The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a U.S.-based non-profit organization that assists scientists to design, fund, obtain approval for and report on studies into the risks and benefits of psychedelic drugs (including MDMA, ibogaine and cannabis). MAPS' mission is to develop these drugs into FDA-approved prescription medicines, and to educate the public about their risks and benefits. MAPS has often been at odds with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in their efforts to research the medicinal purposes of cannabis. MAPS founder Rick Doblin claims that NIDA is "scared of the research" MAPS is performing.^[1] MAPS has a $5 million, 5 year plan to conduct the research necessary to obtain FDA approval for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition to its research efforts, MAPS has recently published six books, and publishes a quarterly journal, the MAPS Bulletin. The organization was founded by Rick Doblin in 1986.

Achievements

Since 1995, MAPS has disbursed over three million dollars to research and educational projects and has:

• Began an FDA-approved study of the psychotherapeutic effects of LSD in cancer patients in Switzerland
• Obtained FDA and IRB approval to study MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Charleston, SC with similar research projects now underway in Switzerland and Israel.
• Sponsored efforts by Prof. Lyle Craker, Medicinal Plant Program, UMass Amherst Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, to obtain a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration for a marijuana production facility.
• Sponsored pioneering analytical research into the effects of the marijuana vaporizer, leading to the first human study of marijuana vaporizers conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams, UC San Francisco.
• Opened an FDA Drug Master File for MDMA. This is required before any drug can be researched in FDA-approved human studies.
• Assisted Dr. Charles Grob to design, obtain approval for and fund the first FDA-approved study in the U.S. to administer MDMA to humans.
• Assisted in the design and is funding the world's first government-approved scientific study of the therapeutic use of MDMA (Spain).
• Sponsored studies to analyze the purity and potency of street samples of "Ecstasy" and medical marijuana.
• Funded the successful efforts of Dr. Donald Abrams to obtain approval for the first human study in 15 years into the therapeutic use of marijuana, along with a $1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Obtained Orphan Drug designation from the FDA for smoked marijuana in the treatment of AIDS Wasting Syndrome.
• Funded the synthesis of psilocybin for the first FDA-approved study in twenty-five years to evaluate psilocybin in a patient population.
• Supported long-term follow-up studies of pioneering research with LSD and psilocybin originally conducted in the 1950s and 1960s.

Currently, MAPS has been given a Schedule I license to conduct research with MDMA on veterans and survivors of physical or sexual assault who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, as well as with advanced-stage Cancer patients who are experiencing anxiety associated with this diagnosis, the first licenses the DEA has granted for MDMA psychotherapy research.

A clinical study of these treatment of cluster headaches using low doses of the tryptamine psilocybin (found in psilocybe mushrooms) is being developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital in conjunction with MAPS.^[2][3] Medical marijuana monopoly

Medical Marihuana Monopoly

NIDA has a government granted monopoly on the production of medical marihuana for research purposes. In the past, the institute has refused to supply marihuana to researchers who had obtained all other necessary federal permits. Medical marijuana researchers and activists claim that NIDA, which is not supposed to be a regulatory organization, does not have the authority to effectively regulate who does and doesn't get to do research with medical marijuana. Jag Davies of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) writes in MAPS Bulletin:[25] ? Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a monopoly on the supply of research-grade marihuana, but no other Schedule I drug, that can be used in FDA-approved research. NIDA uses its monopoly power to obstruct research that conflicts with its vested interests. MAPS had two of its FDA-approved medical marijuana protocols rejected by NIDA, preventing the studies from taking place. MAPS has also been trying without success for almost four years to purchase 10 grams of marihuana from NIDA for research into the constituents of the vapor from marihuana vaporizers, a non-smoking drug delivery method that has already been used in one FDA-approved human study. ?

NIDA administers a contract with the University of Mississippi to grow the nation's only legal cannabis crop for medical and research purposes,[26] including the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program. A Fast Company magazine article pointed out, "Based on the photographic evidence, NIDA's concoction of seeds, stems, and leaves more closely resembles dried cat brier than cannabis".[27] An article in Mother Jones magazine describes their crop as "brown, stems-and-seeds-laden, low-potency pot?what's known on the streets as "schwag""[28] United States federal law currently registers cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Medical marijuana researchers typically prefer to use high-potency marijuana, but NIDA's National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse has been reluctant to provide cannabis with high THC levels, citing safety concerns:[26] ? Most clinical studies have been conducted using cannabis cigarettes with a potency of 2-4% THC. However, it is anticipated that there will be requests for cannabis cigarettes with a higher potency or with other mixes of cannabinoids. For example, NIDA has received a request for cigarettes with an 8% potency. The subcommittee notes that very little is known about the clinical pharmacology of this higher potency. Thus, while NIDA research has provided a large body of literature related to the clinical pharmacology of cannabis, research is still needed to establish the safety of new dosage forms and new formulations. ?

Speaking before the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project criticized NIDA for refusing to provide researcher Donald Abrams with marijuana for his studies, stating that "after nine months of delay, Dr. Leshner rejected Dr. Abrams' request for marijuana, on what we believe are political grounds that the FDA-approved protocol is inadequate."[29]

Boston Globe 2006:

Then again, it's not in NIDA's job description-or even, perhaps, in NIDA's interests-to grow a world-class marijuana crop. The institute's director, Nora Volkow, has stressed that it's "not NIDA's mission to study the medicinal use of marijuana or to advocate for the establishment of facilities to support this research." Since NIDA's stated mission "is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction," federally supported marijuana research will logically tilt toward the potential harms, not benefits, of cannabis.

References

External links

• MAPS Website
• MAPS Monthly News
• MAPS Bulletin Online
• MAPS Online Store
• MAPS Funding Priorities
• Interview with Rick Doblin at LitmusZine

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