Heffter Research Institute
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| Founded | 1993 |
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| Type | 501(c)(3) Non-Profit |
| Focus | Scientific research with psychedelic drugs |
| Website | Heffter Research Institute website |
The Heffter Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes research with classic hallucinogens and psychedelics, predominantly psilocybin, to contribute to a greater understanding of the mind and to alleviate suffering. Founded in 1993 as a virtual institute, Heffter primarily funds academic and clinical scientists and made more than $3.1 million in grants between 2011 and 2014. Heffter’s recent clinical studies have focused on psilocybin-assisted treatment for end-of-life anxiety and depression in cancer patients, as well as alcohol and nicotine addiction.
Arthur Heffter was a German chemist/pharmacologist/physician who first isolated pure Mescaline from the peyote cactus in the late 1890s. He also proved that mescaline was the alkaloid in the cactus that is responsible for its psychoactive properties. This was the first psychedelic compound to be isolated and identified from its natural source, making Dr. Heffter the first scientist to study a pure psychedelic drug. Heffter’s elucidation of the mescaline structure allowed it to be prepared by laboratory synthesis in 1919 by Ernst Späth, thus making it available to the wider scientific community.
The Institute was founded in 1993 by David E. Nichols. Co-founders included Mark Geyer, Ph.D., George Greer, M.D., Charles Grob, M.D. and Dennis McKenna, Ph.D.
At the time, psychedelic research had been dormant for approximately 20 years and was not eligible to receive government funding, necessitating private funding to restart the field. The Institute was created to secure the private funding and to evaluate research projects for their scientific merit. The Institute was incorporated as a non-profit organization in New Mexico, and received its 501(c)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service in 1994.
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