This post includes discussion about the use of psychoactive substances. Please do not take my statements on dosage, effect, benefits, or any other quality of a drug as directions or suggestions. The use of psychoactive substances presents immediate risks every time they are ingested, even under the supervision of therapists and other trained professionals.
On January 10, 2018, the anonymous crypto multi-millionaire known as "The Pineapple Fund", or "Pine" posted on reddit that they will be matching the next $4 million in donations made to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) before March 10, 2018. This gracious act of charity is quite generous, considering the fact that The Pineapple Fund donated $1 million to MAPS less than a month before, on December 14, 2017. MAPS is currently fundraising $25 million for Phase 3 trials for their MDMA research that focuses on treating PTSD patients with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with hopes of producing a legalized treatment as soon as possible. This act of philanthropy is intended to be a challenge to anyone out there listening; MAPS has $8 million left to raise, and The Pineapple Fund will provide half of it!
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MDMA, also known as molly, ecstasy, and many other names, is a chemical that is probably most commonly known for its ability to make your friend who doesn't talk so much into the life of the party. This euphoric stimulant has been a part of the rave/electronic music scene for decades now, making a place in many people's minds as nothing more than a party drug that makes one talk for hours on end and dance until you're pouring sweat. Along with other substances that don't have the highest place in the public's mind, MAPS presses through the negative preconceptions to show the world that there is a growing population that recognizes the medicinal value in these drugs, regardless of the government's ruling that said value doesn't exist. MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD were all used for psychotherapy decades ago before they were ruled illegal, despite the very promising results that therapists were having with many patients in different types of treatments.
My experiences with MDMA have been quite a disappointment, after having read so much about its therapeutic effects and what a powerful psychoactive it is. Although I have experimented with it around ten times, I've never received much more of an effect than what I might expect from taking ADD/ADHD medication and smoking a bit of cannabis. I've had samples that were tested for purity and some that were tested just to make sure it was what I thought it was, but at one point I decided that getting only a small effect was a waste of such a wonderful chemical and I stopped trying to use it. Strangely, I have had great luck with MDMA's close cousin MDA, which produces similar, but more psychedelic, effects for many users. If anyone reading this has had any sort of similar experience (of lack thereof) with MDMA, please tell me because I'm the only one I know with this issue!
I have seen the powerful healing effects of this class of psychoactives (commonly called empathogens or entactogens). The story of when I first shared some MDA with a close friend comes to mind. We both ingested less than a tenth of a gram (<0.1g) and we sat and talked about life for a couple hours. His experiences with drugs had been exclusively recreational (not to say there's no therapeutic value in recreation) until that night. After talking through and reflecting on a lot of his issues growing up, he told me that he could finally see that he had always blamed himself for most of the negative things in his life, even though he came from a rather disadvantaged life. He came from low socioeconomic status, an abusive father, and drug infested neighborhoods, but one night (not even with a therapist!) undid years of pain he had in his mind that he felt had been holding him back. Even weeks, months, and years later when we've reflected on the experience, he's consistently said it was among the most eye-opening experiences of his life.
MAPS has had groundbreaking success in the past with their research trials, with practically overnight changes in the lives of the patients. Discussing some of the phase 2 trials from 2015:
“The MDMA made it so I could dig in and connect and find those broken pieces of me,” PTSD-sufferer Jesse says, “find the smaller, terrified little me, and be able to nurture and coddle it.”
“My hyper-vigilance is gone, nightmares are gone, anxiety is gone,” says study subject Colleen. “I’m just surprised beyond belief that it was so effective, and in such a small amount of time.”
“Preliminary results from this study are showing that 56% of participants receiving MDMA-assisted psychotherapy experienced clinically significant (30% or more) decreases in PTSD symptoms two months after treatment, compared with only 17% of those receiving placebo. These results are even stronger one year after treatment, with 80% of participants experiencing significant improvements. This preliminary data reaffirms the promising results of our study published in 2011, which found that 83% of participants no longer had PTSD two months after treatment.”
And this is all within the FDA's guidelines for introducing a new drug to the market. This means that by 2021, we could see MDMA-assisted psychotherapy all across the United States. There is an exponentially growing amount of military veterans with PTSD and approximately 7% of the US population (almost 23 million people) are afflicted with PTSD, creating a relatively unsuccessful $34 billion industry. MDMA treatment could relieve an immeasurable amount of suffering from the world if this research keeps moving forward.
As much as I don't care for the regulations and red tape of the government and its drug war, I believe this research is a huge step forward for humanity. MAPS is one of the first institutions to bring new understandings of psychology, emotions, healing, and spirituality into the modern medical world by courageously exploring what was considered taboo when they first started their mission. The Pineapple Fund's donation and $4 million offer is proof to me of their influence on this soon-to-be revolution in medicine, and I'm sure their publicity will only increase with Pine's donation due to the rise of crypto in the media. If you feel inclined to donate fiat or crypto to help MAPS, please do it before March 10, as your donation will be worth twice as much as anything you pledge thanks to The Pineapple Fund!
