James Bakalar, and Professor Thomas Roberts contributed to the argument that MDMA belonged in Schedule III, a category that would more readily enable future research and permit the continuation of its use in psychotherapy. Despite such efforts, the DEA pursued emergency scheduling in 1985, citing an imminent risk to public health. As MDMA was now deemed illegal, held in the same category as such substances as heroin, the only way for it to be employed in scientific inquiry would be through the lengthy and expensive FDA approval process. Holding the belief that MDMA had the unique potential both to aid psychotherapy and eventually to become a prescription medicine, Rick Doblin sought to gain incorporation for MAPS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization. The founding of MAPS was a primary step toward the future envisioning of what Doblin has called a "nonprofit psychedelic-pharmaceutical company." Chartered in 1986, MAPS has since contributed over 12 million dollars towards the scientific study of psychedelics and cannabis in therapeutic applications. Controversies In 2022, video of MAPS therapists spooning and pinning down a clinical trial participant in a phase 2 trial for MDMA for PTSD emerged as part of the reporting for the Cover Story: Power Trip podcast by New York Magazine and Psymposia. Following treatment, one of the therapists sexually coerced the patient and the patient moved to live with the therapists for two years. In 2019, MAPS had claimed that "Monitoring of study records throughout the course of the trial and afterwards did not indicate signs of ethical violation....The protective measures in place include having two therapy providers in every therapy visit, video recording of all therapy visits, monitoring of study and therapy activities, and clinical supervision. In this case, none of these measures were sufficient." However, in 2022, MAPS spokesperson Betty Aldworth claimed that MAPS staff did not actually view the videos until November 2021, following an interview with Rick Doblin for Cover Story: Power Trip. Projects Since 1986, MAPS has distributed over $20 million to fund psychedelics and medical cannabis research and education. These include: Erowid and MAPS have been collaborating on two large reference database projects since 2001. Erowid has been providing expertise and work developing and coordinating construction of an online MDMA Reference library and MAPS begun working on doing a similar project with the Albert Hofmann Foundation's LSD and Psilocybin Library. Designed a study to examine vaporized