Examining the Psychedelic Renaissance Episode 1 – Mark Haden

Our guest for the first episode of the webinar series will be  Mark Haden, Executive Director for MAPS Canada. Mark will be discussing MAPS Canada’s mission, sharing what is currently going on behind the scenes, and also sharing his reflections on the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Date: Tuesday, May 26th

Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM PST (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EST)

About Mark Haden

Some people wear many hats; Mark Haden has a wardrobe full of them. As an academic and UBC professor, he has published several papers proposing reclassification of psychedelic medicines, as a counselor he has 28 years’ experience in addiction services, and as a strong advocate for sensible drug policy he is the Executive Director of MAPS Canada. 

If you have the pleasure to meet Mark, you will immediately recognize the passion and positive energy that pours out of him. Mark has a mission, to legalize psychedelic therapies in Canada. Whether presenting the benefits of psychedelics in front of the Vancouver City Council, lecture halls, conference stages or with Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark is the right person for the job.

Mark started MAPS Canada in a response to the failure of traditional health care providers to responsibility interpret emerging data on novel psychedelic therapies. For 28 years, Mark worked in the addictions field in counselling, supervisory and management positions. Towards the end of his time working with Vancouver Coastal Health, he was confronted with the fact that what was supposed to be an evidence-based organization was not effectively responding to evidence. 

After recognizing the potential for psychedelics to provide transformational treatment options  and witnessing the inability of current healthcare systems to accommodate this potential, Mark set out on a mission to help change drug policy and promote what he felt was right. 

Now, serving as the Executive Director for MAPS Canada, Mark directly contributes to a number of areas within the emerging psychedelic field as MAPS continues to be a world leader in planning, conducting and publishing scientific research supporting the beneficial uses of psychedelic medicines. On top of this, MAPS Canada also plays an educational role within Canadian communities and even plays an active role in commenting on drug policy issues. 

Something that many people do not realize is that MAPS Canada is almost entirely composed of volunteers. This volunteer team is divided into committees which serve to achieve different goals in areas such as fundraising, running social events, promoting diversity, pushing forward changes in drug policy and creating blog entries like the one you are currently reading.

You can learn more about Mark Haden here.

Tickets

As the first webinar in the series, Mark Haden’s episode will be free of charge. To make the rest of the webinar series affordable, the organization has priced the entire series at an affordable $111 for the 14 episodes. Single episodes are available for $22 each, with discounted rates for students, seniors and those affected by COVID-19. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mapscanada.org/webinar

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