Rick Doblin

It has been. And I think one of the things that has kept me going was a dream. We've talked about dreams a little bit. It was a dream that I had when I was in my early 20s. So when I was 18, I had decided to focus my life on psychedelics. This was after I realized, oh, LSD is what my bar mitzvah should have been. And I was able to...

see these tools as really hopeful and there was two parts one part is sort of this working through trauma depression the other part is our interconnectedness I think this the sort of the essence of what people talk about the sort of spiritual aspects of psychedelics or of meditation or of other things you feel that we're not just isolated individuals we're all connected with all of life

see these tools as really hopeful and there was two parts one part is sort of this working through trauma depression the other part is our interconnectedness I think this the sort of the essence of what people talk about the sort of spiritual aspects of psychedelics or of meditation or of other things you feel that we're not just isolated individuals we're all connected with all of life

see these tools as really hopeful and there was two parts one part is sort of this working through trauma depression the other part is our interconnectedness I think this the sort of the essence of what people talk about the sort of spiritual aspects of psychedelics or of meditation or of other things you feel that we're not just isolated individuals we're all connected with all of life

And so at 18, I said, it's a crazy world. I was a Vietnam War draft resistor. I was planning to go to jail. I'd studied Tolstoy and Gandhi and nonviolent resistance. So my contribution to my country was going to be to not register for the draft and go to jail as a protest for Vietnam. And then I thought, you know, my dad was and my mom was saying, you're going to have a criminal record.

And so at 18, I said, it's a crazy world. I was a Vietnam War draft resistor. I was planning to go to jail. I'd studied Tolstoy and Gandhi and nonviolent resistance. So my contribution to my country was going to be to not register for the draft and go to jail as a protest for Vietnam. And then I thought, you know, my dad was and my mom was saying, you're going to have a criminal record.

And so at 18, I said, it's a crazy world. I was a Vietnam War draft resistor. I was planning to go to jail. I'd studied Tolstoy and Gandhi and nonviolent resistance. So my contribution to my country was going to be to not register for the draft and go to jail as a protest for Vietnam. And then I thought, you know, my dad was and my mom was saying, you're going to have a criminal record.

You're never going to have a real job. You're not going to be able to be a doctor or lawyer. You'll be a felon. And I thought, OK, well, I'm not willing to to go to war because of that. But I can be an underground psychedelic therapist and you don't need a license for that. So that was my plan. So then this dream happened in my early 20s.

You're never going to have a real job. You're not going to be able to be a doctor or lawyer. You'll be a felon. And I thought, OK, well, I'm not willing to to go to war because of that. But I can be an underground psychedelic therapist and you don't need a license for that. So that was my plan. So then this dream happened in my early 20s.

You're never going to have a real job. You're not going to be able to be a doctor or lawyer. You'll be a felon. And I thought, OK, well, I'm not willing to to go to war because of that. But I can be an underground psychedelic therapist and you don't need a license for that. So that was my plan. So then this dream happened in my early 20s.

I should mention that I was so – I had the real wrong idea at 18. The idea I had was the more drugs you take, the faster you evolve. I mean, again, I was a stupid 18-year-old. So I did a good job of it. And I just got more disoriented and very much ungrounded.

I should mention that I was so – I had the real wrong idea at 18. The idea I had was the more drugs you take, the faster you evolve. I mean, again, I was a stupid 18-year-old. So I did a good job of it. And I just got more disoriented and very much ungrounded.

I should mention that I was so – I had the real wrong idea at 18. The idea I had was the more drugs you take, the faster you evolve. I mean, again, I was a stupid 18-year-old. So I did a good job of it. And I just got more disoriented and very much ungrounded.

That's a great way to say it. Yeah, I was very ungrounded. And I went to the guidance counselor at college. And this was a new college in Sarasota, Florida. And it was a private school at the time. And the guidance counselor, I said, I need help with my tripping. And it's become more important to me than my studies. And he said, well, you know, I understand what you're doing.

That's a great way to say it. Yeah, I was very ungrounded. And I went to the guidance counselor at college. And this was a new college in Sarasota, Florida. And it was a private school at the time. And the guidance counselor, I said, I need help with my tripping. And it's become more important to me than my studies. And he said, well, you know, I understand what you're doing.

That's a great way to say it. Yeah, I was very ungrounded. And I went to the guidance counselor at college. And this was a new college in Sarasota, Florida. And it was a private school at the time. And the guidance counselor, I said, I need help with my tripping. And it's become more important to me than my studies. And he said, well, you know, I understand what you're doing.

That's really makes sense to me in some ways. We're overdeveloped intellectually and underdeveloped emotionally and spiritually. And he gave me this book to read, and I loved it. And it was by Stanislav Grof, the world's expert LSD researcher. And he was MD-PhD at Johns Hopkins. This is now 1972. And the research was being shut down. You talked about the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

That's really makes sense to me in some ways. We're overdeveloped intellectually and underdeveloped emotionally and spiritually. And he gave me this book to read, and I loved it. And it was by Stanislav Grof, the world's expert LSD researcher. And he was MD-PhD at Johns Hopkins. This is now 1972. And the research was being shut down. You talked about the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

That's really makes sense to me in some ways. We're overdeveloped intellectually and underdeveloped emotionally and spiritually. And he gave me this book to read, and I loved it. And it was by Stanislav Grof, the world's expert LSD researcher. And he was MD-PhD at Johns Hopkins. This is now 1972. And the research was being shut down. You talked about the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

And my guidance counselor had got this book directly from Stan, and I said, could I write a letter to Stan? I want to become an LSD therapist. And he said, sure. So I wrote this letter, and Stan was just leaving Hopkins, and I'm this confused 18-year-old. And to my shock, Stan wrote me back. Stan is now, by the way— almost 94 years old. And he is still going around the world to educate people.