Terrific writing, as always, Neşe! Do you think pseudoscientific artifacts of MAPS’ treatment approach will be intentionally/unintentionally incorporated into treatment protocols for the new phase three trials, assuming they launch?
That's a good question, but I have no idea. I don't have any insight into the competing factions at Lykos — it sounds (from the Financial Times reporting) like some of them want to move past MAPS's pseudoscientific therapy. Based on Psychedelic Alpha's reporting on the FDA's Complete Response Letter, it sounded like the FDA might not want another trial with their therapy.
Excellent Neşe; psychedelic exceptionalism removed these pseudoscientific claims made by psychedelic therapy from scrutiny: psychedelic therapy is driven by drug fueled religious fervor, not scientific evidence. MAPS is trying to attain a lucrative psychiatry treatment market position: it's basically a bid to be a government sanctioned drug cartel, posing as mental health treatment innovation. Instead we need to end psychedelic exceptionalism and decriminalize these substances. Drugs are drugs. Drugs have about the same capacity for "treating" "mental disorders" as reading the Bible does or hiking in the mountains or waving crystals: there are many true believers in Bibles and crystals and hiking (hey sometimes it works!) but we don't falsify science and cover up risks to back up personal opinions about "healing." People should be free to access psychedelic and other mind altering substances -- but there shouldn't be a government, commercial, or medical monopoly to get MAPS or others rich based on junk science posing as medicine. MAPS could have focused on decriminalization but instead they went all in on psychiatrization and cornering a lucrative new treatment market.
Really great comment Will. Love to see it expanded into an article. i've tried to make these points for years. MAPS is basically a prohibitionist and profiteering organization that's gotten great press, spreading propaganda, fooling a lot of people into thinking Doblin is a drug reformer. The underlying problem in all this is the Controlled Substance Act, which delegates the power to determine a drug's utility to the DEA. Police, not scientists, or philosophers say what's permitted, or not. I prefer the 1st Amendment.
Kayla Greenstien and I just did a piece for Mad In America you might want to check out https://www.madinamerica.com/2024/12/set-setting-forgetting-silence-on-abuse-in-psychedelic-therapy-histories/. President has power to appoint DEA and HHS heads who could reschedule - but remember that cannabis is freaking Schedule 1 still (!) and apparently Trump revoked a memorandum of non enforcement that Obama put in. If RFKJR really wants to make america healthy he will push for rescheduling all psychedelics and cannabis on schedule 4 - bc CLEARLY psychedelics and weed are safer than freaking benzodiazepines and yes do have medical potential.
Terrific writing, as always, Neşe! Do you think pseudoscientific artifacts of MAPS’ treatment approach will be intentionally/unintentionally incorporated into treatment protocols for the new phase three trials, assuming they launch?
That's a good question, but I have no idea. I don't have any insight into the competing factions at Lykos — it sounds (from the Financial Times reporting) like some of them want to move past MAPS's pseudoscientific therapy. Based on Psychedelic Alpha's reporting on the FDA's Complete Response Letter, it sounded like the FDA might not want another trial with their therapy.
I used to practice facilitated communication when I was in grade school…with my friends and a Ouija board. Great article Nese.
Excellent Neşe; psychedelic exceptionalism removed these pseudoscientific claims made by psychedelic therapy from scrutiny: psychedelic therapy is driven by drug fueled religious fervor, not scientific evidence. MAPS is trying to attain a lucrative psychiatry treatment market position: it's basically a bid to be a government sanctioned drug cartel, posing as mental health treatment innovation. Instead we need to end psychedelic exceptionalism and decriminalize these substances. Drugs are drugs. Drugs have about the same capacity for "treating" "mental disorders" as reading the Bible does or hiking in the mountains or waving crystals: there are many true believers in Bibles and crystals and hiking (hey sometimes it works!) but we don't falsify science and cover up risks to back up personal opinions about "healing." People should be free to access psychedelic and other mind altering substances -- but there shouldn't be a government, commercial, or medical monopoly to get MAPS or others rich based on junk science posing as medicine. MAPS could have focused on decriminalization but instead they went all in on psychiatrization and cornering a lucrative new treatment market.
Really great comment Will. Love to see it expanded into an article. i've tried to make these points for years. MAPS is basically a prohibitionist and profiteering organization that's gotten great press, spreading propaganda, fooling a lot of people into thinking Doblin is a drug reformer. The underlying problem in all this is the Controlled Substance Act, which delegates the power to determine a drug's utility to the DEA. Police, not scientists, or philosophers say what's permitted, or not. I prefer the 1st Amendment.
Kayla Greenstien and I just did a piece for Mad In America you might want to check out https://www.madinamerica.com/2024/12/set-setting-forgetting-silence-on-abuse-in-psychedelic-therapy-histories/. President has power to appoint DEA and HHS heads who could reschedule - but remember that cannabis is freaking Schedule 1 still (!) and apparently Trump revoked a memorandum of non enforcement that Obama put in. If RFKJR really wants to make america healthy he will push for rescheduling all psychedelics and cannabis on schedule 4 - bc CLEARLY psychedelics and weed are safer than freaking benzodiazepines and yes do have medical potential.
Great insights here... thanks for doing this work Nese!