chemikid

From MAPS' perspective - what does the psychedelic community currently need, in terms of professionals?

Thanks Virginia, I guess I consider the "psychedelic community" those who committ their time and energy to support psychedelic medicine, which includes researchers, HR (human resources and harm reduction) staff, and passionate individuals who have received benefit from psychedelics (amongst others).

I would say the work you do makes you a part of the community, so on behalf of those who will receive the benefits of these medicines in the future, thank you.

Hello MAPS, thank you for the time you are sharing with us!

I am not sure if you are open to questions about MAPS Canada, but I have noticed that there has not been any events or action on the MAPS Canada webpage.

I guess I'm wondering if MAPS Canada is in a hiatus while the MDMA research in Vancouver is conducted, or if the MAPS Canada crew is currently busy with other commitments?

I'm also wondering if Canadians are as compelled to donate for PTSD for Veterans research, since it seems that here in Canada, while the issue exists, it seems to be much less of a public issue?

Finally, I'm curious about advertising strategies in Canada compared to the United States. I cannot say about advertising in America, but in Canada I haven't really seen anything MAPS related and so I don't know if the message is reaching the public, except through social media and more recently CNN. Is MAPS planning to impose an advertising campaign to spread the good word?

Thank you all so much for all of your hard work. Rick - you a role model for the next generation of psychedelic researchers, thank you for dedicating so much time and energy to something so important.

As a chemist, I would suggest the social side. Currently, there is an extreme shortage of funding for scientific studies re psychedelics, for a lot of reasons. I think as psychedelic research becomes more and more acceptable the funding will open up, but I can't predict when that will be..

As for this moment in time, $5 million goes a lot farther for proof of concept research compared to scientific mechanisms and so on.

An interesting idea is presented in Acid Test regarding the mechanism by which MDMA-assisted psychotherapy actually treats PTSD. I wont go into too much detail, but the idea is that traumatic experiences are not processed by our higher-level brain and can get "stuck" in out amygdala. A German psychiatrist has suggested that MDMA effectively forces the amygdala to communicate with the hippocampus, which then processes the traumatic memories and stores them more appropriately.

*This may explain why MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is less directed, and our "innate healing" abilities bring to the surface some of the conscious material that is causing the suffering.

But don't just take my word on it.. go buy Acid Test from the MAPS webpage! (I would link you there but the I cant connect to the server.)