China Enters Magic Mushroom Industry

Psilocybin Technology:

On April 05, 2019, Wuhan General Group, Inc. announced that its subsidiary MJ MedTech, Inc. (MJ MedTech) has created a new division dedicated to exploring opportunities in the psychedelic medicine space. […]

MJ MedTech’s new division, M2BIO aims to develop new therapies that will help patients who suffer from mental illness and ease the burden on healthcare systems globally. Accordingly, M2BIO will be exploring additional indications for psilocybin, with the goal of bringing new therapies to market in the years to come.

Although the psilocybin industry is in its early stages, all signs point to rapid growth in the space.  Recently COMPASS Pathways and CaaMTech have reported significant progress in commercial psilocybin related research and development.  In the United States, Oregon, Iowa, Colorado (Denver), California, and Vermont have made steps towards legalizing or decriminalizing psilocybin.

This space is getting hot.

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Inside an Innovative Study of MDMA Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder

Kiran Sidhu, writing for Filter:

Dr. Ben Sessa, a UK-based psychiatrist, is currently running Britain’s first ever clinical study with MDMA, in Bristol, for people with alcohol use disorder. So far, seven people have completed the course with no relapse.

I’m a huge Ben Sessa fan—can’t wait to see the results from this study.

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Street Cannabis ‘Contains Dangerous Amount of Fecal Matter’

BBC:

Traces of E.coli bacteria and the Aspergillus fungus were found by analysts who examined 90 samples bought in and around the Spanish capital.

The samples of hashish were wrapped up in plastic "acorns" were the worst offenders, reportedly because of the way they are smuggled into the country.

Some 40% of these also had the aroma of faeces, the study's lead author said.

Apparently there’s a two-in-five chance of buying literally shitty weed on the streets of Spain.

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How Psychedelic Virtual Reality Can Help End Society’s Mass Bad Trip

Jenny Valentish, writing for The Guardian:

So tonight there’s the opportunity to try out virtual reality and augmented reality experiences that go beyond recreational use – there’s no diving with sharks or rollercoaster rides here. But users should strap in tightly anyway: these experiences are designed to expedite a different kind of journey.

Mimicking synesthesia, visual meditation apps leveraging biofeedback, exposure therapy, and a full-blown near-death experience—this is the kind of stuff that makes VR interesting.

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Missouri Man Spikes Coworkers’ Drinks With LSD

Emily Cole, writing for KOLR:

There are plenty of ways to handle a coworker who is getting on your nerves.

One Missouri man had an interesting way of dealing with this every day problem...

He spiked their drinks with LSD. […]

Police say the man told them his coworkers at Enterprise Rent-A-Car had "negative energy," and he wanted them to mellow out. So the 19-year-old put LSD in three people's water bottles and coffee cups.

This is a HUGE no-no. But I must admit that in my younger days, when I first encountered psychedelics, I was a loud-and-proud evangelist for them and genuinely believed that our society would be better off if people were dosed with LSD without their knowledge, just like this young man did to his coworkers.

However, now I understand how important it is to give people the chance to consent before sending them on a psychedelic journey (or any drug experience, for that matter). I firmly believe that no one should ever dose someone with a powerful psychedelic like LSD who is unprepared to go on the voyage.

Dosing other people without their knowledge is just plain fucked up. Don’t do it.

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