Roland Griffiths
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Roland Redmond Griffiths (July 19, 1946 – October 16, 2023) was an American psychopharmacologist. At Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he was professor of neuroscience, psychiatry, and behavioral science, and he was the director of the Center for
Psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
and Consciousness Research.


Life and career

Griffiths was born in
Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...
, on July 19, 1946. His mother was a homemaker, and his father, a psychologist, became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley; Griffiths grew up in El Cerrito, California. He earned his undergraduate degree from
Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
and his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Minnesota in psychopharmacology, in 1972. After completing his doctorate, Griffiths joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University. In 1994, he published research demonstrating the addictive nature of caffeine as well as its
withdrawal syndrome Drug withdrawal, drug withdrawal syndrome, or substance withdrawal syndrome, is the group of symptoms that occur upon the abrupt discontinuation or decrease in the intake of pharmaceutical or recreational drugs. In order for the symptoms of wit ...
. Griffiths began studying
psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...
s in 1999. His 2006 paper " Psilocybin Can Occasion Mystical-Type Experiences Having Substantial and Sustained Personal Meaning and Spiritual Significance", "caused a media ruckus", according to '' The New York Times'', for its documentation of the "revelatory and spiritually meaningful" experiences of individuals who were given psilocybin. His work in the field is credited with helping revive interest in clinical research into psychedelic drugs as a potential treatment for addiction, major depressive disorder, and
anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal function are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physi ...
s. In 2024, former colleague Matthew Johnson publicly criticized the soundness of the research in Griffiths' lab.


Personal life

Griffiths' 1973 marriage to Kristin Ann Johnson, and later to Diana Hansen, both ended in divorce. At the time of his death, he was married to Marla Weiner. He had three children. In 2021, Griffiths was diagnosed with metastatic
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. He died at his home in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
on October 16, 2023, at the age of 77.


References


Further reading

* Scharper, Julie (Fall 2017).
Crash Course in the Nature of the Mind
. ''Johns Hopkins Magazine''. Retrieved February 15, 2020.


External links


Roland R. Griffiths, PhD, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Roland R. Griffiths, PhD at the Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Roland 1946 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American biochemists 21st-century American biochemists American neuroscientists American psychiatrists Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty Occidental College alumni People from El Cerrito, California Psychedelic drug researchers Psychopharmacologists University of Minnesota alumni