Rick Strassman is an American psychiatrist, researcher, and author best known for his clinical research into the effects of the psychedelic compound N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Born on February 8, 1952, he conducted extensive government-sanctioned studies in the early 1990s at the University of New Mexico. These studies were among the first new human research with psychedelic drugs in the United States after a decades-long clinical hiatus due to regulatory restrictions. Strassman's work explores the potential medical and therapeutic benefits of psychedelic substances, contributing to the resurgence of interest in psychedelic research. He is widely acknowledged for his book "DMT: The Spirit Molecule," in which he discusses his research on DMT, theorizing that it could be linked to near-death experiences, alien abduction experiences, and other mystical states. His work has had a significant impact on the field of psychedelic science and the cultural understanding of psychedelic experiences.