Our Mission

MAPS' mission is (1) to treat conditions for which conventional medicines provide limited relief—such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain, drug dependence, anxiety and depression associated with end-of-life issues—by developing psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medicines; (2) to treat many thousands of people by building a network of clinics where treatments can be provided; and (3) to educate the public honestly about the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana.

Our Work

Founded in 1986, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization. MAPS functions as a non-profit pharmaceutical company working to make psychedelics and medical marijuana available to patients, physicians, and therapists on a legal, prescription, generic basis for public health benefits and health care cost savings.

MAPS seeks to bring an end to the fear and irrationality that have surrounded psychedelic and marijuana research for decades. Instead, MAPS commits to the systematic scientific evaluation of their risks and benefits as treatments for some of the most debilitating and hard-to-treat conditions.

MAPS helps scientists fund, design, and conduct clinical trials under the guidelines set forth by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), the International Council on Harmonization (ICH), and other government regulatory bodies. MAPS is also training therapists to administer psychedelic drugs in therapeutic settings.

MAPS educates the public honestly about the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS accomplishes this by organizing and co-sponsoring conferences, distributing books and other merchandise pertaining to psychedelic and medical marijuana research and medicine, distributing a triannual MAPS Bulletin to its members, producing a monthly e-mail newsletter containing updates about the most recent developments in the field, distributing knowledge about psychedelic harm reduction, hosting educational and fundraising booths at festivals and community events, disseminating press releases, and providing access to world-renowned experts in psychedelic and medical marijuana research.

MAPS relies on the generosity of individual donors to achieve its scientific and educational goals. For decades, the government was the biggest obstacle to research. Now that the studies are again being conducted under federal guidelines, the challenge has become one of funding. At the time of this publication, there is no funding available for these studies from governments, pharmaceutical companies, or major foundations. That means that—at least for now—the future of psychedelic and marijuana research rests in the hands of individual donors. Please see our funding priorities or consider donating today.