43Formany, the festival isabout getting naked andgetting high.
Forpsychedelic legislationactivist RickDoblin, it’sthe most importantworkweek of the yearBy SARAH MCBRIDEandKRISTEN V. BROWN
Illustrationby MOLLY ROSE DYSONO
neeveninglastAugust,RickDoblinpedaleda borrowed
bicycleacrossthebakedearthplayaofNevada’sBlack
RockDesert,siteoftheannualBurningManfestival.Doblin,
who’s 65 andhasgraying,slightlywild,curlyhair,wasdressed
sensiblyfortheoccasioninkhakicargoshortsandgreeneye-
shadow.Ignoringswervingcyclists,stonedpedestrians,and
tinnyelectronicdancemusic,herodepasta giantwheeled
schoonerwithrevelerssplayedacrossitsdecks.Doblinwas
ona mission:totrackdownSergeyBrinandtalkaboutdrugs.
Thiswasn’tquiteasquixoticasit mightsound.Doblin,the
founderoftheMultidisciplinaryAssociationforPsychedelic
Studies(MAPS),is theworld’sleadingadvocateforthemedi-
caluseofmethylenedioxymethamphetamine(MDMA).Hefirst
gotattentionforhisactivisminthe1980swhenheunsuccess-
fullypetitionedtheU.S.DrugEnforcementAgencytostopit
fromcriminalizingMDMA,andsincethenhe’shelpedmove
thecauseclosertothemainstream.Lastyeara widelycited
studythatMAPSfundedshoweddosesofMDMAalleviatedpost-
traumaticstresssymptomsina smallgroupoffirstresponders
andveterans.Doblin’spioneeringworkwasalsorecognizedin
MichaelPollan’srecentbest-seller,HowtoChangeYourMind.
Doblinis acquaintedwithBrin,theco-founderofAlphabet
Inc.LikesomanyrichSiliconValleytypes,Brinis a regular
atBurningMan,theweeklongbacchanalintheNevadades-
ertthatwillbeginagaininlateAugust.Severalmonthsbefore
the 2018 Burn,DoblinhadcorneredBrinata gatheringatFly
Ranch,a nearbypropertythefestival’sorganizersown,and
talkedupthepharmaceuticalpotentialofmushroomsand
ketamine.Now,atthefestivalitself,hehadanidealopportu-
nitytofollowup,andheinvitedtwoBloombergBusinessweek
reportersalongfortheride.
DoblinfirstcampedinBlackRockCity—themade-uptown
wherethefestivalis held—forfunin2003.Butasthetechecon-
omymintedmillionairesandbillionaires,andasrichpeople
begantodiscussdrugusemoreopenly,hebegantolookat
BurningMandifferently.Techies“aremorelikelytochallenge
thestatusquoineverythingtheydo,”hesaid.“Istartedrealiz-
ingthiscouldbea goodfundraisingtool.”
Althoughostensiblya fringeartfestival,BurningManis
aboutsexandrecreationaldrugsfora largenumberoffestival-
goers.(Noris thefestivalreallyfringeanymore.Tickets,$425
eachplus$100forparking,soldoutwithinminuteswhenthey
wentonsaleinApril.)Onceontheplaya,Burnerstendto
spendhoursdiscussingthehighthey’reon,orhavebeenon,
orplantobeon.Doblin,however,typicallydoesn’tindulge
inpsychedelicswhenhe’sonfestivalgrounds.BurningMan
isoneofhismostimportantworkweeksoftheyear,a rare
gatheringofsuperrichdrugenthusiasts.Sohestayssharp,
hopingtorecruitnewMAPSdonorsandschmoozeoldones.
TheyincludeseveralearlyFacebookInc.employees,aswell
asAndrewMason(co-founderofGroupon),BrittSelvitelle(a
formerseniorTwitterexecutive),andCyanBanister(apart-
neratPeterThiel’sFoundersFund).
ThecurrentdestinationformostofthemoneyMAPSraises
is drugtrialsinvolvingMDMA,whichis nowcolloquiallycalled
mollyorecstasyandwasknownasAdamwhenDoblintook
it forthefirsttimein1982.Hewaswithhisgirlfriend,having
justreturnedfromtheEsalenInstituteinBigSur,Calif.,as
partofa self-directedundergraduateprojectatNewCollege
ofFlorida,thefamouslychillinstitutionofhigherlearning.“I
wasjustshockedathowprofoundit was,howdeepit was,”
Doblinsays.Comparedwithclassicpsychedelics,whichhad
beenquietlyusedbysometherapistsfordecades,“itwaseas-
iertointegrateandtolearnfromit.”Shortlyafterward,when
helpinga friend’sgirlfriendworkthrougha traumaticexperi-
encewiththehelpofMDMA,Doblinsawitspotentialtotreat
PTSD.ThatledtohisunsuccessfulDEAchallengeandthe
foundingofMAPS.Alongthewayhealsoearneda doctorate
inpublicpolicyfromHarvardKennedySchool.
AlthoughDoblinendorsestheuseofotherpsychedelics
andmarijuana,he’sespeciallyenthusiasticaboutthethera-
peuticpotentialofMDMA.UnlikemushroomsandLSD,which
thegovernmentmadeillegalduringthehippieheyday,MDMA
carrieslittlecounterculturalbaggageandwasoutlawedinthe
U.S.onlyin 1985 amidtheReagan-eradrugpanic.In 1994 and
1995,Doblinhelpedfunda smallMDMAPhaseI drugtrialat
theUniversityofCaliforniaatLosAngeles.(PhaseI trialseval-
uatethesafetybutnottheefficacyofa proposedtherapyin
humans.)Afterthatstudyandseveralothersshowedit wassafe,
MAPSstartedPhaseII studiesin 2000 toaskwhetherthedrug
actuallyworkedtotreatPTSD.Ina seriesofsixsmallMAPS-
fundedstudies,subjectssufferingfromPTSDtookecstasyand
underwenttraditionaltalktherapy.AnanalysisofallsixPhaseII
trialspublishedinMayfoundthatmorethanhalfofpartici-
pantswhoreceivedMDMAnolongermetthediagnosticcri-
teriaforPTSD.(Inthecontrolgroup,abouta quartersawthe
sameresult.)
BythetimethePhaseII studiesstarted,Doblin’scircleof
supportersincludedAshawnaHailey,theco-founderofMeta
Software.WhenHaileydiedin2011,sheleftMAPS$5.5million,
itssinglebiggestdonationtodate.ThewindfallfocusedDoblin.
“Hehadbeensayingforyears,‘Weareaboutfiveyearsand
$10million away from having the FDA legalize MDMA,’ ” says
John Gilmore, an early Sun Microsystems Inc. employee who
co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a free-speech
nonprofit, and who’s served on the MAPS board since 2001.The BURNING MAN Cure