Rick Doblin

Rick Doblin Ph.D. is the founder of MAPS. His persistent work since 1986 has been one of the main drivers behind why psychedelics (including MDMA) are now coming back to therapy.

CV

From his bio: “Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife, two dogs, and empty rooms from three children, one of whom is in college and two have graduated.”

The best way Doblin got described recently was by Julie Holland. She likened him to a three-year-old kid on a tricycle, riding into a wall, again, and again. Not giving up, not losing joy, just keep on going. As an analogy of his work with the FDA and getting MDMA to become a medicine.

Notable Research Papers

Doblin is a (co)author on a wide range of psychedelics papers:

• Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases (Gasser et al., 2014)
• The safety and efficacy of ±3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study (Mithoefer et al., 2011)
• Dr. Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment: a 34-year follow-up study (Doblin, 1998)
• Pahnke’s “Good Friday experiment”: A long-term follow-up and methodological critique (Doblin, 1991)

Find more on Google Scholar or PubMed

Media

• Psychedelic Pioneer Rick Doblin On FDA Trials Of MDMA: Most Important Reality Check Of MAPS’ 34-Year History (Forbes, May 2020)
• The Long Strange Trip to Turn ‘Molly’ Into a $100 Million Pharmaceutical Medicine (Inc, April 2018)

He has also done various talks:

• The future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy | Rick Doblin – TED
• Updates from the Front Lines of Psychedelic Science – Rick Doblin, Ph.D. – Psychedelic Science Summit 2019
• Rick Doblin, Ph.D.: “Psychedelics…” | Talks at Google – Talks at Google
• Joe Rogan Experience #782 – Rick Doblin – Joe Rogan
• RICK DOBLIN – MDMA IS MEDICINE Part – 1/2 | London Real – London Real (watch the rest here)
• Rick Doblin’s MDMA Story | Psymposia – Psymposia
• The Past and Future of Psychedelics with Rick Doblin – ReasonTV
• Rick Doblin — The Psychedelic Domino That Tips All Others (#440) – Update on research on Tim Ferriss‘ podcast and ask for donations to MAPS