December 31, 2004. Reports about FDA approval of MAPS' MDMA/cancer anxiety study have generated articles and debates around the world, with one example being an article published in The Age, in Australia, with quotes from several Australian physicians. Here's a quote from the article, "The successful testing of these drugs could create dilemmas for governments with a prohibitionist approach to recreational drugs, Dr Caldicott said." Dr. Caldicott is a research fellow from the emergency department of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

  An amazing editorial, Examining Ecstasy, about FDA approval of MAPS' MDMA/cancer anxiety study, was published today in the Ottawa Citizen. MAPS' Harvard study is considered restrained and Charles Grob is chastised for speaking of potential spiritual benefits!

December 30, 2004. An article in The Australian reports on the FDA approval of MAPS' MDMA/cancer anxiety study and quotes Australian Medical Association Queensland public health committee chairwoman Jeanette Tait as saying, "The medical community would look askance at this type of trial, except that it is being conducted by such a respected body," she said. "As it is such a fairly substantial body doing the trial, especially with FDA approval, I think the results will be very interesting. There's so much to be wary about illicit drugs and their use." Dr. Tait's comments reaffirm the value of MAPS' efforts to conduct MDMA psychotherapy research at Harvard, since the research is being taken more seriously as a result of where it is being conducted.

December 29, 2004. Some of the most important Spanish newspapers and journals broke the news about the MDMA/cancer anxiety study, echoing the news report from the Washington Post. These reports are apparently very favorable. These include "EE UU ensaya el uso de éxtasis en enfermos de cancer terminal" (El País, December 28, PDF), "Cientficos de EE UU investigarn el uso del 'éxtasis' en enfermos terminales" (El Correo Digital, December 29, PDF) and "EEUU aprueba un estudio sobre el uso psiquitrico del 'éxtasis'" (El Mundo, December 28, PDF).

December 27, 2004. Excellent Washington Post article by Rick Weiss about FDA approval of MDMA/cancer anxiety research and general renewal of research into the therapeutic potential of MDMA and psychedelic compounds. [ Also see scans of the article. ]

  The AP Wire Service published a report on the recent FDA approval of the MDMA/cancer anxiety study, with quotes from principal investigator John Halpern MD.

December 19, 2004. An op-ed by Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune criticizes the DEA for blocking the UMass Amherst marijuana production facility

  The Providence (RI) Journal published an excellent op-ed about the financial reasons why drug warriors don't want to see the licensing of the UMass Amherst production facility.

December 18, 2004. An expanded article by Fred Gardner appears on counterpunch.org, "DEA Upholds Grower's Marijuana Monopoly." This is the most detailed critique yet published of DEA's rationale for rejecting the UMass Amherst application.

December 16, 2004. An excellent article in the Boston Phoenix dissects the DEA's rejection of the UMass Amherst application.

December 15, 2004. An article in the Boston Globe gives background to the DEA rejection of the UMass Amherst project and explains the legal pressure that forced DEA to act, the DEA's obstruction of research, and political support for the license.

  An article in the Anderson Valley Advertiser, "DEA Upholds Grower's Monopoly," by Fred Gardner, discusses in detail the DEA's rejection of the UMass Amherst application. The Anderson Valley Advertiser has followed the details of the medical marijuana issue more closely than any other paper.

  Howie Carr of the Boston Herald writes IN AT LEAST ONE WAY, ZOOMASS ISN'T GOING TO POT.

December 14, 2004. The New York Times reports that the DEA has rejected the application from UMass Amherst for a license to grow marijuana. The article notes that there is a 30 days period within which an appeal can be filed, which we will do.

December 4, 2004. The Miami Herald published a news report of the police seizure of a clandestine laboratory allegedly producing a chemical the report describes as "euphoria," probably referring to the substance 4-methylaminorex. Rick Doblin is quoted in a brief discussion of the effects of the drug.

November 30, 2004. The UK Independent News, online edition, publishes an article by David McCandless about the medicinal benefits of some psychedelic fungi, Magical and Medicinal,

November 29, 2004. Slate has recently published an extensive commentary on how the Supreme Court is and will approach Ashcroft v. Raich. MAPS had filed an amicus curiae concerning the obstruction of efforts to conduct FDA-approved medical marijuana research.

November 28, 2004. The LA Times published an in-depth examination of ibogaine therapy for people with addictions. The piece includes a brief description of a session at the Ibogaine Association clinic in Mexico, and mentions Howard Lotsof, Deborah Mash, and Marc Emery.

November 22, 2004. The popular science magazine Scientific American published an editorial in support of making it easier to perform medical marijuana research in the US, describing current restrictions on medical marijuana research as "absurd."

November 13, 2004. The Intoxication Instinct The New Scientist Helen Phillips, Graham Lawton Helen Phillips and Graham Lawton explore The Intoxication Instinct in a fascinating and lengthy article published in The New Scientist. "From alcohol and cannabis to cocaine and LSD, it seems there are no limits to our appetite for mind-altering substances. What is it about human nature that drives us to get out of our heads?"

October 15, 2004. "Magic Medicine," an article by David McCandless in the London paper, The Independent, discusses the changing legal situation in England for mushrooms, which are currently legal, and psilocybin research, with some excellent quotes from Dr. Charles Grob and Rick Doblin.

October 10, 2004. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Medical Marijuana Advocates Likely to Get Break Under Kerry". MAPS' UMass Amherst project is mentioned in the article

October 8, 2004. The October 8-14 Boston Phoenix features an interview with MAPS' president Rick Doblin Ph.D. that discusses, among other things, ongoing research into the therapeutic effects of MDMA, psilocybin, and marijuana.

September 30, 2004. The Salt Lake City Weekly published a piece on Ecstasy & Therapy. The piece includes interviews with two therapists practicing "underground" MDMA-assisted therapy, and an interview with Rick Doblin Ph.D., president of MAPS.

  Reuters News Service published a story stating "British, French Drug Firms Lead in Marijuana Tests", noting that US drug development is hampered by marijuana's schedule 1 status and government control over the supply of marijuana researchers must use for their studies.

September 27, 2004. Wired published a piece charting the progress of research into the therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs, including the ongoing studies of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in people with PTSD, psilocybin in people with OCD, and psilocybin in cancer patient with anxiety, as well as planned studies into MDMA-assisted therapy in people with anxiety associated with advanced stage cancer, and psilocybin and LSD in people with cluster headaches

August 15, 2004.  Medicine Hope for Psychedelic Drugs, an article from BBC News (UK Web), by Arran Frood, discussed psychedelic psychotherapy research supported by Heffter Research Institute and MAPS. This article is mostly based on an interview with Dr. Charles Grob and leaves the impression that it's about time that research into the therapeutic uses of psychedelics has resumed.

August 8, 2004. London Publication Mail on Sunday reports on Francis Crick, the Nobel Prize-winning father of modern genetics, who was under the influence of LSD when he first deduced the double-helix structure of DNA nearly 50 years ago.

August 4, 2004. The Charleston, South Carolina Post and Courier published an article about the MDMA/PTSD study. While the article overemphasizes the supposed dangers of MDMA, it does at least give the impression that MDMA may indeed have therapeutic potential. Dr. Mithoefer has written a letter to the editor clarifying some misleading statements made in the Post and Courier article. The Post and Courier also published another article on the history of psychedelic research.

On August 8, the Post and Courier printed the following correction: "A story on Page 1A of Wednesday's editions of The Post and Courier incorrectly stated that Dr. Michael C. Mithoefer was administering Ecstasy to "patients." The story should have made it clear that the drug was being given to research subjects. The federally approved research program is unrelated to Mithoefer's private practice and patients. Dr. Mithoefer also notes that the story would have more appropriately drawn a distinction between dangerous recreational use of Ecstasy and controlled clinical studies if it had noted other studies, including three US studies approved by the FDA, that found "no serious adverse events" and "no evidence of neurotoxicity" in tests administered under medical supervision."

July 28, 2004. Scientific Journal Nature publishes an article about MAPS's lawsuit against DEA, HHS, NIH, and NIDA for obstructing Marijuana research. Dr. Stanley Watson of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who co-authored a 1999 Institute of Medicine report agrees that political factors are obstructing medical marijuana research.

July 25, 2004. A front page article in the Sunday Baltimore Sun discussed MAPS' MDMA psychotherapy research in a favorable light, illustrated with a photo of Rick Doblin. Of special note is the conclusion, in which Dr. George Ricaurte says that MDMA may one day find a place as an accepted medication. On July 29, the Sun published a clarification to the article.

July 22, 2004. Newspapers around the country have carried an AP wire story on MAPS' lawsuits against DEA/HHS/NIH/NIDA for obstructing medical marijuana research. An original article from the Springfield Republican (in MA) is representative of the favorable treatment our suit has obtained in the media.

  The Springfield Republican publishes an article about MAPS recent medical marijuana research lawsuits.

July 21, 2004. Nature publishes an excellent editorial about the conflict between science and politics at NIDA, using as an example exaggerations of the risks of MDMA by Dr. Alan Leshner, ex-Director of NIDA.

May 13, 2004. Nature publishes a lengthy article and editorial about MDMA psychotherapy research. The articles, about which Rick Doblin has written a lengthy commentary, are supportive of MAPS' research efforts. Alex Gamma wrote a letter to the editor responding to claims of insufficient knowledge of extent of risks in human trials made in the piece and providing greater detail on a human trial of MDMA described in the article.

April 14, 2004. The Drug Policy Alliance is featuring an interview with Rick Doblin on its website.

April 14, 2004. Studies probe psychedelic benefits, by Lee Peterson, Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA. An excellent article on the renewal of psychedelic psychotherapy research which ends with a quote to keep in mind, "We just need to be very careful to address the fears of the larger culture," Doblin said.

May 7, 2003. Slate Magazine's John Horgan offers personal recounts of drug injestion in combination with the recent medical and spiritual history of these drugs. He quotes Charles Grob and mentions his FDA approval to investigate whether psilocybin can relieve anxiety in late-stage cancer patients. April 7, 2004. A HealthDay Reporter article discusses an editorial in the April 7, 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine which criticized the FDA for delaying a decision on whether the emergency contraceptive pill (Plan B) will be approved for over-the-counter sales. How FDA handles this politically volatile decision is an indicator of the validity of MAPS' strategy of working to conduct FDA-approved research with psychedelics and marijuana. MAPS' strategy assumes that FDA will prioritize science over politics, unlike DEA, NIDA and ONDCP. This has been the case for the last decade and will, most likely, continue to be so. Still, how FDA handles Plan B will be a crucial indicator.

April 6, 2004. In an article in Talon News (bringing the conservative message to America), the fundamentalist drug warrior, Rep. Mark Souder, Chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources and author of the infamous law that denies educational loans to students with a prior drug conviction, has strongly criticized Peter Jennings's Ecstasy Rising documentary. Rep. Souder's criticisms of Peter Jennings' "lack of a moral compass" demonstrate yet again that the Drug War is a holy, moral crusade where facts are subjugated to ideology.

April 5, 2004. Video archives of the Peter Jennings special, Ecstasy Rising, are now available.

April 1, 2004. Ecstasy Rising. Federal Campaign to Curb Club Drug Use Hasn't Dimmed Its Popularity, ABCNEWS.

  Club Drug Tested as Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder By Bob Woodruff, ABCNEWS.

  Here are Mark Kleiman's comments on the ABC TV documentary.

March 28, 2004. Ex-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders publishes a great op-ed, Myths about Medical Marijuana.

March 20, 2004. The British Medical Journal published an obituary for Humphry Osmond, the psychiatrist who investigated LSD, "turned on" Aldous Huxley, and coined the word "psychedelic".

March 19, 2004. The Hallucinogenic Way of Dying - Can psilocybin reduce death anxiety in end-stage cancer patients? This article from the LA Weekly Times looks at Dr. Charles Grob's new FDA approved study into the effects of psilocybin on end-stage cancer patients at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

March 10, 2004. The Ecstasy Factor - Bad Science Slandered a Generation's Favorite Drug. Now a New Study Aims to Undo the Damage, by Carla Spartos, Village Voice. This is a strong, hard-hiting article.

March 4, 2004.The Economist publishes an article about the neurology of the spiritual experience.

March 2, 2004. DEA Approves Trial Use Of Ecstasy in Trauma Cases, Rick Weiss, The Washington Post

 also see comments on and corrections to the WP article by Ilsa Jerome, PhD and Rick Doblin, PhD.

  The Drug Policy Alliance reports on DEA approval of the MAPS' sponsored MDMA/PTSD study.

  DEA Accedes to Ecstasy Test by Kristen Philipkoski, Wired News. This article contains a remarkable quote from George Ricaurte giving qualified support for the MDMA/PTSD study.

March 1, 2004. The Israeli newspaper, Maariv, published an article about the approval of the MDMA/PTSD study, entitled "United States Approves Ecstasy to Treat Trauma: The FDA says the party drug will be used to treat people who have been sexually assaulted" by Alex Doron.

February 27, 2004. The Ninth Circuit federal appeals court has refused to reconsider its Raich-Monson decision that allows Californians to grow and use marijuana to treat their illnesses. Not a single judge on the circuit voted to accept the government's request for reconsideration. The government's only recourse to reverse the Raich-Monson decision is to appeal to the Supreme Court. The government has 90 days to file a petition for certiorari. An article about this decision by Dean Murphy appeared in the New York Times.

February 26, 2004. The London Guardian published an obituary of Humphry Osmond, a pioneer in the field of psychedelic research who died on February 6, 2004 at the age of 86. The obituary was written by his colleague Abram Hoffer.

  One of most important national Spanish newspapers (El Mundo) published an article regarding the final approval of the US MDMA/PTSD study in its Science section. The article is quite favorable and also tells that the MAPS-sponsored Spanish MDMA/PTSD study was shutdown for political reasons. We will continue to struggle to reopen the Spanish MDMA/PTSD study.

February 25, 2004. Rick Doblin was the guest in a live email chat on the Chronicle for Higher Education website. To read the exchanges, see the transcript.

 CNN announces that Ecstasy is Approved for Medical Study.

 Corrections and comments on the CNN announcement by Ilsa Jerome, Ph.D and Rick Doblin, Ph.D.

 Watch the CNN announcement (RealPlayer is required)
56k modem version
Broadband cable/dsl version

February 24, 2004. Playboy's March issue published a long and respectful article by Mark Boal called 'The Agony and Ecstasy of Alexander Shulgin'.

  Science or Politics at the FDA, a New York Times editorial that discusses whether FDA will approve the morning-after pill. The FDA's balancing of science and politics in this decision will be a barometer as to whether we can continue to trust that the FDA will prioritize science over politics in psychedelic and medical marijuana research.

February 23, 2004. Ecstasy Agonistes A retracted study on a controversial substance raises questions about the reliability of government-sponsored research on drugs, By Thomas Bartlett, Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education's February 25, 2004 colloquy live email chat with Rick Doblin is available in the Chronicle archive.

February 22, 2004. The New York Times published an obituary for Dr. Humphry Osmond, who coined the word "psychedelic" and conducted pioneering psychedelic psychotherapy research.

February 18, 2004. SF TV station KRON (Channel 4) broadcast a story on ibogaine as a treatment for addiction, featuring Dr. Deborah Mash who says she is going to submit to FDA her data gathered in her St. Kitts clinic, and patient/activist Patrick Kroupa. Dr. Deborah Mash's early research with ibogaine at the University of Miami was partially supported by MAPS.

February 17, 2004. Pot Proponent Just Says No, by Bill Breen, Fast Company Online.
Medical marijuana's elder statesman is not convinced that the therapeutic benefits of cannabis can be separated from the psychoactive effects -- or that cannabis should be "pharmaceuticalized."

The Cannabis Conundrum by Bill Breen, Fast Company Online.
As the founder of a British Pharmaceutical company put it, if it weren't called Marijuana there would be an entire biotech business built around this plant. And that's just what is starting to happen (but not for the US drug industry or the patients these medicines might help).

Pipe Dream? Rick Doblin has a prescription for fixing NIDA's ailing medical-marijuana program: establish an alternative. By Bill Breen, Fast Company. An excellent article about MAPS' UMass Amherst project.

February 16, 2004. Goodbye ecstasy, hello 5-Meo-DMT: new designer drugs are just a click away.
Psychedelics legal in US but banned in UK are openly available on the internet
David McCandless, The Guardian

February 13, 2004. The Journey of Ayahuasca Tea by John Rieger, NPR's The Savvy traveler.
"The search for spiritual enlightenment is a growing sector of modern travel There's a new spiritual center developing in Iquitos, Peru. There, on the edge of the Peruvian Amazon jungle, a special sort of traveler is seeking out a powerful medicine made by the local shaman there. Ayahuasca Tea is a potent psychedelic that you drink under the guidance of a spiritual guide. Reporter John Rieger went in search of Ayahuasca, which is believed to heal broken souls."

January 27, 2004. A NY Times article about medical marijuana discusses the implications for US drug policy of the impending approval of a medical marijuana extract in England, with quotes from and illustrated by photos of Lester Grinspoon and Rick Doblin.

 Read Dr. Grinspoon's comments on this article.

January 18, 2004. The Demonized Seed. Reporter Lee Green wrote an article for the LA Times Sunday magazine about the DEA crackdown on hemp products and on the growing of hemp. The article helps put in context MAPS' struggle to sponsor a growing facility at UMass Amherst to produce high-potency marijuana for federally-approved research.

January 16, 2004. End of the affair, by Leo Benedictus, London Guardian. " One pill now costs about the same as a pint of beer - and is almost as easy to get hold of. But the youth of Britain is starting to turn its back on ecstasy. Leo Benedictus on how the drug of the 90s fell from favour."

January 8, 2004. Rick Doblin was interviewed by Dennis Romero in LA City Beat. Rick's age was reported as 39 (he just turned 50), and he was said to be on the NORML Board of Directors from 1996-2000 (he's still on the Board) but otherwise the interview is excellent and accurate.

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