Sleeping Octopus Assembly on Psychedelics is Sept 27-29th in Pittsburgh. It is a fun and relaxed conference, a nice mix of healthcare workers, psychedelic scientists, artists, philosophers, and enthusiasts. The lineup includes visionaries such as Rick Doblin, the founder of MAPS, and we are honored to announce that Hannah McLane and Michelle Joy will be giving a talk on ethics and access to innovative therapies for trauma. They will also be joining Rick Doblin and a few others for a panel discussion on Saturday afternoon. We hope to see you there!

Our whole therapy team (Michelle Joy, Aisha Mohammed, Jennifer Jones, Bob Sher, and Hannah McLane) plus our community organizer (Ayele Ajavon) are heading to Kentucky next week (Aug 10-11) for a Psychedelic Medicine and Cultural Trauma workshop. The speaker lineup and topics are incredible.

As many of you know, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is working toward FDA approval for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to be treated with MDMA through Expanded Access. MDMA has already passed Phase I (safety and dosage) and Phase II (efficacy and side effects) clinical research trials. In Phase III, they are further evaluating efficacy and safety.

What an amazing night! Thanks to all who came out on what turned into a rainy summer night, and thanks to the Front Street Cafe for hosting us in their beautiful space.

Please join us for an evening of food, drink, community-building, dancing, and fundraising as we welcome to Philadelphia representatives from MAPS as well as the research team that developed this amazing treatment protocol.

This is exciting news! If you’ve been following the story, there have been huge advancements lately in the effort to establish MDMA assisted psychotherapy as a safe, legal, and effective treatment for PTSD.

MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, is now being used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several Phase 2 trials have been completed with a total of 107 participants; there was an overall PTSD remission rate of 61% after 2 months and 68% after 12 months.