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POD 129: Dr. Rick Doblin on FDA rejection and the future of Lykos MDMA

🕑 Added 2025-08-04 18:12:08 +0000 UTC

Comments

Sherm

Considering that PTSD exposure therapy, and more importantly DRUG-assisted PTSD exposure therapy (i.e. D-Cycloserine) have been relatively well characterized in the literature, I'm confused why MAPS didn't do trials following these already established protocols but with MDMA?

Sarah

‘I have been struck by the asymmetry of maturity, and it’s almost like a war where there two different tactics at play. At one side there are people who are very compassionate and idealistic and trying to set a standard of goodness and on the other side you have this sort of gorilla warfare where anything goes.” I’d still like to see the video of ‘MAPS: The worst cult ever.’

Sarah

Never heard Rick speak before. My brain doesn’t work as fast as his. What a clever man! He seems to be like marmite though: one either loves him or hates him. Odd, really, given that here, he just seems like a very clever, very balanced individual.

Pvt. Idaho

Damn man, you went off in the intro I love it

Norton Nimnul

This is a pretty fair question. An injunction is not a criminal charge, and a criminal charge is quite different from a criminal conviction.

robert heffernan

Hamilton in regard to Sasha Sisko you wrote he “… is now known to be a criminally charged stalker who has disseminated underage revenge pornograpy” Yet, the document provided is not a criminal indictment. It is a petition for an injunction by a former girlfriend. Is there any actual evidence that he was criminally charged for stalking and disseminating underage revenge porn?

Hamilton Morris

Yes, it’s totally hilarious. The talk page is pure Nese psychosis, highly recommended reading if you want to see how nuts they are. If there are any wikipedians here someone should lock and revise that entry.

WarioGiant

Hi Hamilton, have you seen the edit history for Psymposia’s Wikipedia page? One person in particular seems eager to control it

Shawhin Layeghi

You should post on discord or in the "community" chat on patreon

Pvt. Idaho

evan gilman

Totally impertinent but I can’t *not* hear Professor Frink here. In the very best way. Rick is amazing.

Bushy Haired Stranger

Docket No. FDA-2024-N-1938

Team TJ

Dang, Hamilton dropping truth! Love it. The nasty people need to be rooted out. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.

rottogrotto

Not just with me, but in general and especially after finding out about their stalking and sexually exploitative past .. and Im REALLY curious to know if Nese or anyone from Psymposia knew about Sasha’s history before it was made more public ..

rottogrotto

Does Anyone know if anyone from Psymposia has ever made any statements to publicly disavow the actions of Sasha Sisko? I’m honestly surprised I haven’t seen it. When I called out Sasha and Psymposia on X for facilitating my gaslighting/abuse nobody from Psymposia responded or said anything … and I still haven’t seen anything. You’d think someone would be like - “we don’t condone what Sasha did”

aarni nieminen

Where are the more recent stuff? Still under work?

Chad Barthalamew

holy shit that clip of sasha asking the shaman question is killllllling me

Michael Jones

I ruv you Hamilton

Hamilton Morris

Nese lists she/they in about half of her bios

Shawhin Layeghi

Please use the right pronouns for Sasha and Neşe even if they've done bad things. Hurts the rest of us not just them so please be mindful Hamilton. I say this separate from the deadname thing.

Hamilton Morris

It's my understanding that Vicky Dulai did MDMA with George Sarlo in an informal "recreational" capacity, which is why MAPS "denied the existence of this trial" there was no trial nor was there any pretense of a trial. We can debate the ethics of using psychoactive drugs with the elderly, but the idea that his subsequent Alzheimers diagnosis was a result of using MDMA once or twice seems implausible to me. I met Vicky for the first time at the recent MAPS conference and she seemed really nice, honest, and forthcoming about the whole thing.

Shawhin Layeghi

Yes please

rottogrotto

The Sarlo Family Foundation website is also “under construction” - wonder how long that’s been the case ? https://sarlo.org

Shawhin Layeghi

Just found this comment susie sarlo left https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FDA-2024-N-1938-0028 Date: 5/21/24 Dear Joyce Frimpong, I am writing to notify you of my interest in making a formal written comment for the open public hearing session of the June 4 advisory committee meeting. The specific purpose of this meeting is “to discuss the new drug application 215455, for midomafetamine (MDMA) capsules, submitted by Lykos Therapeutics, for the proposed indication of treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments: My family has firsthand experience of the harms associated with the original sponsor’s exploitation of vulnerable individuals. My father, George Sarlo, was an early philanthropic investor in the therapeutic promise of psychedelics. Unfortunately, his good intentions put him in harm's way as the original sponsor developed its program of MDMA clinical trials. He was repeatedly fed psychedelics by those claiming to be treating his PTSD, but in reality, they were using these powerful substances to gain control of his mind and finances. By the time our family was able to intervene, his physical and mental health had rapidly declined. The drug abuse led to severe cognitive decline, and he will never be the same. I now spend most of my time caring for him and trying to rectify the damage done. His story is just one among many stories of abuse of power I have since learned of. When I attempted to gain access to my father’s full medical records from participating in a MAPS trial, MAPS attorneys did not respond in a timely fashion. After repeated requests, they ultimately denied the existence of this trial, even though specific trial dates had been sent from a MAPS board member. The MAPS board member was subsequently promoted to board chair and treasurer, and no answers were ever provided to explain these conflicting accounts. The public deserves to be informed about the original sponsor’s patterns of exploitation, since they call into question the organization’s ethics and credibility in reporting on its clinical trials. Based on the organization’s impact on vulnerable individuals like my father, the sponsor poses a risk to public health by not disclosing MDMA’s recognized use as a tool for exploitation.

Hamilton Morris

You can email me, but it might be worth sharing it here so others can benefit from knowing what happened to you.

rottogrotto

https://bsky.app/profile/triage4567.bsky.social

rottogrotto

Does anyone want to read my pre-print? It's called PNTDRHA Hallucinations : Projected Personal Traumas, Undiagnosed Personality Disorders, and how we used Susie Sarlo's revenge money to create disturbing and ungrounded conspiracy theories that would be be better channeled into a career as a science fiction horror comedy troupe if only we were creative, funny, or even moderately likeable. Paranoid Nonsense That Doesn't Really Help Anyone (PNTDRHA), The Psymposia Story

Sean Qualischefski

I know not all journalists are like this, but reading the coverage of MDMA from journalists reminds me of a Kierkegaard quote: “The lowest depth to which people can sink before God is defined by the word “Journalist”.

Helen Loshny

Thank you Hamilton for all you are doing to shed light on this dissembling, to say the very least. I haven’t listened to your full interview with Rick but have read John Semley article and an earlier podcast where you were raising these issues as a prelude to and during your interview with Casey Paleos. The holistic wellness centre that I founded in 2014 in Vancouver BC was very negatively impacted by some of these players and related events. What is the best way of contacting you to share about our experience?

Cheminterested

Does anyone have a link to the story about Sasha Sisko's transgressions? I can't see to find anything online

Hippo

Finished it now, thanks. Hearing Doblin talk about his decade-long work on trying to get MDMA approved, did you ever try to establish contact with some of the old Hive bees, on their views from back then, vs their views now? It seems like a lot of them are rather in the quiet, understandably so, but maybe someone is willing to talk. Strike would be very interesting, or someone like Eleusis?

Hamilton Morris

Patreon pushes this "drop" feature so much that I couldn't switch it off without reuploading the entire post.

My_Truth_Today

really been enjoying your back catalog of content and I look forward to listening to this current release as well. They're incredibly informative and I find you have the distinct ability to deliver information in a way that's easy to digest even when it's a somewhat convoluted concept. Much respect to you and your work.

Brian

Not complaining, but did this episode drop a day early? I got a notification saying that it would drop on August 5th at 8am PST. Or is this a different episode?

mycomagi

thanks ham-dog, been looking forward to hearing the man himself talk about the fda shitshow :)

Hippo

Wow. I never listened to Doblin talk or followed his work closely, but I'm halfway through the interview and the integrity of him and will to help people is amazing. Such a kind soul and the world is blessed to have him. Thank you for the interview already in advance, even if I still need to listen to the other half.