Scientists Gave Alligators Ketamine and Headphones to Understand Dinosaur Hearing

Becky Ferreira, writing for Motherboard:

The experiment, described in a paper published Monday in The Journal of Neuroscience, was designed to study the “neural maps”—brain passageways that carry information about soundwaves—that alligators generate to locate noises in their habitats. These maps are vital for many vertebrates, and are especially developed in nocturnal predators such as barn owls because they rely heavily on sound to locate prey.

The focus of the study was a concept called interaural time difference (ITD), which is the gap in arrival time of a sound to each ear. Though this time lag is typically only a few microseconds, it plays a crucial role in helping animals detect where sounds originate.

Last year it was octopuses, this year its alligators.

---

Post Permalink

Top Ten Equity Must-Haves in Any Legalization Bill

Shaleen Title, writing on LinkedIn:

As promised, I am sharing my top ten equity must-haves for any state cannabis legalization bill. I rewrite these every time I give a speech in another state, because every day I learn more and they evolve.

From homegrows and automatic expungement of previous cannabis convictions to establishing diversity and reinvesting a portion of tax revenue into disproportionately harmed communities, these ten must-haves for any state legalization bill are great. Title includes some excellent advice at the end of her piece, too:

Hope you found this helpful. Feel free to use and share with or without attribution. If you're standing up for equity before the law passes, team up with everyone who doesn't want an industry controlled by a handful of corporations. Don't get boxed into outdated pro vs. anti-pot.

By the way if anyone brings up "constitutional concerns" over benefits for disproportionately harmed communities, they're probably using that an excuse to not have to say they don't like equity. Ask for the specific legal concerns in writing and you likely won't hear back.

Social justice advocates being asked to support legalization bills, being promised that equity will come later: you know it won't. Don't underestimate the power you have. After the law passes you'll never have this much power again. Use it. Future generations are counting on you.

---

Post Permalink

In Memory of Ralph Metzner

I was saddened to hear the news of Ralph Metzner’s death last week and wanted to write a dedicatory post about it when the news first broke but was out of town and then came down with an illness, so writing this has taken me longer than I would’ve liked.

Metzner and I never met, but from what I know about him, it seems fair to say that the psychedelic community has lost one of its most beloved pioneers. Here’s just a short list of the things that he accomplished during his life:

• Co-led the early 1960s Harvard University psychedelic research with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass)

• Co-authored The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a guide meant to assist psychonauts with the process of ego death

• Wrote several other influential books

• Helped people heal through his psychotherapy practice

• Co-founded the Green Earth Foundation, a non-profit educational organization devoted to healing and harmonizing the relationship between humans and the planet

Metzner died at the age of 82, and the Earth is a better place today because of his life’s work. Ralph, thank you for your life-long contributions and may you rest in peace.

Alaska Is Officially the First State to License On-Site Marijuana Consumption at Cannabis Stores

Chris Roberts, writing for Marijuana Moment:

Adults 21 and over can buy regulated and taxed cannabis from licensed storefront dispensaries in a growing number of U.S. states—but until Alaska Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer (R) signed new regulations into law on Tuesday, no states had been in the business of issuing permits authorizing on-site consumption.

There are some dispensaries in California that allow cannabis users to consume their purchases on-site in accordance with local policy—nearly all of which are in San Francisco, which permitted such use in the medical marijuana era—and businesses in Denver can apply for permits to allow vaporizing.

But other than that, thus far in the legalization era, a safe place (other than one’s own private home) to sit and consume legally purchased cannabis has been elusive. As in every other state where marijuana is legal, outdoor smoking is illegal. Cannabis consumers in certain rental housing risk fines or eviction for using the legal substance.

Now, licensed retail businesses in Alaska will be able to begin applying for a “special onsite use endorsement” from the state beginning April 11.

It remains to be seen when these cannabis consumption spaces will be open for business, but keep your eyes peeled—it’s expected to happen later this year.

---

Post Permalink

Missouri Police Search for Marijuana in a Stage 4 Cancer Patient's Hospital Room

Tara Law, writing for TIME:

A stage 4 pancreatic cancer patient says he feels his rights have been violated after police search his hospital room for marijuana in a video that has since been viewed more than 500,000 times on Facebook.

In the clip, which was first streamed on Facebook Live on Thursday, a pair of police officers search bags that belong to Nolan Sousley, a patient with pancreatic cancer who was hospitalized in Missouri.

Sousley tells them that all he has are pills containing THC, which he says is to treat his cancer. The officers claim that they have been tipped off that there was a marijuana smell coming from Sousley’s room.

The dude is literally dying from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. A sane society would let him have as much cannabis as he wants and leave him in peace. Instead, these cops tore through his room looking for weed. And to top it all off?:

The officers did not find anything illegal in the room.

Just try to watch the video without your blood starting to boil.

---

Post Permalink