[1] 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 and Consciousness Research.

[4] He earned his undergraduate degree from Occidental College and his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Minnesota in psychopharmacology, in 1972.

[4] His 2006 paper "Psilocybin Can Occasion Mystical-Type Experiences Having Substantial and Sustained Personal Meaning and Spiritual Significance",[6] "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.

[1][7] In 2024, former colleague Matthew Johnson publicly criticized the soundness of the research in Griffiths' lab.

[8] Griffiths' 1973 marriage to Kristin Ann Johnson, and later to Diana Hansen, both ended in divorce.