Welcome from Rick Doblin and MAPS

Dear Bluelight & MAPS community,

As the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), I'm honored and excited to welcome you to the MAPS Forums on Bluelight. MAPS and Bluelight have grown together over the years and have been mutually supportive, with this new partnership signifying a new depth in our work together.

MAPS' work has two main goals, which go hand in hand: discovering ways to use psychedelics and marijuana safely and beneficially, and educating people about how to reduce the harms associated with their use. Open, scientifically-informed conversations about the risks and benefits of psychedelics and marijuana pushes back the stigma that has built up around them, and allows us to create new, more just policies and a safer, more open cultural attitude to psychedelics, marijuana, and human consciousness in general.

Bringing together MAPS and Bluelight to host these Forums is a notable step forward in the advancement of public education about psychedelics. We--the entire MAPS community--are deeply grateful to Sebastian's Ghost and the rest of the Bluelight staff and community for inviting us to participate in this collaboration. I look forward to the ideas, connections, and new projects generated from these Forums.

As always, we greatly encourage feedback and our moderators (kymerikal, MAPSBryce, any major dude, and others to be determined) will be keeping an eye on this thread for feedback and commentary.

psychedelically yours,
Rick Doblin, Ph.D.
MAPS Founder and Executive Director
www.maps.org

 

I'm new to BL but this means only good things for me. The studies MAPS puts up are very entertaining AND informative. The psychedelic harm reduction topic is also fun to contribute to.

Good luck to MAPS and BL!

 

Welcome Kymerikal, MAPSbryce and Dr. Doblin!

We could not be more thrilled to welcome you to the Bluelight community. Special thanks to Any Major Dude and Tamborineman for their help getting the MAPS forum ready for launch. This project has been a long time in the making and a testament to the power of creative brainstorming and strong communication between our organizations. We could not be be happier with how the concept has ultimately taken form and look forward to watching this nexus of our two communities blossom into something extraordinary.

I know I speak for the entire Bluelight community when I say we are proud to further our collaboration with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, an organization that has done more to further clinical research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics than any in history. It is both an honor and a pleasure to increase awareness of MAPS' work within the online psychedelic community.

With the forums now open, I encourage you all to drop in to welcome our new guests and contribute your thoughts and wisdom.

Best,

SG

 

Thank you so much for having us!

 

I think its profound Bloodshed..

Yes the alignment of these two communities can only bode well for much more thorough and informed studies. I believe the psychedelic harm reduction forum will be a source of great studies in the future.

 

I encourage everyone to check out the MAPS forums to see the psychedelic research & medicine, harm reduction, and general discussion that is taking place.

Even if you are not a recreational psychedelic user you may find interest in the use of psychedelics [in medicine] as an alternative to the traditional treatment(s) of mental illness and drug addiction.

 

Rick Doblin you're truly a personal hero of mine

 

Thanks guys! We're excited to be working on this collaborative effort & look forward to many productive & informative days ahead. Very glad to see MAPS & BL working together to help get the word out about psychedelic research & harm reduction. If you have & questions feel free to ask myself or the other moderators. We hope you all enjoy the new MAPS forum!

 

Well, this is excellent news. I recently asked the moderators of PD to discuss the possibility of a forum dedicated to Psychedelic Harm Reduction - aka helping those in need, suffering from a bad trip, difficult experience or spiritual crisis, but the answer I got was that it wasn't really feasible.

Is the idea that the Psychedelic HR forum is also used to provide support to those who are in a state of psychedelic emergency, or who are suffering from negative after effects? I'd love to be able to help out there.

 

Is the idea that the Psychedelic HR forum is also used to provide support to those who are in a state of psychedelic emergency, or who are suffering from negative after effects? I'd love to be able to help out there.

It's more of a place for scientific level discussions to happen that aren't related to anyone's personal use. The area where people can ask personal questions and get advanced answers is Advanced Drug Discussion. MAPS is a place for researchers, scientists and their followers to talk to shop, post studies, and discuss the scientific level information that is coming out about psychedelics and cannabis, as well as harm reduction modalities.

If a person is in crisis they should still stick to the Recovery Forums (like The Dark Side) and if it's a real medical emergency they should be calling 911.

 

I'm really glad to see MAPS and Bluelight working even closer together, I think this is yet another positive step forward for harm reduction and furthering accurate information about psychedelics. As one of the Psychedelic Drugs section mods and regulars I'm particular excited for this forum to have appeared. :D

Welcome MAPS & Rick!

 

I am new as well! Looking forward to seeing all the information here. Thanks!

 

It's more of a place for scientific level discussions to happen that aren't related to anyone's personal use. The area where people can ask personal questions and get advanced answers is Advanced Drug Discussion. MAPS is a place for researchers, scientists and their followers to talk to shop, post studies, and discuss the scientific level information that is coming out about psychedelics and cannabis, as well as harm reduction modalities.

If a person is in crisis they should still stick to the Recovery Forums (like The Dark Side) and if it's a real medical emergency they should be calling 911.

Gotcha. I just thought I'd mention it, because a fairly large percentage of the PD posts is about negative experiences, how to deal with those and what people can do in a state of emergency. Don't know if they also post in TDS. My feelings are that helping people who are in a vulnerable state of mind is the essence of psychedelic harm reduction. Don't know if that means it deserves its own forum though.

 

^ Using your example, a good example of MAPS vs PD would be that in PD, a person could ask about their personal negative experience, and in MAPS we could talk about trends covering info collected across many negative experiences.

The mod team is discussing how to make the differences more clear, but it may be something that will evolve over time.

 

This is Awesome!!! What a testament to human evolution! To handle Psychedelics in a Scientific manner is definately "Right Mindedness." I had never heard of MAPS until now. I knew of course that scientists around the world had been reopening study of psychedelics, but I had never heard of a specific organization. And Bluelight you are right on par by welcoming them "Here." I think the whole thing "Speaks for itself." Namaste!

 

From my initial exploration of the MAPS forums, what I think would really help is if there were members of the MAPS organization and others actually involved in the field of psychedelic research present in the forum conversations. I think it would definitely get a new level of discussion happening on Bluelight and differentiate it from the other forums in a really positive way.

 

Been on BL for a few years, and I think this is a wonderful new step.
Thankfully psychedelic research is being treated seriously, I've always been proud of MAPS.

Much support from the BL community, thank you for the opportunity

 

I'm sorry but ADD is used almost exclusively for theoretical/prospective topics by people who have already taken at least chem and bio with a lab. Personal questions are almost always moved unless they have to do with a really obscure compound or circumstance.

 

This is just terrific news! I am a postdoc systems neuroscientist/in vivo synaptic physiologist and one thing I've come to appreciate over the past 10 years studying synaptic function and neural circuit formation is how absolutely indispensable psychoactive agents have been in advancing our basic understanding of how the brain works. The more we learn about how psychedelics and other psychoactive agents work, the more light we shed on the fundamentals of brain function and how they may be disrupted in psychiatric and other CNS disorders. Psychedelics can be used to explore some of the most fascinating abilities of the brain - self-awareness, empathy, spirituality, creativity, and on and on - that we just haven't had the tools to investigate properly! And the widely acknowledged power of these substances can finally be harnessed as therapeutics for a whole host of distressing conditions - from autism to PTSD to Alzheimer's.

Well done, MAPS and BL! The wealth of experience documented on these forums is a goldmine of data and the advancements MAPS will promote safer practices among us psychonauts. I hope this collaboration serves as a model for the development of many more like it throughout the neuroscientific community. I have no doubt that by joining forces we can affect real change by reducing the unfair negativity associated with responsible neuropharmacolgical "exploration" and, perhaps more importantly, eliminating the crushing stigma attached to addiction and mental illness.

Whew! I apologize for the lengthy, nerdy post but I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. Both the neuroscientist in me and the psychedelic explorer in me are thrilled.

Thanks again, BL, and welcome MAPS!!

Oh...and, MAPS guys...P.S. Shoot me a PM if you're ever in need of an in vivo electrophysiologist/optogeneticist. I love your mission.

 

Love this!! And frankly, it came at exactly the right time in my life.

Thank you, Rick Doblin Ph.D. !