July 21st, 2009
Psychedelic Drugs and Healing
an interview with Rick Doblin
Rick Doblin studied with Stan Grof, M.D., and was in the first group to become certified as holotropic breathwork practitioners. His dissertation was on “The Regulation of the Medical Use of Psychedelics and Marijuana,” and his master’s thesis focused on the attitudes and experiences of oncologists concerning the medical use of marijuana. His undergraduate thesis was a twenty-five year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He has also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Tim Leary’s Concord Prison experiment.
In 1986, Rick founded MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). 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 to also become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist.
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