Richard Elliot Doblin (born November 30, 1953) is an American drug activist and executive who is the founder and former executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

Early life and education

Rick Doblin grew up in Skokie, Illinois as the oldest of four kids in a Jewish family. He first enrolled in Florida's New College (now New College of Florida) in 1971, but dropped out after one semester, later re-enrolling and completing a bachelor's in psychology. Doblin later went on to get his doctorate in public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, graduating in 2001. Doblin's PhD thesis is titled Regulation of the Medical Use of Psychedelics and Marijuana, and was published in June 2000.

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

Doblin established MAPS in 1986 to research MDMA and other psychedelics through legal clinical trials. MAPS pursued a lengthy FDA approval process, hoping mainstream acceptance of MDMA therapy could positively impact access to other treatments. Over decades, MAPS collaborated with scientists, raised funds through philanthropic means, and worked to change public perceptions of psychedelics. After 37 years, Doblin stepped down as Executive Director of MAPS in February 2023, replaced by Kris Lotlikar.

Controversy

As director of MAPS, Doblin has given comment on the publicized serious allegations of sexual assault by MAPS-employed therapists engaging in a clinical trial trialing psychedelic MDMA as therapy for survivors of sexual assault. Four years after Meaghan Buisson submitted a formal complaint to MAPS regarding the series of incidents, Doblin defended the organisation failing to review all videos of the sessions, stating "This unethical sexual misconduct happened after the therapy was over … So that made us think that we didn't need to review the video." An independent advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration rejected the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder on June 4, 2024. Just before they voted on Tuesday, the advisory panel heard from more than 30 speakers. Several of those focused on Doblin. Brian Pace, a lecturer in plant pathology at Ohio State University, criticized Mr. Doblin’s public comments, including a belief that legalizing and regulating them would bring about world peace.