana in the treatment of AIDS Wasting Syndrome.
- Support the long-term follow-up study of pioneering research with LSD and psilocybin originally conducted in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Sponsoring research by Dr. Evgeny Krupitsky to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as a potential treatment for heroin addiction and alcoholism.
- Sponsor programs and services at festivals, community events, churches, and schools that provide hazard reduction and psychedelic education. A clinical study evaluating the treatment of cluster headache using low-dose tryptamine psilocybin (found in psilocybin mushrooms) is being developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital in conjunction with MAPS.
- Perform some of the small clinical studies described below, and in some cases, publish the results in scientific journals.
Organization
Board and staff
MAPS is governed by boards of directors including John Gilmore, Robert J. Barnhart, and Rick Doblin. Ashawna Hailey served on board until his death in 2011. A full list of MAPS and MAPS staff Public Benefit Corporation (MPBC) is currently available online. maps.org/staff
Funding
MAPS is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit research and education organization, funded by donations from individuals and foundations. Donations to MAPS may be limited to funding a particular project, or are not restricted. MAPS also receives revenue from conferences and events, such as Psychedelic Science conferences, as well as from sales of books, merchandise, and art. With a policy of transparency in financial matters, MAPS publishes detailed annual financial statements.
Research
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD
MAPS has a major focus in examining the effectiveness of using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) to assist psychotherapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MAPS is the only organization in the world to fund clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, as there is little that appeals to commercial pharmaceutical companies. Ultimately, MAPS strives to reach FDA approval for the use of MDMA as a prescription drug.
MAPS completed a US Pilot Study in September 2008 that investigated the effectiveness of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment (PTSD), which took place in Charleston, South Carolina. The study sought to determine whether MDMA-assisted psychotherapy would be effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in 20 subjects identified with drug-resistant PTSD resulting from sexual harassment, war, violent crime, and other traumas.
MAPS is conducting a phase 2 pilot study to assess the efficacy of MDMA assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD among war veterans. The study took place in Charleston, SC and is undergoing experimental treatment with 16 veterans, both male and female, suffering from PTSD-related war. The study will follow a triple-blind random protocol and test three different experimental doses.
Outside the US, MAPS is pursuing the implementation of MDMA/PTSD studies in Canada, Israel, Jordan, and Switzerland. This Canadian Research received full approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and from Health Canada, and is waiting to get import permission to import MDMA into Canada. Israeli studies are awaiting approval from the Israeli Institutional Review Board as well as the Ministry of Health before being able to resume enrollment. An Israeli Defense Force officer has indicated a willingness to refer warned soldiers suffering from PTSD, making it possible for recruitment for learning. The Jordan study is being developed with limited approval from IRB. Protocol amendments will be filed in the near future. MAPS seeks to register Jordanian citizens as well as Iraqi refugees living in Jordan who suffer from PTSD. The Swiss study has received full approval from SwissMedic and has been submitted and accepted by the FDA in the form of an Investigational New Drug application. Research is ongoing and almost complete as MAPS collects long-term follow-up data after experimental treatment of all 12 subjects. This study is part of the MAPS clinical plan to develop MDMA as a prescription drug with FDA approval and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
MAPS has developed a training protocol that will allow the therapist to take part as a subject in Phase 1 studies on the psychological effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy on healthy volunteers. MAPS will therefore manage one MDMA assisted psychotherapy session to the therapist in an effort to offer training as well as evaluate the effects of MDMA. The study has received approval for processing by the US FDA and IRB. Mithoefer, the principal clinical investigator in the study, has received his 1st Schedule license from DEA, enabling him to manage MDMA in this study.
Psychotherapy assisted by LSD and psilocybin for end-of-life anxiety
It is well proven that psychoactive mushrooms and a number of other plants containing psychoactive compounds have been appreciated for thousands of years by many indigenous tribes around the world for spiritual & therapeutic use.
The explosive use of recreation during the 1960s made LSD and Psilocybin very famous and ultimately led to their categorization as Schedule I of illicit drugs in 1970.
MAPS is committed to exploring the potential use of LSD and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of patients suffering from deep anxiety related to life-threatening illness. Developing a new research protocol to meet modern drug development standards, MAPS 'LSD pilots and psilocybin studies will be used to guide the development of future treatment methodologies.
MAPS is conducting research on LSD-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of secondary anxiety for life-threatening illness. The research took place in Solothurn, Switzerland, and is the first study in 35 years to investigate the use of LSD therapy in human subjects. The main focus of the study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of psychotherapy assisted by LS with a population of individuals experiencing anxiety associated with life-threatening disease. The study has received approval from BAG (equivalent to DEA in Switzerland), Ethics Committee (Swiss IRB), and SwissMedic. Registration begins in April 2008 and is now complete.
MAPS has also developed a protocol to study the effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in treating anxiety related to the experience of having life-threatening diseases such as advanced cancer. The study will be conducted in the US under a major investigation of Sameet Kumar, Ph.D.
Ibogaine Treatment for Drug Addiction
MAPS collects observational data from two ibogaine care centers in Mexico to study the long-term effects of Ibogaine's treatment on opiate-dependent subjects.
MAPS has issued a request for a proposal (RFP) to find a team of researchers interested in conducting clinical trials on ibogaine; a $ 25,000 grant has been provided to help fund such a study.
Medical marijuana
The National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) holds a monopoly over the supply of marijuana grown for research in the United States, as they fund the only licensed laboratories to cultivate it. Because NIDA is merely interested in examining the negative aspects of marijuana use and abuse, studies to explore its potential medical benefits are unlikely in the United States.
MAPS is the only organization working to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of botanical marijuana as a prescription drug for FDA satisfaction. For almost ten years, MAPS has been engaged in a long and ongoing legal battle with DEA ​​to end the NIDA monopoly on research grade marijuana.
Alternatively, MAPS has received full approval from the FDA to study the effectiveness of marijuana, both smoked and evaporated, in the treatment of PTSD-related individuals. This marks the first time the FDA has approved an outpatient marijuana study.
Educational reach
Bulletin MAPS
The MAPS Bulletin (called MAPS Newsletter before 1995) is the official publication of the organization. It provides a summary of psychedelic research undertaken under the auspices of organizations and other worldwide research efforts in addition to psychedelic cultural discussions, personal reflection on psychedelic experiences, and the writings of prominent figures in the psychedelic research community.
Psychedelic dangers
MAPS offers educational resources that actively promote the reduction of psychedelic hazards. Psychedelic degradation is an approach to minimize the harmful consequences and risks associated with the use of therapeutic and recreational psychedelic drugs. The harm reduction approach is an alternative to drug banning laws that criminalize psychedelic users. Inexperienced or overwhelmed psychedelic users sometimes have challenging emotional experiences that are resolved through law enforcement or medical intervention, which can cause long-lasting psychological damage after the trip is over. Poorly reduced impact approaches to psychedelic use often include attention to settings and settings, parenting, or framing in the context of psychedelic therapy.
MAPS has provided emergency psychedelic services at festivals such as Hookahville, Burning Man, and Boom Festival. The MAPS model of emergency psychedelic services is volunteer, peer-based and relies on acute interventions. MAPS also provides training and educational videos, which empower psychedelic users and their peers with therapeutic techniques to be used in helping others through difficult psychedelic experiences. MAPS's approach to psychedelic impact reduction has prompted a new framework for viewing "bad" travel as an opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth.
In addition, co-sponsors MAPS EcstasyData.org, an online resource that provides lab testing of ecstasy tablets at minimal cost, which lets users know exactly what they swallow and to avoid taking incorrectly labeled or improper substances. MAPS has also established a partnership with Bluelight, a web forum dedicated to reducing hazards.
Conference
- MAPS Pharmacologically-Assisted Psychotherapy Conference (November 28-December 1, 1990, Bern, Switzerland)
- Psychedelic Science in the 21st century (15-18 April 2010, San Jose, CA)
- Catalysts: Psychedelic Impact from Culture to Creativity (December 10th, 2010, Los Angeles, CA)
- Second International Psychedelical Science Conference (18-23 April 2013, Oakland, CA)
Legal effort
Monopoly medical marijuana
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a government that provides a monopoly on medical marijuana production for research purposes. In the past, the agency has refused to supply marijuana to researchers who have obtained all necessary federal clearance. Medical marijuana researchers and activists claim that NIDA, which is not supposed to be a regulatory organization, does not have the authority to effectively control who conducts and does not conduct research with medical marijuana. Jag Davies of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) writes in MAPS Bulletin:
Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a monopoly on research-grade marijuana supply, but no other Schedule I medications, which can be used in FDA-approved studies. NIDA uses its monopoly power to hinder research that goes against its interests. MAPS has two FDA-approved medical marijuana protocols denied by NIDA, preventing the study from taking place. MAPS has also been unsuccessful for nearly four years to buy 10 grams of marijuana from NIDA for research into the vaporizer's steam constituent of marijuana, a non-smoking drug delivery method that has been used in an FDA-approved human study..
NIDA manages contracts with the University of Mississippi to grow the country's only legal marijuana plant for medical and research purposes, including the New Compassionate Compassionate Investigation program. United States federal law enrolls cannabis as a medication Schedule I. Medical marijuana researchers typically prefer to use high-pot marijuana, but National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse NIDA is reluctant to give marijuana with high THC levels, on the grounds of security issues:
Most clinical studies have been done using cannabis cigarettes with a potential of 2-4% THC. However, it is anticipated that there will be demand for potentially higher cannabis cigarettes or with other cannabinoid mixtures. For example, NIDA has received a cigarette request with a potential of 8%. The Subcommittee notes that very little is known about the clinical pharmacology of this higher potential. Thus, while NIDA research has provided much of the literature related to clinical pharmacology of marijuana, research is still needed to establish the safety of new dosage forms and new formulations. In the recent rejection of medical marijuana by the Federal Government, the DEA rejected the request of Professor Craker, Valerie Corral, and MAPS to end the federal government's monopoly on medical marijuana production and research.
Major events in the recent process are important, as in 2007 ruling by Mary Ellen Bittner's Administrative Judge, in which she recommended that Craker receive a license to grow marijuana for research and that NIDA dismantles the monopoly. DEA in response to canceled the recommendation decision in January 2009, and then refused the Craker Motion to Consider again in December 2010. In March 2011, Craker lawyers filed their final report in this case. MAPS is pursuing an effort to have a final verdict of DEA being canceled. A detailed timeline of MAPS efforts to gain access to research grade marijuana is available on the MAPS website.
See also
- Drug development
- The Beckley Foundation
- Heffter Research Institute
References
External links
- MAPS Web site
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments