I just wanted to say a big thank you to the MAPS team, and to Jon Hanna and Sylvia Thyssen in particular, for the fantastic bulletin. It has tackled a deeply contentious issue with intelligence, courage and wisdom. It will be an invaluable resource for those of us on the drugswork frontline committed to developing new ways of working and as a vehicle for introducing new thinking into the field. Thank you and well done. Richard Spurgeon

Just a note to say how much I appreciated the latest print version of the MAPS Bulletin--Kids and Psychedelics. This is a topic that cries out for such honest discussion, though I'm sure you will get many who disagree, preferring to sweep such an important subject under the rug . . . Just say NO, and keep up the good work.

James Stewart Campbell, MD.
MEDesign

I think congratulations are in order to Sylvia Thyssen and Jon Hanna for putting together an excellent issue on Rites of Passage: Kids and Psychedelics. The stories and interviews reveal a bit of grace that all could apply in these type of situations and to our turbulent times.

I have talked to my son since he was 11 about these wonderful plants and substances, and he is used to our friends coming over for discussions. He knows what the different plants do, that they must be treated with respect. Though he has a mental picture of it all, his experiences will ultimately be different in these fields of study, as he has unswerving support from us and a wide community who know him and have his interest at heart. More and fuller education is needed for our young ones, so they can make informed choices. I think the bulletin is becoming a tool for a wider audience, and this kind of issue can be shared out to those who have never experienced these states of bliss and challenge, and will go far in opening communications.

Again, a nod to the editors!
Gwyllm

The article in your current edition of the MAPS Bulletin, A Father and Daughter Journey Together, page 15, is an important article pursuant to MAP's interest in rites of passage. The entire area of study of rites of passage in our society is one that deserves more attention as it addresses basic underlying approaches to personal growth and well being.

Howard S. Lotsof
President
Dora Weiner Foundation

Harvard MDMA/Cancer Study
Hello MAPS,

I was very interested in your article in Yahoo today on the use of ecstasy in cancer patients. As a surviving family member of several terminal cancer patients, I think what you are doing is very admirable.

I know that from watching both of my grandfathers die from this disease there is very little one can do to comfort someone when they are near the end and in pain. I hope that your research goes well.

Thank you,
J.J. Hanna

to whom it may concern,

i happened upon an article regarding your use of mdma for terminally ill cancer patients today, and i simply wanted to say thank you. though i have no personal relationship to either the use of mdma or the experience of cancer, i browsed your website extensively and am very happy to know that someone has taken the initiative to make controlled psychedelic use an issue. i have long suspected psilocybin to be a profoundly beneficial substance in rectifying mind/body disparities and hope you do more research with it. anyway, i thank you once again for being bold enough to do what you are doing. i am nothing but a concerned college student without even the funds for your student membership, but if you need any type of help at all with anything, even simply a kind word, there is a generation that stands behind you.

Sincerely,
Billy Schweig

Membership

. . . On the subject of MAPS membership: Even though I am convinced that I would benefit from MDMA as say a prescription drug for PTSD, I don't believe that I will ever enjoy the fruits of MAPS's efforts, as they are concentrated today on specific use of MDMA within a psychotherapeutic setting and even this will take years to really get of the ground. (My joining would be like you joining the Israeli Prosthodontic Society because you have teeth and you know me). Nevertheless, I have decided to subscribe to MAPS because of the Vision you outlined for me in our meeting. I would like to share the vision with you in a concrete way (even though we probably won't see "licensing" of MDMA to the general population in our lifetime). The other reason I want to subscribe is to support you morally, as you are in effect supporting me by providing serious, logical, rational and accessible information on an issue of so much importance to me.

D. Weiss
Har Gilo
Jerusalem

In a recent letter to MAPS, imprisoned LSD manufacturer Leonard Pickard asked us to let people know that he would appreciate correspondence from the psychedelic research community. Leonard was busted in 2000 in the largest LSD lab seizure in DEA history. He was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in 2003. To reach him, write to:

William Pickard
82687011
USP Victorville
POB 5500
Adelanto, CA 92301