The Personality of Medicinal Cannabis - Rick Doblin

  • Interview with Rick Doblin - MAPS, Research on Medical Cannabis and Legalization Timeline

Dr. Rick Doblin, executive director of the research institute MAPS, a non-profit organization focused on clinical research of the medical potential of cannabis, MDMA, and other psychedelics, is possibly the biggest enthusiast working to end cannabis prohibition in the United States.

Thanks to previous, enormous success of Phase II clinical research, the MAPS organization received official permission from the US federal government to conduct subsequent Phase III trials, dealing with the application of MDMA and medical cannabis for therapy of severe PTSD cases (post-traumatic stress disorder). Obtaining permission to test illegal substances of this type is a huge step towards future understanding and implementation of effective therapy using these substances.

Research on the medical potential of cannabis in the USA has so far moved even slower than research on psychedelics like MDMA. In the United States, the biggest obstacles are bureaucratic hurdles from the national drug control institute (NIDA). However, Rick Doblin has never been afraid of the NIDA institute and, as a true pioneer in researching promising psychedelic substances, has been overcoming these barriers for more than 30 years.

"Cultivating valuable science should always be free from politics, especially when it comes to alleviating human suffering." Rick Doblin

The Leafly editorial team recently managed to catch Rick and ask him a few interesting questions.

Leafly: How long has MAPS been trying to research medical cannabis?

Rick Doblin: I first tried to research cannabis in 1991. It took me another whole year to find someone who would do it with me. At that time, NIDA monopolized cannabis much more than today and significantly complicated our research of medical effects. However, if you wanted to study harmful effects, you got permission completely easily.

Did you manage to research anything at all in the nineties?

The first doctor who agreed to my proposal was Donald Abrams. At the time, we wanted to start researching the effects of marijuana on patients suffering from loss of appetite caused by HIV. (More in the article "HIV Treatment with Cannabis") However, before starting the research, in 1992, NIDA refused to provide us with medical cannabis samples, which naturally upset us quite a bit.

In 1996, when California and Arizona legalized cannabis for medical purposes, NIDA offered us one million dollars for research if we would focus only on the risks of using cannabis for treatment and omit research on positive effects. We agreed to the offer at the time, especially because we didn't have much choice and wanted to start somewhere.

What happened then?

The study results showed that cannabis use had no negative effects or interactions with HIV medications at the time. A secondary result was increased appetite and patient weight. Immediately afterward, we tried to research the effects of cannabis on migraines. We got federal permission, but NIDA again refused to provide us with cannabis samples.

Subsequently, we wanted to explore and compare the effects of vaporization and marijuana smoking. For 7 whole years, we tried in vain to purchase 10 grams of medical cannabis from NIDA. The company we were working with gave up on us, and we were back at the beginning.

How did your subsequent strategy for obtaining government permission for cannabis research develop after such frustrating events?

Continuously attempting to obtain research permission has been and remains very important to me personally, as I firmly believe that cultivating valuable science should always be free from politics, especially when it comes to alleviating human suffering.

Along with trying to find a bureaucratic path to cannabis research permission, we had to start thinking about which patient group and condition would most easily gain political support. This led us to research the effects of marijuana on chronic, post-traumatic depressive disorder (PTSD), which most often occurs in war veterans.

MAPS then received permission to research the safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis for PTSD symptoms. How is medical cannabis able to help in the case of PTSD?

Marijuana is an excellent tool for PTSD. It is not directly a cure for PTSD, but rather an instrument that helps dramatically reduce symptoms. One of the biggest issues associated with PTSD is terrifying memories and nightmares. Cannabis helps veterans sleep calmly and deeply, and healthy sleep is ultimately a key factor in PTSD treatment. Even for this study, obtaining permission took us 7 whole years! Now, however, we can finally move forward, which we are sincerely excited about.

Source: leafly.com