[MAPS] News 06/07: "Mapping a New Frontier"

Thu Jun 14 14:39:28 CDT 2007

To read this in html w/hyperlink:
http://www.maps.org/news

MAPS Members, Supporters, and Friends,

Incredibly, over the last several years, MAPS¹ research agenda has
transformed the distant dream of developing psychedelics into
government-approved prescription medicines into a possibility to take
seriously.

All the while, MAPS is the only organization that is working to put
marijuana through FDA clinical trials to develop it into a legal,
prescription medicine.

If you have the means to contribute to MAPS, we are in need of your support.
At the MAPS Web Store, you can make a donation, join MAPS, or purchase
books, art and other MAPS merchandise: http://www.maps.org/catalog

This month we have a special addition to the MAPS Web Store ‹ two rare
original Pablo Amaringo paintings, with half of the proceeds going to MAPS
(see Item #12 or http://www.maps.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=24 for more
information).

The headlines for June 2007:

1. MAPS Receives $50,000 Grant from Libra Foundation

2. Want to be Published in the MAPS Bulletin? Articles Still Needed for
³Psychedelics and Self-Discovery²

3. Help MAPS Urge Congress to Pressure DEA to Accept Judge¹s Recommendation

4. MAPS to Provide Technical Support for a Medical Marijuana Production
Facility in Israel

5. Third Subject Completes Protocol in Swiss MDMA/PTSD Study

6. MAPS MDMA/PTSD Researchers Present at European Traumatic Stress
Conference

7. MAPS Critiques Third NeXT Prospective Study of Ecstasy Users and Memory

8. MAPS-Sponsored MDMA/PTSD Research from Spain to be Published in Journal
of Psychoactive Drugs

9. Psychedelic Therapy and Research Pioneer Stan Grof Wins Prestigious Havel
Award

10. Alternate 101 Cover Story: ³Psychedelic Prescriptions: Mapping a New
Frontier²

11. Documentary Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within Released

12. Original Pablo Amaringo Paintings Available  Proceeds to Benefit MAPS!

Your Support is Needed! http://www.maps.org/catalog

1. MAPS Receives $50,000 Grant from Libra Foundation

Earlier this week, MAPS received a $50,000 grant from the Libra Foundation.
Half of the grant is for MAPS¹ operational expenses and the other half is
restricted for Dr. Michael and Annie Mithoefer¹s MAPS-sponsored study
examining MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with treatment-resistant
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We are deeply grateful to the Libra
Foundation for their critical support of MAPS¹ effort to conduct
long-suppressed research evaluating the therapeutic and medicinal potential
of psychedelics and marijuana.

2. Submit an Article for MAPS Special Edition Bulletin: ³Psychedelics and
Self-Discovery²

Have psychedelics played an important role in your personal development?
We¹d like to hear what you have to say.

Please share your stories with us for the upcoming special edition of the
MAPS Bulletin, ³Psychedelics & Self-Discovery.²

We are looking for articles that are between 400-1500 words. Articles may be
submitted anonymously if that makes you more comfortable (although, all
things being equal, we do prefer for people to write under their ³real²
names when possible). If possible, send a high-quality photo of yourself to
go with the article. Please send your submission to Sarah Hufford
<sarah at maps.org> by June 30.

3. Help MAPS Urge US House of Representatives to Pressure DEA to Accept
Judge¹s Recommendation in Support of Prof. Craker

US Reps. John Olver (D-MA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) are co-sponsoring a
Congressional Sign-On Letter urging the DEA to accept DEA Administrative Law
Judge Bittner's Recommended Ruling to license Prof. Lyle Craker's proposed
MAPS-sponsored medical marijuana production facility. If you haven¹t
contacted your Congressional Representative yet, we need you to help by
contacting your Representative -- here's how:
http://www.maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html#bipartisan

On May 15, DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner transmitted the
case files to DEA, officially putting the ball in DEA's court to decide
whether to accept or reject the Judge's non-binding Recommended Ruling.
Unfortunately, there is no time limit for the DEA to issue its final
decision, so we are anticipating a wait of anywhere between three and 16
months, based on previous cases.  DEA may even decide not to respond at all
before the November 2008 elections, providing yet more evidence of the need
for state-level marijuana policy reforms.

On the morning of Wednesday, May 23, MAPS President Rick Doblin, PhD, Prof.
Lyle Craker, medical marijuana patient Angel Raich, and former FDA offical
and medical marijuana researcher Dr. Denis Petro held a press conference on
the sidewalk outside of DEA headquarters in northern Virginia, followed by a
national teleconference. This generated a substantial amount of media,
including articles in the Boston Globe and Washington Post, a strongly
supportive editorial in the LA Times, and a new op-ed by Kenneth Wolski in
Monday¹s Times of Trenton, NJ:
http://www.maps.org/sys/nq.pl?id=1351&fmt=page

For background on the case, see MAPS' DEA Lawsuit page:
http://www.maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html

4. MAPS to Provide Technical Support for a Small Medical Marijuana
Production Facility in Israel

An anonymous donor has pledged $10,000 to MAPS to enable MAPS to provide
technical assistance to a small, legal medical marijuana production facility
in Israel. The facility will be directed by an Israeli medical marijuana
advocate, has been authorized by the Israeli Ministry of
Health to provide marijuana only to medical marijuana patients formally
approved by the Ministry. MAPS is working to provide technical assistance to
create an organic, hydroponic, standardized production facility, which will
start small and give marijuana away for the next several months. Once a
successful track record has been established, the Ministry will determine
whether to permit the facility  to produce medical marijuana on a commercial
basis.  

MAPS is bringing Canadian medical marijuana researcher and activist Philippe
Lucas, founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, to Israel in
August to consult on the project. Mr. Lucas is currently a Center for
Addictions Research of British Columbia graduate research fellow at the
University of Victoria, and is currently involved in a number of research
projects related to medical cannabis access and use. His experience as both
a federally-licensed medical cannabis user and cultivator should prove
useful to this new national program.

5. Third Subject Completes Protocol in Swiss MDMA/PTSD Study

Dr. Peter Oehen¹s ongoing MAPS-sponsored pilot study evaluating
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for subjects with treatment-resistant
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) completed treatment of the study¹s
third subject earlier this month. Last month, we learned that the data being
generated from the Swiss and Israeli studies will be accepted by the US FDA.
Although these protocols do not need to be approved by the FDA to be
conducted in their home countries (they have already been approved by their
home country's regulatory agency equivalent to FDA and by local ethics
committees), FDA review and approval enables us to submit to FDA the data
from these two studies as part of MAPS' Investigational New Drug (IND)
application for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD.

Dr. Oehen¹s government-approved MDMA/PTSD protocol:
http://www.maps.org/mdma/israel_protocol_3.16.05.pdf

6. MAPS MDMA/PTSD Researchers Present at European Traumatic Stress
Conference

On June 3, MAPS-sponsored researchers Michael Mithoefer, MD, Annie
Mithoefer, RN, Peter Oehen, MD, and Verena Widmer, RN, presented on
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research at the European Conference on Traumatic
Stress in Croatia. Also present at the conference was Swiss researcher Dr.
Franz Vollenweider, who is conducting a physiological study of the subjects
in the Swiss MDMA/PTSD study, measuring markers for PTSD before and after
treatment. MAPS¹ MDMA/PTSD research now has preliminary data to share with
PTSD researchers around the world.

7. MAPS Reports on Third NeXT Prospective Study of Ecstasy Users

The Netherlands XTC Toxicity (NeXT) research team has published in the
<i>Archives of General Psychiatry</i> yet one more prospective report on the
effect of Ecstasy on memory. In contrast to their earlier efforts which
found no effect on memory, this report on attention and memory claims to
have found differences between the two groups, with non-users performing
better than users on verbal memory tests.  This report has received
worldwide publicity.

MAPS Research Associate Ilsa Jerome, PhD critiques the study in a special
report that examines the numerous problems with both the analysis and
interpretation of the data: http://www.maps.org/sys/nq.pl?id=1346&fmt=page

8. MAPS-Sponsored MDMA/PTSD Research from Spain to be Published in Journal
of Psychoactive Drugs

A paper on the MAPS-sponsored MDMA/PTSD study conducted in Spain by José
Carlos Bouso, PhD, has just been accepted for publication in the Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs.

This study was the world's first government-approved MDMA psychotherapy
study, with six patients treated in 2001-02. However, in 2002, in response
to positive reports about the study that appeared in the Spanish media, the
Madrid Anti-Drug Authority pressured the hospital into withdrawing
permission. Even though the study was not completed, the data from the first
6 subjects will be published and indexed in Medline, which is available to
scientists and therapists worldwide. This is the first paper ever published
of a double-blind, placebo controlled study of the therapeutic potential of
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

The conclusion of the paper states, ³low doses of MDMA administered as an
adjunct to psychotherapy were found to be safe for the six subjects with
chronic PTSD treated in this clinical trial and there were promising signs
of efficacy and reduced PTSD symptomatology. Further studies with a larger
sample size and with the administration of higher doses of  MDMA are clearly
needed in order to clarify both the safety and the efficacy of MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy in patient populations.²

9. Psychedelic Therapy and Research Pioneer Stan Grof Wins Prestigious Havel
Award

The Board of Consultants of the Foundation of Dagmar and Vaclav Havel in
Prague, Czech Republic, has decided to grant its prestigious award, Vision
97, for the year 2007 to psychiatrist, consciousness researcher, and
psychedelic therapy pioneer Stanislav Grof, M.D. Former Czech President
Vaclav Havel and his wife Dagmar launched their Foundation ten years ago.
Besides distributing money for cultural and social purposes, this Foundation
focuses on ³long-term support and organization of projects and programs that
aim for the future, have pioneering features, attempt to break down
conventions, and strengthen those avenues of science and culture, which at
present do not enjoy support of the majority of people or are not
comprehensible to them, but which with their consequences can inspire or
otherwise meaningfully influence the future.² Former recipients of the award
include the author Umberto Eco, former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich,
and psychologist Phillip G. Zimbardo. There will be a public ceremony in
Prague in October, 2007.

Last Fall, MAPS published Grof¹s latest book, The Ultimate Journey:
Consciousness and the Mystery of Death, available in the MAPS Web Store:
http://www.maps.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=22_27

10. Alternate 101 Cover Story: ³Psychedelic Prescriptions: Mapping a New
Frontier²

The San Jose-based weekly magazine Alternate 101 (circulation 27,000) ran an
in-depth feature cover story about MAPS entitled ³Psychedelic Prescriptions:
Mapping a New Frontier². The writer, Greg Schwartz, visited the MAPS Love
Creek office and paints a relatively comprehensive picture of MAPS' current
projects and overall mission.

Read the story at: 
http://www.alternate101.com/cover/contentview.asp?c=214867

11. Documentary Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within Released

After years of hard work, MAPS member Rod Mann has finally completed the
feature length documentary Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within. The
documentary includes interviews with MAPS President Rick Doblin, Charlie
Grob, Michael Mithoefer, Stan Grof, Marilyn Schlitz, Ralph Metzner, Alex
Grey, Terence McKenna, John Markoff, Daniel Pinchbeck, Kat Harrison and
others.

You can see the trailer and/or purchase the DVD at: http://www.entheogen.tv

12. Original Pablo Amaringo Paintings Available  Proceeds to Benefit MAPS!

Pablo Amaringo is an acclaimed Peruvian artist, renowned for his intricate,
colorful depictions of his experiences drinking the psychedelic plant brew,
ayahuasca.

For a limited time only, two of Pablo¹s rare original paintings are
available in the MAPS Web Store, with fifty percent of the proceeds going to
MAPS. You can support incredible art and MAPS by purchasing one of these two
mind-blowing pieces of original art at:
http://www.maps.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=24

Pablo Amaringo¹s Web site: http://www.pabloamaringo.com

Now that our applications to conduct psychedelic research are finally being
granted, the biggest thing limiting progress is no longer the government. It
is our ability to fund the research and the work that goes into it.

The future is in our hands. Throw your weight behind MAPS' work today:
http://www.maps.org/catalog

Best Wishes,
Jag

Jag Davies
Director of Communications
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
MAPS :: 10424 Love Creek Road :: Ben Lomond, CA 95005
**********************************************************
Advocating Science over Politics,
Replacing Fear with Facts:
Your Support is Needed! http://www.maps.org/catalog

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