holotropic breathwork: A breathing exercise developed in the mid 1970s by the psychedelic
therapist Stanislav Grof, and his wife, Christina, after LSD was made illegal. By breathing rapidly
and exhaling deeply, nearly to the point of hyperventilation, subjects enter an altered state of
consciousness without the use of a drug. This trancelike state can give access to subconscious
material. “Holotropic” means “moving toward wholeness.”
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide): Also known as acid, this psychedelic compound was first
synthesized in 1938 by Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist at Sandoz who was searching for a drug
to stimulate circulation. LSD was the twenty-fifth molecule that Hofmann had derived from the
alkaloids produced by ergot, a fungus that infects grain. Hofmann shelved the compound when it
proved ineffective as a medicine, but five years later a premonition led him to resynthesize it. After
accidentally ingesting a small quantity of LSD, he discovered its powerful psychoactive properties.
In 1947, Sandoz began marketing LSD as a psychiatric drug under the name Delysid. It was
withdrawn from circulation in 1966 after the drug appeared on the black market.
MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies): The nonprofit membership
organization founded in 1986 by Rick Doblin to increase public understanding of psychedelics and
support scientific research into their therapeutic applications. Based in Santa Cruz, California,
MAPS has focused its efforts on MDMA, or Ecstasy, as a therapeutic intervention for people
suffering from PTSD. In 2016, it won FDA approval to conduct phase 3 trials of MDMA in the
treatment of PTSD; in 2017, the FDA designated MDMA as a “breakthrough therapy” for PTSD,
clearing the way for an expedited review. Doblin, and MAPS, have played a central role in the
revival of psychedelic research. MAPS also sponsors Psychedelic Science, the international
conference on psychedelic research that takes place in Northern California every few years.
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine): A psychoactive compound first synthesized by
Merck in 1912 but never marketed. After the compound was resynthesized by the Bay Area
chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin in the 1970s, it became a popular adjunct to psychotherapy,
because its “empathogenic” qualities helped patients form a strong bond of trust with their
therapists. In the 1980s, the drug showed up in the rave scene, where it was sold under the name
of Ecstasy (or E or later Molly); in 1986, the U.S. government put MDMA on schedule 1, declaring
it a drug of abuse with no accepted medical use. However, recent drug trials sponsored by MAPS
have demonstrated MDMA’s value in treating PTSD. MDMA is not considered a “classical
psychedelic,” because it appears to operate on different brain pathways from LSD or psilocybin.
mescaline: A psychedelic compound derived from several cacti, including peyote and San Pedro.
The compound was first identified and named by the German chemist Arthur Heffter in 1897. The
Doors of Perception is a first-person account of Aldous Huxley’s first mescaline experience.
microdosing: The practice of ingesting a small, “subperceptual” dose of a psychedelic, usually
LSD or psilocybin, every few days as an aid to mental health or mental performance. A common
protocol is to take ten micrograms of LSD (a tenth of a medium dose) every fourth day. The
practice is fairly new, and as yet the evidence for its effectiveness is anecdotal. Several trials are
under way.
MK-Ultra: The code name for an undercover research program on psychedelic drugs conducted by
the CIA beginning in 1953; it was closed down in 1963 or 1964. At various times, the CIA sought to
determine whether LSD and related compounds could be used as a means of mind control; an
interrogation tool (or truth serum); a biological weapon (added to a population’s water supply); or
a political tool (by dosing adversaries to get them to do foolish things). As part of the research
program, which at times involved forty-four universities and colleges, civilians and military
personnel were dosed without their knowledge, sometimes with disastrous consequences. The