Investigational MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD: Phase 3 Data and Decision by FDA as Soon as Mid-2024

Abstract

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., President and Founder of the 37-year-old Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), will discuss the results of two MAPS-sponsored, philanthropy-funded Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. As MAPS approaches a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD as soon as mid-2024, he will explore the possibility of a world of net-zero trauma by 2070.

Biography

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. 

He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and puppy, with three empty rooms from his children who have all graduated college and begun their life journeys. Learn more about Rick by listening to his Origin Story and watching his TED Talk.