computer screen with words DRUG WAR BLOG bird icon for twitter bird icon for twitter


Is Rick Doblin Running with the Devil?

The drawbacks of collaborating with a corrupt system

by Ballard Quass, the Drug War Philosopher





February 2, 2020

'm a big fan of Rick Doblin and his attempts to mainstream the therapeutic use of psychedelics through MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Rick is obviously a courageous man with the patience of a saint, given the slow-and-steady mindset that his ambitious project calls for. That said, I'm beginning to wonder if his strategy of compromise does not entail a Faustian pact with the devil - or rather with two devils, as noted below.

DEVIL 1: THE DEA

Take the DEA, for instance. I realize that Rick is teaming with the DEA for practical reasons, in order to make legal research possible, but I fear that such cooperation tends to legitimize the agency's role as the rightful gatekeeper for scientific drug research, as if the government should be playing such a politicized role in the first place when it comes to scientific investigation. This is the same DEA, after all, that has deprived depressive folks like myself of thousands of potential rain forest godsends for the last four decades, making our lives a shadow of what they might have been, psychologically speaking, in terms of self-fulfillment, self-realization, and the simple, humble appreciation of the wonderful world of nature that grows at our very feet.

Had researchers been given mere scientific freedom to follow up on the breathtaking therapeutic results of the work of Strassman, Fadiman, Grof et al., America would surely no longer be the most depressed country in the world, where a tenth of the population is yet addicted to the handful of mind-fogging antidepressants dealt out by modern psychiatry - an institution for which pill-peddling is unabashedly promoted as the new therapeutic paradigm. But the DEA has long said no to the mere scientific research of psychedelics, classifying them unscientifically as "schedule 1," thereby ensuring the agency's own law-enforcement workload for decades to come, all at the expense of the health, happiness and sheer human potential of the American people.

As one of the countless victims of the DEA's politically motivated crackdown on psychoactive substances (part of an eclectic victims list that runs the gamut from imprisoned minorities to morose nonagenarians wasting away in a nursing home), I can't help but think that our role as freedom-loving Americans is to loudly protest the injustice being perpetrated here, not to play by the rigged handbook of a political institution designed to strictly limit conscious awareness and keep effective medicines out of public hands.



{^When Americans aren't busy submitting sheepishly to drug tests, they are watching Drug War propaganda movies in which the DEA tortures and murders South Americans who are suspected of selling Mother Nature's plants: especially those that American politicians have gone to such trouble to demonize.}{




DEVIL 2: THE SCIENTIZATION OF PSYCHEDELICS

This points to a second problem with the MAPS back-door approach to psychedelic legalization: it seeks to destigmatize psychedelics by professionalizing their use, by putting them in the hands of materialist scientists who will analyze such substances "every which way to Sunday" in order to find the exact chemical interactions associated with their efficacy. Even if this reductionist analysis prompts the scientific community to "sign off" on the efficacy of psychedelics for treating various illnesses, the folks who will be empowered are not suffering individuals, but rather large pharmaceutical companies. If not otherwise constrained, Big Pharma will soon strip the psychedelics of all consciously noticeable effects, especially those unscientific "hallucinations" that they seem to cause, in an attempt to derive therefrom a socially acceptable "one-size-fits-all" cure for depression, yet another daily pill regimen that they can market aggressively to the statistically over-depressed American people by running slick but ethereal advertisements during commercial breaks for "Dateline NBC" and "48 Hours."

This is why leaders of the Native American Church are, I believe, justifiably leery of the new psychedelic revolution, because it is being advanced under the banner of materialist medicine, not under the banner of human freedom, personal humility, and a sincere desire to learn about oneself and one's place in the universe. To put it another way, it's one thing to destigmatize psychedelics, it's quite another to denude them of all their awe-inspiring qualities, and that's what happens when psychedelics are wrenched from the hands of a shaman and placed under the microscope of a clinician.

CONCLUSION:

Don't get me wrong: I congratulate Rick Doblin on his so far successful, if frustratingly slow, approach to legalizing psychedelic therapy in America, an approach which might be described here as "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." As for the concerns that I've highlighted above, I'm sure that MAPS is aware of them all and that they are working to obviate them wherever and whenever possible. I write this, not in order to play Sunday morning quarterback, but to remind Rick's fan club (to which I myself belong) that there is another way to address the intertwined problems of unjust drug laws and the lack of effective psychotherapy in America today. This alternative to Rick's strategy of compromise can be easily outlined as the following two-step process:

1) Reclaim the human being's right to naturally occurring substances via appealing to natural law (which, as John Locke writes, gives us unfettered access to "the earth, and all that is therein").

Then, once this basic human right has been reclaimed from power-hungry politicians...

2) Replace psychiatrists with empathic and pharmacologically savvy shamans who will improve their "patients'" psychological well-being with plant-assisted therapy, using ANY PLANT IN THE WORLD that said shaman deems propitious for achieving the goal(s) of the patient in question.

Then again, maybe I am a Sunday morning quarterback, for I see my approach to drug legalization as a kind of "hail Mary" pass, denying the right of politicians to outlaw plants in the first place, whereas Rick's strategy involves gaining a series of fiercely contested first downs by exploiting the various minor weaknesses of his opponent.

Despite our different strategies, however, we're both headed toward the same goal line, i.e. the legalization of psychedelic substances for the psychological benefit of humankind, and I'll be the first to congratulate Team MAPS should they reach the end zone before me.



Next essay: There is no such thing as DRUGS
Previous essay: The Therapeutic Value of Anticipation
More Essays Here


People

about whom and to whom I've written over the years...

Alexander, Lamar
Letter to Lamar Alexander
Barrett, Frederick S.
The common sense way to get off of antidepressants
Why the Drug War is Worse than you can Imagine
Benaroch MD, Roy
Open Letter to Roy Benaroch MD
Bloom, Josh
Science is not free in the age of the drug war
Buchanan, Julian
Finally, a drug war opponent who checks all my boxes
Chalmers, David
David Chalmers and the Drug War
Chelmow MD, David
How the US Preventive Services Task Force Drums Up Business for Big Pharma
Chomsky, Noam
Chomsky is Right
Chomsky's Revenge
Noam Chomsky on Drugs
Cline, Ben
Open Letter to Congressman Ben Cline, asking him to abolish the criminal DEA
Close, Glenn
Glenn Close but no cigar
Cossin, Daniel
How AI turned William James into a Drug Warrior
De Quincey, Thomas
The Therapeutic Value of Anticipation
Dick, Philip K.
Drug Laws as the Punishment of 'Pre-Crime'
Doblin, Rick
Constructive criticism of the MAPS strategy for re-legalizing MDMA
Is Rick Doblin Running with the Devil?
Why Rick Doblin is Ghosting Me
Ellsberg, Daniel
Drug Warriors Fiddle while Rome Gets Nuked
Falcon, Joshua
Drugs are not the enemy, hatred is the enemy
Floyd, George
The Racist Drug War killed George Floyd
Fort, Charles
The Book of the Damned
Fox, James Alan
The Invisible Mass Shootings
Friedman, Milton
How Milton Friedman Completely Misunderstood the War on Drugs
Fukuyama, Francis
Open Letter to Francis Fukuyama
Gibb, Andy
How The Drug War Killed Andy Gibb
Gimbel, Steven
Heroin versus Alcohol
Glaser, Gabrielle
Open Letter to Gabrielle Glaser
Glieberman, Owen
Open Letter to Variety Critic Owen Glieberman
Glover, Troy
Open letter to Professor Troy Glover at Waterloo University
Goswami, Amit
Alternative Medicine as a Drug War Creation
Gottlieb, Anthony
Open Letter to Anthony Gottlieb
Grandmaster Flash, musician
Grandmaster Flash: Drug War Collaborator
Griffiths, Roland
Depressed? Here's why you can't get the medicines that you need
Open Letter to Rick Doblin and Roland Griffiths
Gupta, Sujata
The Mother of all Western Biases
Hammersley, Richard
Open Letter to Richard Hammersley
Handwerk, Brian
How National Geographic slanders the Inca people and their use of coca
Harris, Kamala
Why I Support Kamala Harris
Harrison, Francis Burton
Screw You, Francis Burton Harrison
Hart, Carl
Open Letter to Dr. Carl L. Hart
What Carl Hart Missed
Harvey, Dennis
How Variety and its film critics support drug war fascism
Heidegger, Martin
Heidegger on Drugs
Hogshire, Jim
I've got a bone to pick with Jim Hogshire
Opium for the Masses by Jim Hogshire
What Jim Hogshire Got Wrong about Drugs
Hurley, Vincent
Open Letter to Vincent Hurley, Lecturer
Hutton, Ronald
Drug Dealers as Modern Witches
James, William
How the Drug War is Threatening Intellectual Freedom in England
Keep Laughing Gas Legal
The Criminalization of Nitrous Oxide is No Laughing Matter
William James rolls over in his grave as England bans Laughing Gas
Jefferson, Thomas
A Misguided Tour of Monticello
How the Jefferson Foundation Betrayed Thomas Jefferson
How the Monticello Foundation betrayed Jefferson's Legacy in 1987
Jefferson
The Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation
Jenkins, Philip
'Synthetic Panics' by Philip Jenkins
Jenkins DA, Brooke
Prohibitionists Never Learn
Kant, Immanuel
How the Drug War limits our understanding of Immanuel Kant
How the Drug War Outlaws Criticism of Immanuel Kant
Kastrup, Bernardo
How Bernardo Kastrup reckons without the drug war
Kenny, Gino
The Right to LIVE FULLY is more important than the Right to DIE
Kirsch, Irving
Brahms is NOT the best antidepressant
Klang, Jessica
All these Sons
Kotek, Tina
Regulate and Educate
Koterski, Jospeh
America's Blind Spot
Kurtz, Matthew M.
How Scientific American reckons without the drug war
Langlitz, Nicolas
Why the FDA is not qualified to judge psychoactive medicine
Lee, Spike
Spike Lee is Bamboozled by the Drug War
Leshner, Alan I.
How the Drug War Screws the Depressed
Lewis, Edward
Psilocybin Mushrooms by Edward Lewis
Ling, Lisa
Open Letter to Lisa Ling
Locke, John
John Locke on Drugs
Maples-Keller, Jessica
Hello? MDMA works, already!
Margaritoff, Marco
In Defense of Opium
Open Letter to Margo Margaritoff
Marinacci, Mike
Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches: LSD, Cannabis, and Spiritual Sacraments in Underground America
Martinez, Liz
Replacing antidepressants with entheogens
Mate, Gabor
In the Realm of Hungry Drug Warriors
Open Letter to Addiction Specialist Gabor Mate
Sherlock Holmes versus Gabor Maté
McAllister, Sean
How to Unite Drug War Opponents of all Ethnicities
Mithoefer, MD, Michael
MDMA for Psychotherapy
Mohler, George
Predictive Policing in the Age of the Drug War
Morgan, Cory
Canadian Drug Warrior, I said Get Away
Naz, Arab
The Menace of the Drug War
Newcombe, Russell
Intoxiphobia
Nietzsche, Friedrich
Nietzsche and the Drug War
Nixon, Richard
Why Hollywood Owes Richard Nixon an Oscar
Noakes, Jesse
Americans have the right to pursue happiness but not to attain it
Nobis, Nathan
Top 10 Problems with the Drug War
Nutt, David
Majoring in Drug War Philosophy
O'Leary, Diane
Open Letter to Diane O'Leary
Obama, Barack
What Obama got wrong about drugs
Offenhartz, Jake
Libertarians as Closet Christian Scientists
Pearson, Snoop
Snoop Pearson's muddle-headed take on drugs
Perry, Matthew
Drug War Murderers
Matthew Perry and the Drug War Ghouls
Pinchbeck, Daniel
Review of When Plants Dream
Polk, Thad
How Addiction Scientists Reckon without the Drug War
Pollan, Michael
Michael Pollan on Drugs
My Conversation with Michael Pollan
The Michael Pollan Fallacy
Rado, Vincent
Open Letter to Vincent Rado
Reuter, Peter
The problem with Modern Drug Reform Efforts
Rovelli, Carlo
Why Science is the Handmaiden of the Drug War
Rudgeley, Richard
Richard Rudgley condemns 'drugs' with faint praise
Sabet, Kevin
Why Kevin Sabet's approach to drugs is racist, anti-scientific and counterproductive
Sanders, Laura
Science News Continues to Ignore the Drug War
Santayana, George
If this be reason, let us make the least of it!
Schopenhauer, Arthur
Ego Transcendence Made Easy
What if Arthur Schopenhauer Had Used DMT?
Schultes, Richard Evans
The Drug War Imperialism of Richard Evans Schultes
Segall PhD, Matthew D.
Why Philosophers Need to Stop Dogmatically Ignoring Drugs
Sewell, Kenneth
Open letter to Kenneth Sewell
Shapiro, Arthur
Illusions with Professor Arthur Shapiro
Smith, Wolfgang
Open letter to Wolfgang Smith
Unscientific American
Smyth, Bobby
Teenagers and Cannabis
Sotillos, Samuel Bendeck
In Defense of Religious Drug Use
Stea, Jonathan
The Pseudoscience of Mental Health Treatment
Strassman, Rick
Five problems with The Psychedelic Handbook by Rick Strassman
What Rick Strassman Got Wrong
Szasz, Thomas
In Praise of Thomas Szasz
Tulfo, Ramon T.
Why the Drug War is far worse than a failure
Urquhart, Steven
No drugs are bad in and of themselves
Vance, Laurence
In Response to Laurence Vance
Walker, Lynn
Ignorance is the enemy, not Fentanyl
Walsh, Bryan
The Drug War and Armageddon
The End Times by Bryan Walsh
Warner, Mark
Another Cry in the Wilderness
Watson, JB
Behaviorism and the War on Drugs
Weil, Andrew
What Andrew Weil Got Wrong
Wells, HG
HG Wells and Drugs
Whitaker, Robert
Mad at Mad in America
Whitehead, Alfred North
Whitehead and Psychedelics
Willyard, Cassandra
Science News magazine continues to pretend that there is no war on drugs
Winehouse, Amy
How the Drug War Killed Amy Winehouse
Wininger, Charley
Getting off antidepressants in the age of the drug war
Wuthnow, Robert
Clodhoppers on Drugs
Zelfand, Erica
Open Letter to Erica Zelfand
Zinn, Howard
Even Howard Zinn Reckons without the Drug War
Zuboff, Shoshana
Tune In, Turn On, Opt Out









computer screen with words DRUG WAR BLOG







Some Tweets against the hateful war on drugs

A law proposed in Colorado in February 2024 would have criminalized positive talk about drugs online. What? The world is on the brink of nuclear war because of hate-driven politics, and I can be arrested for singing the praises of empathogens?
Immanuel Kant wrote that scientists are scornful about metaphysics yet they rely on it themselves without realizing it. This is a case in point, for the idea that euphoria and visions are unhelpful in life is a metaphysical viewpoint, not a scientific one.
That's why I created the satirical Partnership for a Death Free America. It demonstrates clearly that drug warriors aren't worried about our health, otherwise they'd outlaw shopping carts, etc. The question then becomes: what are they REALLY afraid of? Answer: Free thinkers.
The goal of drug-law reform should be to outlaw prohibition. Anything short of that, and our basic rights will always be subject to veto by fearmongers. Outlawing prohibition would restore the Natural Law of Jefferson, which the DEA scorned in 1987 with its raid on Monticello.
That's another problem with "following the science." Science downplays personal testimony as subjective. But psychoactive experiences are all ABOUT subjectivity. With such drugs, users are not widgets susceptible to the one-size-fits-all pills of reductionism.
Hollywood presents cocaine as a drug of killers. In reality, strategic cocaine use by an educated person can lead to great mental power, especially as just one part of a pharmacologically balanced diet. That's why drug warriors want to outlaw free speech, to hide such facts.
If drug war logic made sense, we would outlaw endless things in addition to drugs. Because the drug war says that it's all worth it if we can save just one life -- which is generally the life of a white suburban young person, btw.
I have nothing against science, BTW (altho' I might feel differently after a nuclear war!) I just want scientists to "stay in their lane" and stop pretending to be experts on my own personal mood and consciousness.
If NIDA covered all drugs (not just politically ostracized drugs), they'd produce articles like this: "Aspirin continues to kill hundreds." "Penicillin misuse approaching crisis levels." "More bad news about Tylenol and liver damage." "Study revives cancer fears from caffeine."
Folks like Sabet accuse folks like myself of ignoring the "facts." No, it is Sabet who is ignoring the facts -- facts about dangerous horses and free climbing. He's also ignoring all the downsides of prohibition, whose laws lead to the election of tyrants.
More Tweets






front cover of Drug War Comic Book

Buy the Drug War Comic Book by the Drug War Philosopher Brian Quass, featuring 150 hilarious op-ed pics about America's disgraceful war on Americans



You have been reading an article entitled, Is Rick Doblin Running with the Devil?: The drawbacks of collaborating with a corrupt system, published on February 2, 2020 on AbolishTheDEA.com. For more information about America's disgraceful drug war, which is anti-patient, anti-minority, anti-scientific, anti-mother nature, imperialistic, the establishment of the Christian Science religion, a violation of the natural law upon which America was founded, and a childish and counterproductive way of looking at the world, one which causes all of the problems that it purports to solve, and then some, visit the drug war philosopher, at abolishTheDEA.com. (philosopher's bio; go to top of this page)