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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This Week in Psychedelics - 11.23.18

Cannabis

• Massachusetts mayor first in line as recreational marijuana sales begin (CBS News)

• Federal Marijuana Action Is An ‘Inevitability,’ Trump FDA Chief Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Joe Kennedy III calls for legalizing marijuana at the federal level (The Hill)

• Here’s When Michigan’s Marijuana Legalization Law Goes Into Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• US Senate: Leading Marijuana Prohibitionist Out As Senate Judiciary Chair (NORML)

• Two New Studies Reveal How Marijuana Can Treat Different Kinds Of Pain (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed and Pregnancy: How Cannabis Laws Are Hurting Mothers (Rolling Stone)

• Hemp Will Be A Top 10 Product In 2019, Whole Foods Predicts (Marijuana Moment)

• The 'Hypocritical' Loophole in New York's Pledge to Stop Prosecuting Marijuana (The Appeal)

• Canada’s Grand Cannabis Experiment Has Set Scientists Free (The New York Times)

• Missouri’s Largest County Stops Prosecuting Marijuana Possession (NORML)

• Here's how N.J. is likely to legalize marijuana under new bill just unveiled by top Democrats (NJ.com)

• Feds To Discuss Drug Testing Programs In Era Of Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Antigua and Barbuda Set to Pass Inclusive Cannabis Regulation Law (Talking Drugs)

• Artisanal Edible Cannabis Honey Causes A Buzz (Forbes)

• Go Ahead and Pack Your Weed This Thanksgiving—the TSA Probably Won't Find It (Reason)

• FGCU to offer cannabis studies program 2019 (Wink News)

• 'Blow themselves up:' Police worried about butane hash oil extractions at home (The Daily Courier)

• Ontario Cannabis Store aware of mouldy products shipped to customers (Daily Hive)

• How Canada marijuana legalization impacts on Latin American drug policy? (openDemocracy)

• New Poll Says Cannabis Prohibition Doesn't Work And Americans Don't Want It To (Civilized)

• Three Incoming House Committee Chairs Call For Marijuana Reform In Next Congress (Marijuana Moment)

• Teens are trying marijuana before alcohol and tobacco (The Verge)

• South Africa Cannabis Ruling Leads to Pot-Themed Products (Voice of America)

• Totally Unchill NASA Orders SpaceX Safety Probe Because Elon Musk Legally Smoked Weed (Reason)

• What's the deal with cannabis capsules? (The GrowthOp)

• Do We Need Roadside Marijuana Tests? (The Crime Report)

• Hope for cannabis as treatment for opioid addiction (The Conversation)

• Greece eyes pot of gold as medicinal cannabis licensed (Reuters)

• 6 Ways American Colonists Used Cannabis (Civilized)

• How medical marijuana made me a better mom (The Washington Post)

• ‘Outliers’ Author Malcolm Gladwell Is Himself An Outlier On Marijuana Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• How Much Weed Should Someone Try If It's Their First Time? (WIRED)

• Legalizing Marijuana Is One Of New Connecticut Governor’s ‘Priorities’ (Marijuana Moment)

• What You Need To Know About Microdosing Cannabis, The New Wellness Trend (Psychedelics Daily)

LSD

• 'Open-minded, immersive and fun': a review of 'All You need is LSD' (The Boar)

• News Focus - Dangers of LSD consumption among children (ANTARA News)

• Yale, Zurich scientists find why LSD makes people trip (Psychedelics Daily)

• REVEALED: The eerie conspiracy that connects JFK, Charles Manson and Britney Spears (Daily Star)

• To avoid a bad trip, be prepared before trying LSD (Psychedelics Daily)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• High Dose of Psilocybin in a HIV+ Homeless Shelter (Chacruna)

• Denver, Colorado Might Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms As Soon As May 2019 (IVN.us)

• The FDA Has Acknowledged Psilocybin As A Potential Treatment For Depression (Psychedelics Daily)

• Psychedelic healing: could magic mushrooms help reboot the brain? (Science Focus)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• People on love drug MDMA still know who to trust (ResearchGate)

• MDMA is now proven to help those with trauma – so let’s decriminalise it and put it back in the medicine cabinet (The Independent)

• ‘It can rewire people’s brains’: how traumatised veterans turned to underground MDMA therapy (The Guardian)

• Horrfying moment mother ‘high on ecstasy’ drops her baby and cracks his skull (Metro)

• Boy, 16, died after taking ecstasy when pal’s mum didn’t call his parents in case they got into trouble (The Sun)

• What is MDMA and why have there been so many deaths in the West Country? (ITV News)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Controversial hallucinogenic drug use explored in 'Kentucky Ayahuasca,' TV series (Lexington Herald Leader)

• Everything You Need to Know about Choosing an Ayahuasca Retreat (Kahpi)

• Welcome to the jungle: experiencing the Amazon in psychedelic virtual reality (The Guardian)

• A Punch In The Soul: HighExistence Founder Jordan Lejuwaan’s First Ayahuasca Journey (HighExistence)

• What ayahuasca — Silicon Valleys latest drug of choice — does to your brain and body (Psychedelics Daily)

• DMT: Learning Science from our Ancestors (in-Training)

• Ayahuasca Research Boosts Brazilian Psychedelic Science (Psychedelics Daily)

• What Ayahuasca Is, and What You Should Know About It (Psychedelics Daily)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Ibogaine: One Mans Journey To Mexico For Psychedelic Addiction Treatment (Psychedelics Daily)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• 'Legal highs': Street dealers now main source of supply after ban (BBC)

Opiates/Opioids

• The Radical New Fentanyl Trend That Could Save Lives and Screw Dealers (VICE)

• Sackler family members face mass litigation and criminal investigations over opioids crisis (The Guardian)

• UN: Afghan Opium Cultivation Down 20 Percent (Voice of America)

• AMA Decries the Impact of the CDC's Opioid Guidelines on Pain Treatment (Reason)

• Multiple vials of naloxone now required to resuscitate Metro Vancouver opioid users (Standard-Freeholder)

• Understanding Naloxone Standing Orders Is Vital (Pharmacy Times)

• Saving your child from an opioid overdose (CBS News)

• Opioid Series: 'Naloxone saved my life' (ABC 4)

• Naloxone: The life-saving drug more Americans Need (CBS News)

Cocaine

• Mental health hospital admissions linked to cocaine use treble in 10 years (The Guardian)

• Mother at large after 2-year-old daughter ingests cocaine (KPRC)

Kratom

• Scientists Identify the Lethal Dose of Kratom's Active Ingredients (Inverse)

• Converting Animal Doses to Human Doses (Kratom) (Medium)

• Federal Authorities Tight-Lipped on When Kratom’s Future Will Be Revealed (Inverse)

• Is FDA ‘Shadow Ban’ Causing Kratom Shortages? (Pain News Network)

• American Kratom Association Announces Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Standards for Vendors (PR Newswire)

• Kratom Erowid – Which Types of Kratom Information You Will See On This Website? (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom: The leafy green plant that could help with opiate withdrawals (KFMB)

• Green Bali Kratom: Effects, Dosage, And User Reviews (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Grant awarded to further study effects of kava (Radio New Zealand)

• Pacific countries to promote kava as food product (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Little-known banned drug is becoming worryingly popular in Liverpool (Liverpool Echo)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Take Part in the World's Biggest Anonymous Drugs Survey (VICE)

• A Brief History of Swedish Psychedelia (The Oak Tree Review)

• I Survived Sexual Abuse In The Amazon And Victim Blame At Home (Psymposia)

• Let’s Talk About Compass And Psychedelic Capitalism: Interview with Rick Doblin (Psychedelic Times)

• A Brief History of Psychedelics in the Western World (Psychedelics Today)

• A Vermont needle exchange isn’t just giving out syringes. It’s offering treatment on the spot. (Vox)

• El Chapo Witness Details Brutal Drug War Murders (The New York Times)

• Denver City Council will OK supervised drug use to save people from overdosing (Denverite)

• Drugs and alcohol complicate sexual consent, but context can make things clearer (The Conversation)

• Radical Risk Reduction For Event And Community Organizers (Chacruna)

• Opioids Are In the Spotlight. But Meth Hospitalizations Are Surging (TIME)

• Time’s Up For “Silencing” Tactics (Psymposia)

• Joe Biden’s Ideal Drug War (Drug WarRant)

• Harm reduction is the right way to treat drug abuse (The Economist)

• How 'fixing rooms' are saving the lives of drug addicts (The Guardian)

• We need harm reduction drug education, not drug prevention education (AOD MEDIA WATCH)

• Exploring Consciousness with Psychedelics (Psychedelics Daily)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.25.18

Cannabis

• New York Democratic Party Endorses Legalizing Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
• Greens call for national approach for drug law reform as NT reconsiders cannabis penalties (GreensMPs)
• EXCLUSIVE: De Blasio to tell NYPD to stop arresting New Yorkers for smoking pot in public (New York Daily News)
• Cannabis used to grow wild in Europe but went extinct before first farmers arrived, research finds (The Independent)
• Bill On Trump’s Desk Would Allow Marijuana (And Maybe MDMA) For Some Patients (Marijuana Moment)
• New Study: Marijuana Leads to “Complete Remission” of Crohn’s Disease with No Side Effects (USA Health Times)
• Cannabis: It matters how young you start (Science Daily)
• Africa's first medical cannabis dispensary opens in Durban (Al Jazeera)
• DEA Report: Marijuana Seizures Fell Nearly 40 Percent in 2017 (NORML)
• Federal Prosecutors Pledge to Crack Down On Oregon’s Glut of Cannabis Leaking Across State Lines (Willamette Week)
• Denver’s marijuana tax money being used to fund local projects (KDVR)
• State urges Florida Supreme Court to stay out of 'homegrown' medical marijuana case (Orlando Weekly)
• Why anti-marijuana group wants Michigan to legalize weed (Detroit Free Press)
• Cannabis Industry Delivers 100,000+ Jobs And Billions In Tax Revenue (Forbes)
• How My Cannabis Prescription Made Me Realize That Weed Should Be Decriminalized (The Intercept)
• Arizona: Supreme Court Affirms That Lawmakers Cannot Ban Medical Cannabis Access on College Campuses (NORML)
• Senator Jeff Merkley Cosponsors The Marijuana Justice Act (NORML)
• With State Senate Bid, Cannabis Pro Leaps Into Politics (Leafly)
• UK missing out on cannabis industry 'green rush' worth billions because of outdated policies, say experts (The Independent)
• It's high time to change the law: Northern Territory set to allow the growing and smoking of marijuana (Daily Mail)
• Cannabis Consumers Want Hollywood To Abandon Marijuana Stereotypes (Forbes)
• Government looking at how to best source 'quality' medical cannabis for new access programme (The Journal)
• Part 3, Is Cannabis Better for Chronic Pain Than Opioids? (Leafly)
• Massachusetts To Study Race, Gender Disparities in Cannabis Industry (High Times)
• Why Kiss Rocker Gene Simmons Took $2.5 Million to Promote Cannabis (TheStreet)
• Cannabis ban is death sentence for my epileptic son (The Times)
• ‘Sustainability Is Not Enough’: Why Cannabis Farmers Should Look to Regenerative Agriculture (Leafly)
• Money Grows On Weed (The Worldly Magazine)
• Checking In, Not Checking Out: Cannabis-Assisted Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Support)
• Five facts you didn’t know about the cannabis industry (CNBC)
• Former politician, high school teacher among those trying to make it in legal cannabis (The Star)
• Home labs for extracting cannabis concentrates seen as emerging public safety threat (Press Herald)
• Author Tao Lin Goes on a "Trip," Discusses How Cannabis Saved His Life (MERRY JANE)
• Cannabis edibles being popped among Sydneysiders as concerns grow over their use (News.com.au)
• Nurturing cannabis (Chemical & Engineering News)

LSD

• Security Troops on US Nuclear Missile Base Took LSD (Bloomberg)
• The bizarre true story of when the UK military tested LSD on Royal Marines (The Independent)
• Watch the Virtual Reality Recreation of the LSD Trip That Inspired the Whole Earth Catalog (TIME)
• The Loop Trip: How Two Kids on Acid Stumbled on the Theory of Everything (Psychedelic Frontier)
• Victims of alleged LSD brainwashing experiments in Montreal plan to file lawsuit (CTV News)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic mushroom treatment improves emotional face recognition in depressed patients (PsyPost)
• Magic Mushrooms Could Help Treatment-Resistant Depression (The Fresh Toast)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Middle-class people are taking MDMA wrapped in cheese in a new trend called 'brieing' (Business Insider)
• What a viral story about mums, MDMA, and brie teaches us about fake news (ShortList)
• Man on five-day ecstasy binge was caught filling hotel bath with potatoes (Mixmag)
• People Told Us the Cringe-Worthy Stuff They've Done on Ecstasy (VICE)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• 150 Years into the opioid epidemic, many are resorting to ibogaine treatment (The Jerusalem Post)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Eliminated Pain in Patient with Fibromyalgia and RA, Case Study Says (Fibromyalgia News Today)
• Doctor under 'commercial pressure' to prescribe ketamine (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Katie Hopkins wins complaint against Mirror for ketamine headline (The Guardian)

Opiates/Opioids

• America's 150-Year Opioid Epidemic (The New York Times)
• Opioid Crisis: What People Don't Know About Heroin (Rolling Stone)
• The Deadly Opioid Fentanyl Has Made Its Way Into Street Drugs Like Cocaine, Meth and MDMA (Hornet)
• How fentanyl could alter global drug policy (The Washington Post)
• Opioid Crisis Compels New York to Look North for Answers (The New York Times)
• Record-high opium production in Afghanistan creates multiple challenges for region and beyond, UN warns (UN News)
• Surgeon general urges ER docs to advocate for evidence-based opioid treatment (Modern Healthcare)

Kratom

• FDA Issues Warning Letters To Kratom Companies For Deceptive Medical Claims (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom Legality 2018: What Is The Legal Status of Kratom In The US? (Kratom Guides)
• A mysterious 'pain-relief' supplement has been linked to salmonella in 41 states (Business Insider)
• Impressive Health Benefits Of Kratom (The Future of Things)
• What New Research Tells Us About Kratom Benefits & Risks? (Kratom Guides)
• Kratom distributed in NC recalled over salmonella fears (WTVD)
• Mother suing Florida gas station that sold her son kratom pills that led to his death (KFDI)

Kava

• Vanuatu govt bill seeks to protect kava from outsiders (Radio New Zealand)
• Vanuatu destroys $US54k worth of non-noble kava (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The Spiritual Value of a Bad Trip: A Conversation with Richard Haight (Psychedelic Times)
• What is Microdosing? (The Third Wave)
• Evidence supports more pill testing (The Age)
• How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics by Michael Pollan – review (The Guardian)
• Changing the conversation to make drug use safer (The Lancet)
• On Psychedelics: The Organic vs. Synthetic Fallacy (Adventures Through the Mind)
• Visionary Plant Medicine Integration: Interview with Dr. Katherine Coder Pt. 2 (Psychedelic Times)
• Why psychedelic drugs could transform how we treat depression and mental illness (Vox)
• The Two Things Psychedelics Do to Most People With Depression (Tonic)
• Opening Pandora's Box: Tips for Navigating a Psychedelic Future with Richard Haight (Psychedelic Times)
• Minor drug users 'should not be charged' (BBC)
• Dependence on a War on Drugs (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
• Potentiating Psychedelics (Psychedelic Heaven)
• Meet the drug-sniffing dog that parents hire to snoop on their kids (Rooster)
• Drugs policing: Federation spokesman calls for policy rethink (BBC)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 12.1.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Canada: House Members Overwhelmingly Pass Adult Use Regulation Bill (NORML)
• The Swiss cannabis farm aiming to supply 'legal weed' across Europe (The Guardian)
• How Does Cannabis Help PTSD Patients? (High Times)
• New Mexico Study Suggests Medical Cannabis Helps Chronic Pain Patients Reduce Opioid Use (Reason)
• Bipartisan Letter To Congressional Leadership Urges Continued Protections For Medical Marijuana Programs (NORML)
• Inside Paraguay's illegal cannabis plantations (Al Jazeera)
• NIDA Study Finds Underage Cannabis Use Alters Brain Connectivity (Leafly)
• Study Explores Chemical Links Of Cannabis, Exercise, And Sexual Bliss (Forbes)
• Marijuana Can Replace Sleeping Pills (ATTN:)
• Supporters Turn in Petition to Legalize Cannabis in North Dakota (Leafly)
• Cannabis Crunch – Marijuana Tops Conflict Minerals, Florida Ignoring MMJ Law, And We Need More Weed Scientists (Psychedelic Times)
• State Courts Say Early-Morning Pot Raids Were Gratuitous and Illegal (Reason)
• If You Fear Having a Panic Attack From Smoking Weed, Read This Before Lighting Up (POPSUGAR)
• Cannabis could be a boost for state farmers (The Virginia Gazette)
• Sacramento to Consider Greenlighting Jan. 1 Cannabis Sales (Leafly)
• Octavia Wellness Launches "Healing without the High" Cannabis Starter Kit Tailored for Seniors (GlobeNewsWire)
• PBS Travel Host Urges Illinois to Legalize Cannabis (Leafly)
• Rick Steves Testifies In Illinois In Support Of Legalization (NORML)
• Two New Import Deals Hurry Medical Cannabis Into Australia (Leafly)
• Setting The Record Straight (NORML)
• Proposed Tax Amendments Would Benefit Cannabis Industry (Leafly)
• Hawaii, Which Registers Guns and Medical Marijuana Users, Starts Disarming Patients (Reason)
• Here's Why VR and Cannabis Are a Match Made in Heaven (Leafly)
• Medicinal cannabis: Health Minister signs licence for Ava Barry (BBC)
• Cannabis plants destroyed (The Hindu)

LSD

• Could LSD Be the Right Prescription for the Terminally Ill? (The Daily Beast)
• Why It Feels Like You Can Communicate with Nature on LSD (VICE)
• LSD modulates effective connectivity and neural adaptation mechanisms in an auditory oddball paradigm (ScienceDirect)
• Applying to Law School on LSD (Psymposia)
• 'It isn't for everyone and I respect that': Byron Bay hipster Mitch Gobel triggers drug debate on social media after comparing 'freedom' to 'LSD' (Daily Mail)
• NEW: Judge approves hiring expert to determine LSD's role in stabbing death of Leah Marie Adams (The Winchester Star)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Could These Magic Mushrooms Help Improve Our Political Climate? (The Alternative Daily)
• After marijuana, are magic mushrooms next to be decriminalised in California? (The Guardian)
• US Mayoral Runner-Up Says Magic Mushrooms Can Help Deal With 'Trump, Brexit' (Sputnik News)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• New figures show steadily increasing use of cocaine in Auckland, spike in MDMA usage (New Zealand Herald)
• Killer ecstasy pill warning: These car-themed 'turbo' drugs contain DEADLY MDMA levels (Daily Star)
• Son of former Chilworth council leader dies of ecstasy overdose (Daily Echo)
• Lad, 24, found dead in bed by his mum after taking two MDMA tablets at party (The Scottish Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Brazil is giving prisoners ayahuasca as part of their rehab (Salon)
• What Is Ayahuasca? Psychedelic Drug Used by Ancient Religions Is Trendy but Could Have Serious Benefits (Newsweek)
• Ayahuasca Helped Me Get Over My Divorce (Tonic)
• Amazon Jungle Drug Could Be Potential Treatment for Depression (Healthline)
• The day I drank ayahuasca, the illegal brew (The Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• 'Legal highs' posing a big challenge to Bengaluru's NCB sleuths (Deccan Chronicle)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine effective as migraine treatment (Healio)
• Intranasal Ketamine or Fentanyl for Children: Similar Analgesia, Disproportionate Side Effects (Anesthesiology News)
• Entertainment Outlets Busted For Serving Ketamine-Drug Flavoured Ice Tea Drinks (Malaysian Digest)
• 'Party drug' may be a lifesaver to many (Boston Herald)
• Suspect in fatal Springfield fire was naked, high on PCP and claimed 'she was god', arrest report says (MassLive)

Opiates/Opioids

• This Country Could Soon Legalize Cannabis And Opium (High Times)
• U.S. strikes on Taliban opium labs won't work, say Afghan farmers (Reuters)
• Bring Back the Opium Den, Say Drug Campaigners (Gizmodo)
• The Justice Department's New Opioid 'Tools' Are All About Escalating the Drug War (Reason)
• Management of Suspected Opioid Overdose With Naloxone in Out-of-Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review (Annals of Internal Medicine)

Kratom

• Reader: Big Pharma Would Lose Billions If People Knew the Truth About Kratom (Westword)
• National Expert: No Cases Show Deaths Solely From Coffee-Like Herb Kratom, Which Should Be Handled No Differently Than Other Substances (PR Newswire)
• Can Kratom Be Patented? (Pain News Network)
• Oregon's Public Health Officer Says Kratom Buyers Beware (OPB News)
• If Kratom Sales Are Banned, Advocate Says, Users May Go Back to Heroin (Westword)
• Locals react to FDA advisory citing kratom dangers (WTSP)
• Kratom sales continue despite FDA report on dangers (KOIN)

Kava

• Kraving Kava? Carrboro's first kava bar provides a relaxing experience (The Daily Tar Heel)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• What It's Like to Smoke the World's Strongest Psychedelic Toad Venom (VICE)
• Drug Checking – How People Use It And What Do They Learn (VolteFace)
• Scientists Have Built a 'Hallucination Machine' For a Drug-Free Brain Trip (ScienceAlert)
• How Should Plant Medicines Be Regulated? (Chacruna)
• Transformational Tripping (High Times)
• The Psychedelic Gospels: Interview with Jerry Brown, Ph.D. (Psychedelic Times)
• Science Says: Psychedelic Users Less Likely To Commit Violent Crimes (Dance Music Northwest)
• Can psychedelics help cancer survivors shake death anxiety? (Salon)
• How Zendo Training Taught Me To Calm Freaked-Out Festival Fans (Leafly)
• How a little bit of drugs can make your boss a better boss (TNW)
• Drug Overdoses Claimed More American Lives Than the Vietnam War (ATTN:)
• Can Psychedelics Make Us More Content? (Big Think)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychedelics - 11.3.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Stanford Study Confirms Cannabis Users Have More Sex (Leafly)
• Trump's Commission Denies Evidence That Cannabis Can Mitigate Opioid Abuse (NORML)
• Domestic Hemp Production More Than Doubles In Past Year (NORML)
• Congressional Lawmakers Demand The VA Study Medical Marijuana (NORML)
• Federal Prohibition Left California Cannabis Farmers Without Insurance or Banks When Wildfires Struck (Reason)
• Virginia State Crime Commission Holds Hearing On Decriminalization (NORML)
• 'Corona, Lime, & Cannabis, Please': Big Brewer Enters Marijuana Biz (Leafly)
• Dazed and Confused: Regulations Remain Hazy as California Looks to Legalize Marijuana Sales (TIME)
• State Colleges Now Teaching Cannabis, and Harvard Is Playing Catch-Up (Leafly)
• Ontario's 'Cannabis Act, 2017': Provincial Control, Million-Dollar Penalties (Leafly)
• American Legion: One in Five Veterans Use Marijuana To Alleviate A Medical Or Physical Condition (NORML)
• Washington's Cannabis-Tracking Snafu Could Disrupt Sales (Leafly)
• Finding the 'Green Zone': How Specialty Realtors Are Cashing in on Cannabis (Leafly)
• Another cultural tipping point? Cannabis ads appear in TSA checkpoint trays at Ontario airport (Los Angeles Times)
• Using cannabis in place of anxiety meds (The Leaf Online)
• Is Obama Back on the Cannabis Train? We're Skeptical (Leafly)
• Cannabis Crunch – Majority of Republicans Support Pot and Sessions Can't Comment on Crackdown (Psychedelic Times)
• 6 Ways to Save Money by Making Your Cannabis Last Longer (Leafly)
• Basic Cannabis Growing Setups for Cultivators With Tight Budgets (Leafly)
• Can cannabis help you get in shape? (The Orange County Register)
• Pot Doesn't Cure Cancer and Stop Saying It Does, FDA Says (NBC)
• Medicinal cannabis not miracle epilepsy drug, says professor treating Victorian children (Herald Sun)

LSD

• Acid Trip: Denver's Underground LSD Labs Fueled the Psychedelic Revolution (Westword)
• Bootsy Collins: 'LSD was a big part of why I left James Brown's band' (The Guardian)
• Flashback to the 'Acid Test Graduation' 51 years ago (SFGate)
• Give Us This Day Our Daily Dose: Ergot, LSD and the Israelites (Reality Sandwich)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Legalizing Magic Mushrooms Could Save California Taxpayers Millions of Dollars (L.A. Weekly)
• Psilocybin Decreases Depressive Symptoms in Treatment-Resistant Patients (MD Magazine)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• What is pink champagne, is the MDMA party drug illegal and what are its side effects? (The Sun)
• Ecstasy warning after boy dies following Halloween rave in Wales (The Guardian)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• In Mid-Life, The Wonderful Non-Deliverance of Ayahuasca (Literary Hub)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• He pitched investors on a 'miracle cure' in the Bahamas. Now he faces felony charges. (Miami Herald)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Police investigating whether new designer hallucinogen has hit Winnipeg streets (Winnipeg Free Press)

Dissociatives

• Migraine pain could be eased with ketamine, study finds (American Pharmacists Association)
• Ketamine offers option for people suffering from severe depression (FOX31 Denver)
• Ketamine Infusions for Depression: Beware Pop-Up (Private?) Clinics (HuffPost)
• Lufkin PD: Man who crashed into parked vehicles at body shop was high on PCP (KTRE)

Opiates/Opioids

• Naloxone reverses 93% of overdoses, but many recipients don't survive a year (CNN)
• Trump's Weak Response to Opioid Overdoses (Reason)
• One in 10 Opioid Overdosers Treated With Naloxone Die (Medscape)
• DEA to establish team to fight heroin, fentanyl (The Register-Herald)
• Opioids Haven't Solved Chronic Pain. Maybe Virtual Reality Can (Wired)
• 'The Drug of Fighters.' Police Seize 24 Million Opioid Tablets Linked to ISIS (TIME)
• China is using fentanyl in a chemical war against America (The Bellingham Herald)
• Uruzgan women still give kids opium to silence them (Pajhwok Afghan News)
• Opioid Commission Mistakenly Blames Pain Treatment for Drug Deaths (Reason)
• What Doctors Facing the Opioid Crisis Need Next (TIME)
• In a New Jersey city ravaged by heroin, a needle exchange stalls (The Denver Post)

Kratom

• Withdrawing Off Of Opioids Using Kratom: Read This Guide (Kratom Guides)
• The Fight to Keep Kratom Legal: Interview With an Industry Leader & Latest News (Heavy)
• Can kratom plant help fix opioid crisis? (KSAT)
• The Kratom Controversy: Herbal supplement or dangerous drug? (WBIR)

Kava

• Will kava be the cannabis of 2018? (Stockhead)
• How To Use Kava Kava For Anxiety And Panic Attacks? (Kratom Guides)
• Does Kava Kava Help With Kratom Withdrawal? (Kratom Guides)

Khat

• Feature: Yemen's unpaid teachers become Khat sellers (Xinhua)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• International Drug Policy Reform Conference Brings Harm Reduction into Spotlight (Psymposia)
• Psychedelic Drugs Appear to Make People Less Likely to Commit Crimes (Science Alert)
• Enlisting Marijuana and MDMA to Fight PTSD (Reason)
• Psychedelics and Drug Addiction (Brain Blogger)
• Psychedelics Are Making a Comeback Through Microdosing (Westword)
• Mainstreaming "Psychedelic Medicine" (Rick Strassman MD)
• The Day the Grateful Dead, Timothy Leary and LSD Turned On City Park (Westword)
• Smart drugs for stupid people? An argument against the liberal use of pharmacological cognitive enhancers (University College London)
• Spirit trip: an interview with a psychedelic monk (Political Critique)
• Your Brain on Psychedelic Drugs (Psymposia)
• An Arrest Warrant Has Been Issued for Rose McGowan in Connection to Drug Charge (TIME)
• Fear and Loathing on Flatbrush Avenue (Psymposia)

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.