10/18/2023
Roland Griffiths, the pioneering scientist who founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research, passed away yesterday at 77.
In an interview earlier this year, the eminent scientist discussed the importance of studying psychedelics and transformative experiences, and why he launched The Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D. Professorship Fund in Psychedelic Research on Secular Spirituality and Well-Being at Johns Hopkins. Here are quotes from the interview:
"If psychedelics are developed uniquely and solely within the medical community, they are not going to be available for as wide a set of applications and to as diverse a population as many would think would be ideal."
"Presently, psychedelics are absolutely the best scientific tool we have for investigating the nature of 'awakening' or transformative experiences."
"My admittedly audacious aspiration was to create an endowment through Johns Hopkins to support a professor and a rigorous empirical psychedelic research program in the service of human flourishing in perpetuity – that is forever!"
Read the full interview: https://www.lucid.news/roland-griffiths-reflects-on-scientific-investigations-of-psychedelic-awakening/
Portrait of Roland Griffiths by Alex Grey.
