For 37 years, Rick Doblin has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA, better known as Ecstasy. He tells Steve why he persisted for so long, why he doesn’t like calling drug use “recreational,” and what he learned from his pet wolf.

RESOURCES:

"MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Moderate to Severe PTSD: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Trial," by Jennifer M. Mitchell, Marcela Ot’alora G., Bessel van der Kolk, Scott Shannon, Michael Bogenschutz, Rick Doblin, et al. (Nature Medicine, 2023).
"MDMA Therapy Inches Closer to Approval," by Rachel Nuwer (The New York Times, 2023).
"Psychedelics Reopen the Social Reward Learning Critical Period," by Romain Nardou, Edward Sawyer, Young Jun Song, Gül Dölen, et al. (Nature, 2023).
"The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence from the Decline of Vultures in India," by Eyal Frank and Anant Sudarshan (SSRN, 2023).
"Global Health, Climate Change and Migration: The Need for Recognition of 'Climate Refugees,'" by Saverio Bellizzi, Christian Popescu, Catello M. Panu Napodano, Maura Fiamma, and Luca Cegolon (Journal of Global Health, 2023).
"Comparison of Prolonged Exposure vs Cognitive Processing Therapy for Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among U.S. Veterans," by Paula P. Schnurr, Kathleen M. Chard, Josef I. Ruzek, et al. (JAMA Network Open, 2022).
"MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Severe PTSD: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Study," Jennifer M. Mitchell, Michael Bogenschutz, Alia Lilienstein, Charlotte Harrison, Rick Doblin, et al. (Nature Medicine, 2021).
"Inner City Blues: Children Raised in Inner-Cities Face Comparable PTSD Causing Conditions and Consequences as Military Veterans and Deserve Our Attention," by Eric Citizen (SSRN, 2019).
"Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma Effects: Putative Role of Epigenetic Mechanisms," by Rachel Yehuda and Amy Lehrner (World Psychiatry, 2018).
"Durability of Improvement in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Absence of Harmful Effects or Drug Dependency After 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Prospective Long-Term Follow-Up Study," by Michael C. Mithoefer, Mark T. Wagner, Rick Doblin, et al. (Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2013).
"RETRACTED: Severe Dopaminergic Neurotoxicity in Primates After a Common Recreational Dose Regimen of MDMA ('Ecstasy')," by George A. Ricaurte, Jie Yuan, George Hatzidimitriou, Branden J. Cord, and Una D. McCann (Science, 2002).

EXTRAS:

"Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? (Replay)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
"Can the Big Bad Wolf Save Your Life?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
"How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020).

SOURCES:

Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

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