oxycontin

This Week in Psychoactives - 7.19.19

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CANNABIS

  • California Claims the Crown for the Nation’s First Recreational Pot Cafes (MERRY JANE)

  • Australian Researchers Say You Can Treat Cannabis Dependency with... Cannabis? (MERRY JANE)

  • Senate Schedules Hearing On Marijuana Business Banking Access (Forbes)

  • That Alarming CBD Liver Damage Study Is Bunk—And the Media Should Know Better (Leafly)

  • Were Vikings POTHEADS? Archaeologists uncover evidence of cannabis at 1,000-year-old settlement (The Sun)

  • Legalizing Marijuana Leads To Fewer Illegal Grow Sites In National Forests, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Pennsylvania Adds Anxiety as Medical Marijuana Qualifying Condition (MERRY JANE)

  • New Roadside Cannabis Test Approved for Use in Canada (Leafly)

  • Marijuana Legalization Associated With Decreased Interest In Alcohol, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • New Hampshire: Governor Signs Marijuana Annulment Measure (NORML)

  • As More States Legalize, DEA Chops Down Fewer Marijuana Plants, Federal Data Shows (Marijuana Moment)

  • Pot-smoking parents are harsher with discipline: study (New York Post)

  • Marijuana Legalization Could Be On The Horizon For British Virgin Islands (Marijuana Moment)

  • Recent cannabis use tied to memory deficits, slowed mental processing (Reuters)

  • Kamala Harris Evolved Slowly on Legalization, but She’s All About It Now (Leafly)

  • Thousands Of Comments Urge FDA To Allow CBD In Foods And Supplements (Marijuana Moment)

  • Three Republicans Stand in the Way of Federal Weed Legalization (Rolling Stone)

  • Medical cannabis is gaining momentum in Asia (CNBC)

  • THC Testing is Bullshit and You're Getting Screwed (Beard Bros Pharms)

  • Sound Garden owners plan Maryland’s first medical cannabis lounge in Fells Point (The Baltimore Sun)

LSD

  • Kid Cudi reveals iconic Coachella jam was the result of an LSD trip (Dancing Astronaut)

  • Everything We Know About The YouTube Engineer Who Injured 8 People On LSD Rampage (YourTango)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

MDMA

  • REPORT: First MDMA/Psychotherapy Trial Successful In Combatting Alcoholism (Your EDM)

  • Breakthrough PTSD treatment using party drug MDMA coming soon to Philly region (PhillyVoice)

  • Hamilton schoolboy dies after ‘ecstasy’ horror as three more teens rushed to hospital (The Scottish Sun)

  • Will MDMA Show Up On a Drug Test? (VICE)

  • Mum's unusual pledge after daughter dies from MDMA overdose at festival (Yahoo! News)

AYAHUASCA

  • Olivia Newton-John proposed to boyfriend after taking hallucinogen drug! (All4Women)

Yopo

  • An Introduction to Yopo in the Venezuelan Piaroan Tradition (DMT Times)

5-MEO-DMT

  • Upcoming World Bufo Alvarius Congress Looks to Nurture Global 5-MeO-DMT Community (Psychedelic Times)

SAN PEDRO

  • Man selling giant hallucinogenic cactus says he's not a drug dealer (Newshub)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

  • Kids thought this was 'natural cannabis' vape juice... it was Spice. Nine people who ended up in hospital could have died (Manchester Evening News)

KETAMINE

  • Ketamine-like drug for depression could get UK licence within the year (The Guardian)

  • Ketamine for Depression: Clinical Evidence and Concerns (Psychiatry Advisor)

OPIOIDS

  • "We Didn't Cause the Crisis": David Sackler Pleads His Case on the Opioid Epidemic (Vanity Fair)

  • Delta to carry Narcan on planes after passenger ‘carried out in body bag’ following overdose (The Independent)

  • Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic is Worsening the Overdose Crisis (The Appeal)

  • The Louvre Removed the Name of OxyContin-Linked Sackler Family From Its Walls (TIME)

  • States Are Making Progress on Opioids. Now the Money That's Helping Them May Dry Up (The New York Times)

  • Opioid Shipments Increased by Over 50% as Addiction Crisis Grew, Federal Data Shows (TIME)

  • What to call someone who uses heroin? (ScienceDaily)

COCAINE

  • Passenger from Colombia fails to fool Spanish police with his cocaine-under-the-toupee trick (CBS News)

  • What Does Cocaine Do to the Heart? (VICE)

METHAMPHETAMINE

  • Asia's meth trade is worth an estimated $61B as region becomes 'playground' for drug gangs (CNN)

  • How Myanmar Became A Global Center For Meth & Other Synthetic Drugs (The Fix)

  • Police Warn Flushing Drugs Could Create Terrifying 'Meth Gators' (People)

CAFFEINE

  • Under 16s set to be 'banned' from buying caffeine-filled energy drinks (Edinburgh Live)

  • Hot coffee or iced? Study says higher temp provides more health benefits (KABC)

  • Daily coffee doesn't affect cancer risk (Medical Xpress)

TOBACCO

  • New York Raises Statewide Smoking Age to 21 (TIME)

  • Raising tobacco sales age to 21: Ohio becomes latest state in national trend (Cincinnati.com)

  • Tobacco Plants Made to Produce Useful Compounds (Scientific American)

ALCOHOL

KRATOM

  • Drug Researchers Raise Concern Over "Misleading" Evidence in Kratom Studies (Inverse)

  • What to know about kratom for depression (Medical News Today)

  • Kratom Ban Back on the Table in Oxford (Hotty Toddy)

KHAT

  • Miraa farmers mull tough sanitary laws with eyes fixed on new export markets (The Star)

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Berkeley City Council Considers Decriminalizing Psychedelics This Week (Marijuana Moment)

  • Science of microdosing psychedelics 'remains patchy and anecdotal', says review (Imperial College London)

  • El Chapo, the Notorious Drug Kingpin, Has Been Sentenced to Life in Prison in the U.S. (TIME)

  • New data shows drug overdose deaths fell in 2018. But there’s a big catch. (Vox)

  • Scotland drug deaths – 1,200 deaths recorded in 2018 as worst ever figures released (The Sun)

  • People who microdose psychedelic substances report improved mood and focus (Medical Xpress)

  • New Bill Ensures Some Retroactive Drug War Justice for New Hampshire (High Times)

  • Future of drug-sniffing dogs uncertain after Colorado Supreme Court ruling (The Coloradoan)

  • Microdosing has a critic — one of its pioneers (Rooster Magazine)

  • Police Thought They Beat the Darknet Drug Markets – They Didn't (VICE)

  • Nutrition Is an Overlooked Aspect of Harm Reduction (Filter)

  • Framing addiction as a disease: Research shows that message might backfire (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • Survey reveals extent of music festival drug use (The Australian)

  • The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Problematic Process for Religious Exemption for Use of Prohibited Psychoactive Substances (Chacruna)

  • The Risky Business of Psychedelic Therapy (Medium)

  • How Congress can expand access to addiction treatment — immediately (The Hill)

  • Inside the Philippines Prison That Sparked Duterte’s Murderous Drug War (Filter)

  • Mother of festival drug death victim says Gladys Berejiklian needs to show courage (The Guardian)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

This Week in Psychoactives - 5.31.19

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CANNABIS

  • Illinois Senate Passes the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (NORML)

  • TSA Updates Marijuana Rules To Allow Hemp-Derived CBD On Flights (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis Extracts Are Legal, Arizona High Court Rules (Leafly)

  • Report Says 70% of CBD Products Are Contaminated with Heavy Metals or Pesticides (MERRY JANE)

  • Early Presidential Primary State Voters Oppose Federal Intervention In Local Marijuana Laws, Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

  • Marijuana Ban in Public Housing Lifted in NYC––And Nation May Be Next (Filter)

  • Legal Medical Marijuana Tied To Lower Opioid Use, Another Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colorado Springs dispensary pulls THC-free CBD products because of City Code (KOAA)

  • CBD and THC May Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease, New Research Suggests (MERRY JANE)

  • Alberta Lifts Ban on Licensing New Cannabis Stores (Leafly)

  • States Can’t Block Legal Hemp Shipments Within Their Borders, USDA Says (Marijuana Moment)

  • Workplace Deaths Fell 34% After Medical Cannabis Legalization (Leafly)

  • Google won't allow marijuana delivery apps in the Play Store (Engadget)

  • Nigerians Smoke the Most Weed on Earth, Spend Over $15 Billion on Pot Annually (MERRY JANE)

  • Man Shoots Himself in Testicles Before Cops Found Weed Up His Ass (MERRY JANE)

  • Israel is banking on cannabis as its next big industry (Los Angeles Times)

  • Former NFL Pro Chris Long Admits to Smoking Weed His Entire Career (MERRY JANE)

  • eBay Says It Will Continue To Ban People From Selling CBD Products (Marijuana Moment)

  • Most people accept medical use of marijuana: Nida Poll (Bangkok Post)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

  • Mushrooms: Today Denver, tomorrow all of Colorado? (GOPUSA)

  • Psilocybin Could Open the Door to Legal Hallucinogens (Medium)

MDMA

  • Mums of children killed by ecstasy explain why they want drug to be legalised (Mirror)

  • Teacher is jailed for six years after he drugged woman's hot chocolate with MDMA then sexually assaulted her and held her captive in his car for five hours (Daily Mail)

  • Unpredictable MDMA: Here’s why it’s ‘impossible’ to know how the drug affects you (Rave Jungle)

AYAHUASCA

  • Can and Should Ayahuasca Become Part of Western Medicine? (Kahpi)

  • Ayahuasca Community Guide for the Awareness of Sexual Abuse (Chacruna)

  • The Shaman’s Treasure: The Many Plants Added to the Ayahuasca Brew (Kahpi)

  • What It Takes to Hold an Ayahuasca Ceremony (Kahpi)

5-MEO-DMT

IBOGA

  • Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant (bioRxiv)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

  • Researchers Find Synthetic CBD Effective in Treating Seizures in Rats (High Times)

  • Get ready for a new wave of synthetic cannabinoids and derivatives (Greencamp)

  • Man died after taking spice and suffering multiple seizures in prison (WalesOnline)

  • Schoolboy rushed to hospital after eating sweet laced with zombie drug Spice (The Sun)

NITROUS OXIDE

  • Bill Of The Month: $4,836 Charge For Laughing Gas During Childbirth Is No Joke (NPR)

OPIOIDS

  • Opioid Maker Agrees to Pay Oklahoma $85 Million Over Claims Company Helped Create Addiction Crisis (TIME)

  • More Drug Users Are Intentionally Using Fentanyl Amid Overdose Crisis, Study Finds (VICE)

  • Murphy presents research on police views of addiction (BCTV)

  • Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart apologises for smoking opium in Iran (Yahoo! Finance)

  • That guy who made up a story about stealing a brick of heroin from an MS-13 gang member says he now regrets it (Boing Boing)

  • Most Opioid Deaths in MA Involve Other Drugs (U.S. News & World Report)

  • Colorado’s Opioid Crisis Slows, In Part Because Of A Drug That Reverses Overdoses (Colorado Public Radio)

  • The chronic-pain quandary: Amid a reckoning over opioids, a doctor crusades for caution in cutting back (STAT)

CAFFEINE

  • This is the Best Time of Day to Drink Coffee, According to Science (Civilized)

  • Energy drink consumption rising in the U.S. (WHTC)

  • Energy drinks: Here’s what they do to your heart (WAVE3)

  • Here's the truth about whether you should drink coffee and tea while pregnant (INSIDER)

TOBACCO

ALCOHOL

KRATOM

  • Kratom's reputed pain-relief benefits could come from one of its metabolites (EurekAlert!)

  • Fibromyalgia Stole My Life, Kratom Gave It Back (Pain News Network)

  • Kratom is called a mood enhancer, but three deaths in St. Louis region are causing concern (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

  • St. Charles County pausing decision to ban Kratom, instead of looking at new regulations (KMOV)

  • Herbal supplement kratom could face regulations in Monument (Colorado Springs Gazette)

KHAT

  • Nyandarua to ban sale of miraa (The Standard)

  • Turning a blind eye to khat use in the west does vulnerable communities in which it is consumed few favours (Illicit Trade)

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Oakland Lawmakers Advance Psychedelic Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

  • Colorado Just Passed a Slew of Groundbreaking Drug Reform Laws (MERRY JANE)

  • Philly’s supervised injection site nonprofit gets tax-exempt status from IRS (Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • The Drug War's Hidden Foster Care Crisis (Reason)

  • Nancy Pelosi's Drug Price Compromise Is Bad Policy and Worse Politics (Splinter)

  • DanceSafe Announces Return To Virginia (DanceSafe)

  • The Case for Taking Psychedelics Seriously (National Review)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

This Week in Psychoactives - 4.5.19

ThisWeekInPsychoactives.jpeg

CANNABIS

  • Guam Legalizes Marijuana Use By Adults (NORML)

  • New Mexico Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Forbes)

  • Los Angeles to Erase 50,000 Criminal Cannabis Convictions (Leafly)

  • States With Legal Marijuana Would Be Protected From Feds Under Newly Filed Bill (Marijuana Moment)

  • Legalization Bill Clears New Hampshire House, but Veto Expected (Leafly)

  • Federally Produced Marijuana Is Closer To Hemp Than Commercial Cannabis, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

  • Street cannabis 'contains dangerous amount of faecal matter' (BBC)

  • Wisconsin Voters Approve Multiple Marijuana Ballot Questions (Marijuana Moment)

  • Science Says: Better Orgasms Through Cannabis! (The Stranger)

  • Texas removing hemp from controlled substance list (The State)

  • The EPA Is Funding Research On Using Hemp As A Sustainable Alternative To Concrete (Marijuana Moment)

  • Medicinal use of cannabis based products and cannabinoids (The BMJ)

  • Using Marijuana With Your Partner Increases The Likelihood Of Intimacy, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Georgia on cusp of legalizing medical marijuana (CNN)

  • Medical Marijuana for Autism Law Approved on World Autism Day (The Fix)

  • Will Germany become the world's largest market for medicinal cannabis? (Deutsche Welle)

  • ‘Weed Dip’ Could Help Curb A Smokeless Tobacco Addiction (NowThis News)

  • The Unique Challenges to Recycling Vapes in the Cannabis Industry (Civilized)

  • Legalizing pot is the new Democratic litmus test (Politico)

  • New York Governor Cuomo Leaves Marijuana Legalization Out of State Budget (NORML)

  • Why Is the Cannabis Industry Struggling to Build Social Equity in the City of Angels? An Interview with Kristen Lovell of the Social Impact Center, Los Angeles (Psychedelic Times)

  • PGA Issues Warning To Golfers Using CBD Products (Marijuana Moment)

  • Can marijuana help end the opioids crisis? (The Guardian)

  • The Feds Are Looking To Hire A Professional Marijuana Joint Roller (Marijuana Moment)

  • Oklahoma Medical Cannabis Patients Can Hold Open-Carry Gun Permits (Leafly)

  • “Our lawmakers don’t talk to their constituents.” An Interview with New Mexico Activist Monique Chavez on Why Pot Legalization Failed In Her State (Psychedelic Times)

  • One county’s take on medical marijuana makes some users criminals (Arizona Capitol Times)

  • Hemp Is At The Center Of Fashion, Politics, And Sustainability (NYLON)

  • Florida Lawmakers Want to Limit Medical Marijuana Potency (Leafly)

  • Cannabis stocks mixed ahead of bill proposing protections for weed companies (MarketWatch)

LSD

  • Police suspect LSD contributed to death of Springfield teen (KEZI)

  • Explainer: Can you die from LSD? (The Register-Guard)

  • Man spiked his co-workers' water with LSD because they were ‘too uptight’ (Her)

  • Scary Combination: A Navy Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier and LSD (The National Interest)

  • Bizarre true story of the UK military testing LSD on Royal Marines revealed in incredible footage that shows high soldiers stumbling and climbing (The Sun)

  • The acid test: Here's what LSD does to your brain (The Sydney Morning Herald)

  • From Hollywood to Silicon Beach, L.A. Professionals Are Using LSD to Amp Up Their Careers (LAmag)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

  • Why Stop at One Campaign to Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms? Oregon Has Two—and They Don’t Get Along. (Willamette Week)

  • Denver Will See Whether Voters Favor Decriminalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms (Weedmaps)

MDMA

  • Psychedelic drug MDMA may reawaken 'critical period' in brain to help treat PTSD (ScienceDaily)

  • Ecstasy use by Australian high school students doubles over three years (Stuff.co.nz)

  • GHB and MDMA are the best drugs for 'enhancing' sex, new study finds (Metro)

AYAHUASCA

  • Scientists studying psychedelic ayahuasca as a potential anti-depressant (CTV News)

  • Great Shamanic Deception: Using Ayahuasca as a Conduit for Sexual Fulfillment (Chacruna)

  • Am I a Sectarian Drug User? A Brief Legal Comment on the Religious Use of Ayahuasca in Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands (Chacruna)

  • Catharsis through vomiting: My experiences with an ancient Amazonian drug at a Haryana farmhouse (Scroll.in)

  • Inside Chelsea Handler’s Shocking Psychedelic Drug Confession (Radar Online)

5-MEO-DMT

  • Could Bufo toad toxins be beneficial to humans? (NBC2 News)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

  • UAB research study finds that the majority of novel psychedelic drug users are white, college-educated men (Alabama Political Reporter)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

NITROUS OXIDE

  • How Medical Researchers Used to Party (JSTOR Daily)

  • Red Bluff hospital first in Northstate to offer laughing gas for child birth (KRCRTV)

KETAMINE

  • Immunosuppressant May Extend Ketamine's Antidepressant Effects (Medscape)

  • When Nothing Seems to Help Your CRPS, Ketamine Pain Treatments May Bring Relief (Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic)

  • Effect of Ketamine With Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depressive Symptoms (Psychiatry Advisor)

  • FDA Approves Ketamine-Derived Treatment for Depression, But How Are People Really Using It? A Conversation with Kellye Greene of New York DanceSafe (Psychedelic Times)

  • Esketamine and psychedelics will require restructuring mental health care visits (STAT)

  • Study: Alligators on ketamine and headphones to mimic dinosaurs (Digital Journal)

  • Boys rescued from Thai cave were sedated with ketamine (CNN)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

  • China to Regulate All Fentanyl-Related Drugs as Controlled Substances (TIME)

  • “Nation’s Most Comprehensive Lawsuit”—Now NY Takes On Purdue and the Sacklers (Filter)

  • Fear, Loathing and Fentanyl Exposure (The New York Times)

  • “Tranq Dope”—The Heroin Combo That’s Been Putting Philly to Sleep (Filter)

  • Naloxone remains stable for at least 28 days after enduring extreme conditions: study (The Record)

  • As overdoses rise, New Jersey removes a barrier to treatment for opioid addiction (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • A single-dose antidote may help prevent fentanyl overdoses (Science News)

  • Philadelphia Department of Prisons will begin offering buprenorphine to male inmates again (WHYY)

  • How to stop the opioid crisis (The Washington Post)

  • Philly sees concerning increase in new HIV cases driven by opioid epidemic (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • Study Finds Vast Differences In Ease-Of-Use For Naloxone Delivery Methods (PR Newswire)

  • Is Xi Jinping the New El Chapo? (The Trumpet)

  • Opium farming goes unchecked, difficult to locate plantation sites (The Kathmandu Post)

  • Narcan-resistant drug linked to suspected fatal OD, Montgomery County coroner warns (WHIO)

  • How Atlantic City is rethinking addiction amid opioid epidemic (The Press of Atlantic City)

  • Baby Born Prematurely, Addicted to Heroin Gets Second Chance at Life Thanks to Rare Adoption (Clay Center Dispatch)

  • Heroin Is Not Your Friend (Psychology Today)

COCAINE

  • Why Cocaine Turns People into Jerks, a Simple Explanation (VICE)

  • War on drugs has helped cocaine traffickers conquer swathes of Central America, study suggests (The Independent)

  • Man faces multiple felonies after alleged cocaine-fueled melee during concert (Aspen Daily News)

METHAMPHETAMINE

  • Messier Than Opioids, Meth Is Asia's Worst Narcotics Threat (Bloomberg)

  • Do you live near a meth lab? This interactive map will show you (KGUN)

  • Cheap, Nasty, Near You. How Crystal Meth Is Spreading (Bloomberg)

  • 'Completely preventable': 50 young people killed by stroke after using meth, MDMA (The Sydney Morning Herald)

CAFFEINE

TOBACCO

  • Maryland approves raising age to 21 to buy tobacco (The Washington Post)

  • State lawmakers raise age to buy tobacco products, e-cigarettes to 21 (The Buffalo News)

  • Olmsted County raises tobacco age to 21 (Med City Beat)

  • With vaping under fire for potential links to seizures, tobacco-free snuff latest alternative to help smokers quit (USA Today)

  • Alabama Congressman aims to raise the age someone can buy tobacco (ABC 33/40)

  • Could smokers under 21 be barred from buying tobacco products? Texas takes a step closer to raising the age (Dallas News)

ALCOHOL

  • Alcohol, caffeine are common triggers of irregular heart rhythm (Reuters)

  • More adults seeking support for alcoholic parents (BBC)

  • To Combat Binge Drinking, a Search for Chemical Solutions (Undark)

  • Don’t Call Jessica Lareau an Alcoholic. To Her, Words Matter (Boston University)

  • Even low alcohol consumption is bad news for strokes – study (The Guardian)

  • Brain damage from alcohol lasts up to six weeks after quitting (New York Post)

  • Millennials Are Sick of Drinking (The Atlantic)

  • Hangover free alcohol? Scientist claims he’s created magic recipe (FOX 8)

ABSINTHE

NOOTROPICS

KRATOM

  • FDA Confirms 'Dangerous' Levels of Heavy Metals in Some Kratom Products (Medscape)

  • Drug task force lobbies county to ban sale of opioid-like Kratom (The St. Augustine Record)

  • Commissioners postpone move to ban kratom in St. Johns County (WJXT)

KAVA

KHAT

MISCELLANEOUS

  • D.E.A. Secretly Collected Bulk Records of Money-Counter Purchases (The New York Times)

  • People who ‘microdose’ psychedelic drugs for a month say it increases positive emotions and productivity (PsyPost)

  • Drugs before sex more common in UK than in Europe or US – study (The Guardian)

  • Ralph Metzner, LSD and Consciousness Researcher, Dies at 82 (The New York Times)

  • Philly Councilman Mark Squilla moves to block supervised injection site (WHYY)

  • What Could a Conscious, Psychedelic #MeToo Look Like? (Chacruna)

  • Acetaminophen's Surprising Psychoactive Effects (RealClearScience)

  • On the Eve of the Great Psychedelic Debate (Quillette)

  • Drug Paraphernalia Laws: The “Swiss Army Knife” of the Drug War (Filter)

  • But The Drugs Keep Me Sober (The Small Bow)

  • Philippine Supreme Court Orders Release of Evidence From Duterte’s Drug War (TIME)

  • Supervised injection site supporters countersue feds, saying their Philly mission comes from religious and medical imperatives (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Pledges To Pardon All Non-Violent Drug Offenders On 4/20 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Let’s Address Four Common Myths About Harm Reduction (Filter)

  • Drug trips, not broken hips: let later life be the age of irresponsibility (The Guardian)

  • In the Space of One Minute, Joe Biden Defends the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers, Asset Forfeiture, and Mandatory Minimums (Reason)

  • The New Science of Psychedelics: A Tool for Changing Our Minds (SingularityHub)

  • Two SOM students explore psychedelic investment opportunities (Yale Daily News)

  • Psychedelic therapy for depression (The Naked Scientists)

  • What's the deal with microdosing? (Stuff.co.nz)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

This Week in Psychoactives - 3.29.19

ThisWeekInPsychoactives.jpeg

CANNABIS

  • Guam Becomes First U.S. Territory To Send Marijuana Legalization To Governor In 2019 (Marijuana Moment)

  • House Will Vote To End Federal Marijuana Prohibition Within ‘Weeks,’ Key Chairman Says (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis Out! New York Drops Legalization From Budget Bill (Leafly)

  • Marijuana Legalization Vote Cancelled Due To Lack of Support In New Jersey Senate (Marijuana Moment)

  • Marijuana Banking Bill Approved By Congressional Committee (Forbes)

  • Louisiana Takes a Step Toward Finally Delivering Medical Marijuana (Leafly)

  • Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Another Major Hurdle In New Hampshire (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis-related ER visits in Colorado jump threefold after legalization, study says (CNN)

  • Mexican Government Launches Poll To Ask Citizens If Marijuana Should Be Legal (Marijuana Moment)

  • Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Key Committee (Marijuana Moment)

  • CVS Ignores DEA, Says It’s Already Selling CBD Products (Leafly)

  • Texas: Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Advances Out Of Key Committee (NORML)

  • San Diego Considers Cannabis Cafes (NBC Los Angeles)

  • States With More Immigrants Are More Likely To Legalize Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Seth Rogen launches weed company 'to make it easier for people to learn to love cannabis' (CNBC)

  • FDA Chief Clarifies Enforcement Priorities For CBD Products (Marijuana Moment)

  • Flood of products containing marijuana extract puts FDA in a bind (Politico)

  • CBD for sport: legality and benefits (The Sports Daily)

  • Where Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • Missouri Man Spikes Coworkers' Drinks With LSD (KOLR)

  • Stanford double checking applications following LSD and admissions scandals (Palo Alto Daily Post)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

  • Explorer’s Guide: Taking Magic Psilocybin Truffles in Amsterdam (& The Netherlands) (Maps of the Mind)

MDMA

  • 'Popular' schoolgirl, 13, died at home after taking ecstasy (Mirror)

AYAHUASCA

  • We Need to Talk About When People Feel Worse After Ayahuasca (Kahpi)

  • Considerations for Engaging with Amazonian Ancestral Practices, People, and Places (Psymposia)

  • How Ayahuasca Can Be Used to Build Cohesion and Better the World (Reset.me)

  • Wade Davis on the Popularization of Ayahuasca and the Climate Crisis (Reality Sandwich)

  • How Ayahuasca Connected Me To The Divinity Of The Universe (Reset.me)

5-MEO-DMT

  • Study Finds 5-MeO-DMT Effective in Relieving Depression and Anxiety (Psychedelic Times)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

  • Mice tripping on psychedelics help explain neural origins of hallucinations (New Atlas)

  • The Dangers of Synthetic Drugs (The Fix)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

NITROUS OXIDE

  • No laughing matter – nitrous oxide helps to unravel rapid antidepressant mechanisms (Medical Xpress)

  • Florida man was high on erotic-themed nitrous oxide when he killed lawyer, cops say (Miami Herald)

  • Jim Nielsen’s bill to ban sale of nitrous oxide passes committee (Chico Enterprise-Record)

  • Frat denies hazing claims in lawsuit over student's death (San Antonio Express-News)

KETAMINE

  • From Popular Anesthetic to Antidepressant, Ketamine Isn’t the Drug You Think It Is (Discover Magazine)

  • Ketamine: A Promising Novel Therapy for Anxiety and PTSD (Psychiatry Advisor)

  • FDA Approves Ketamine Derivative as Depression Treatment for First Time (Discover Magazine)

  • Ketamine IV Infusions Made Me Myself Again. Here’s Everything You Need To Know (High Times)

  • Esketamine to become available for Yale students (Yale News)

  • Ketamine: can it really be an antidepressant? (The Guardian)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

  • Purdue Pharma and Sacklers Reach $270 Million Settlement in Opioid Lawsuit (The New York Times)

  • You can’t overdose on fentanyl by touching it (Vox)

  • As They Profited From the Opioid Crisis, Sacklers Funded Anti-Muslim Network (Sludge)

  • The White House And Federal Scientists Are Pushing The Myth That Marijuana Is Laced With Fentanyl (BuzzFeed News)

  • New York State Sues Billionaire Sackler Family Behind OxyContin (TIME)

  • Want to Reduce Opioid Deaths? Get People the Medications They Need (The New York Times)

  • How I overcame my heroin addiction – and started to live (The Guardian)

  • ‘Mistreatment’ centers shouldn’t be adding to the opioid crisis (Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • Vt. committee approves bill decriminalizing drug (WCAX)

  • What NJ is doing to take down unimaginable number of heroin mills (New Jersey 101.5)

  • Mother charged in Mount Holly man's overdose death (The Sentinel)

  • FINDING HOPE: Utah law allows librarians to distribute opioid reversal drug, Naloxone (KiviTV)

  • Pharmacists Role in Providing Naloxone Is Expanding (Pharmacy Times)

COCAINE

  • Here’s What a Legal Market for Cocaine Could Look Like (Filter)

  • 'Special offers' on crack cocaine fuelling big rise in use in England (The Guardian)

  • Deaths from cocaine and fentanyl mixtures a growing concern in Northeast Ohio: What you need to know (Cleveland.com)

  • Cocaine making comeback amid opioid epidemic, officials say (WCVB)

METHAMPHETAMINE

  • Florida Woman Faced 10 Years For 'Meth' That Was 'Just a Rock' (The Appeal)

CAFFEINE

  • There's Evidence Coffee Acts on Your Brain Like Cannabis, But in Reverse (ScienceAlert)

  • Myanmar to try growing, exporting more coffee as alternative to opium (Myanmar Times)

  • Mouse Studies Suggest Protective Effects of Caffeine in Parkinson’s Disease (Parkinson's News Today)

  • If you have a daily caffeine habit, do you know how much is too much? (WXYZ)

  • Can Taking Caffeine During Your Workout Actually Be Dangerous? (Runners World)

  • 10 health benefits of living caffeine-free (MDLinx)

TOBACCO

  • As Pa. prisons ban tobacco, new informal currencies arise: chips, ice cream tickets, ramen (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • How Big Tobacco uses Big Tech to hook new smokers (Fast Company)

  • Washington State Legislature Votes to Raise Age for Buying Tobacco to 21 (KPQ)

  • Two more Minnesota cities make 21 the legal age for tobacco purchases (MPR News)

  • New Denver proposal would ban tobacco sales to people under 21 years of age (FOX31 Denver)

ALCOHOL

  • Could ‘alcosynth’ provide all the joy of booze – without the dangers? (The Guardian)

  • Scientists Have Cured Alcoholic Rats by Shooting Lasers at Their Brains (ScienceAlert)

  • Utah's New Beer Law Isn't Lifting Many Spirits (Reason)

NOOTROPICS

KRATOM

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Acid test: how psychedelic virtual reality can help end society's mass bad trip (The Guardian)

  • Researchers examine classic versus novel psychedelic use in United States (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

  • Ralph Metzner, Bay Area expert on hallucinogens, death and psychology, dies (San Francisco Chronicle)

  • German biotech startup raises $43 million for psychedelic medicines (Axios)

  • Stigma Is Barrier to Health Care for People Who Inject Drugs (Boston University School of Public Health)

  • Schedule I Sacrament (Harvard Political Review)

  • Going to Burning Man? The Feds Want You Searched for Drugs (Reason)

  • A New Resource to Measure Good and Bad Drug Policies (Filter)

  • Investors are starting to bet big on psychedelic medicine (CNBC)

  • Wicked Ecstasy: Altered States in The Name of the Rose (The Oak Tree Review)

  • Jump in antidepressant prescriptions in England (BBC)

  • Houston police investigator probing failed drug raid relieved of duty (Chron)

  • Legal Syringe Programs Could Finally Be Arriving in Iowa (Filter)

  • Kensington neighbors angered by potential location of supervised injection site (WHYY)

  • Psychedelic Integration: The Importance of Community and a Daily Practice (Psychedelics Today)

  • Houston Narcs Implicated in Deadly Drug Raid Will Soon Be Receiving Pensions (Reason)

  • Here are 6 psychedelic trips from legal drugs you probably didn’t know about (Raw Story)

  • Could psychedelic medicine be the new cannabis? (Proactive Investors)

  • Are psychedelics the new anti-depressants? (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

This Week in Psychoactives - 3.22.19

ThisWeekInPsychoactives.jpeg

CANNABIS

  • Two years after voters approved it, Florida legalizes smoking medical marijuana (CNN)

  • Legal weed for N.J. takes a huge step forward. We now expect final votes next week. (NJ.com)

  • New Mexico Lawmakers Send Marijuana Decriminalization Bill To Governor (Marijuana Moment)

  • Minnesota: Attorney For State’s Largest County To No Longer Criminally Prosecute Marijuana Possession Offenses (NORML)

  • Top Ten Equity Must-Haves in Any Legalization Bill (LinkedIn)

  • Legalizing Marijuana, With a Focus on Social Justice, Unites 2020 Democrats (The New York Times)

  • Support for US Cannabis Legalization Reaches New High, Poll Finds (Leafly)

  • Daily Marijuana Use And Highly Potent Weed Linked To Psychosis (NPR)

  • NORML Responds To Latest Cannabis and Psychosis Claims (NORML)

  • Marijuana Consumers Gain Less Weight Than Non-Users, Study Confirms (Marijuana Moment)

  • Oklahoma: Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Regulatory Measure (NORML)

  • Marijuana Activists Protest John Boehner’s SXSW Speech (Marijuana Moment)

  • Denver’s Teen Marijuana Education Campaign Seems To Be Working, Survey Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Medicinal cannabis: 'Patients still in limbo' (BBC)

  • CBD Is In Jelly Beans, Pet Food and Shampoo. But Many Benefits Are Untested (Discover Magazine)

  • U.S. Postal Service Issues Advisory On Mailing Hemp-Derived CBD (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis 101 At The University Of Connecticut (WUNC)

  • Hawaii Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill In Joint Committee Hearing (Marijuana Moment)

  • NHL Alumni Study Centres on CBD, Puts THC on Ice (Leafly)

  • Wisconsin Voters Will Decide On More Marijuana Ballot Questions In April (Marijuana Moment)

  • CVS Pharmacy, America's Largest Drug Store Chain, Will Carry CBD Products (Reason)

  • Family sues after Pennsylvania man with 10 pot plants is crushed by bulldozer in police chase (NBC News)

  • South Carolina Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Bill In Subcommittee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

  • Beto O'Rourke Said He's Never Done LSD (Esquire)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

  • Most Oregon Voters Favor Legalizing Psilocybin Mushrooms in 2020 Election (Reset.me)

  • Mazatec Mushroom Usage: Notes on Approach, Setting and Species for Curious Psilonauts (Reality Sandwich)

  • Veteran hopeful Denver will vote to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms (ABC15 Arizona)

  • The Decriminalization Train Keeps Rolling – Up Next Psilocybin? (Longmont Observer)

MDMA

  • Genetic reductions in serotonin transporter may cause some people to respond differently to MDMA (PsyPost)

  • UN report attributes rising ecstasy use in South America to electronic music events (Resident Advisor)

  • Ecstasy can cause the user to develop memory problems: study (Top Health Journal)

  • Less cocaine, more MDMA found in Antwerp waste water (The Brussels Times)

AYAHUASCA

  • The “Traditional” Ayahuasca Ceremony Is Probably a Recent Invention (Kahpi)

  • What Does Ayahuasca Have To Do with Ancestors and the Dead? (Kahpi)

  • Ayahuasca Integration Means Facing the Shadow in Daily Life (Kahpi)

  • Integrating Ayahuasca Experiences Requires an Integrated Approach (Kahpi)

  • What Is DMT? How Ayahuasca Tea Affects Your Brain (YourTango)

5-MEO-DMT

  • Short-acting psychedelic offers promising new treatment pathway for depression and anxiety (New Atlas)

  • I Was Recorded During A 5-MeO DMT Ceremony Without My Consent (Psymposia)

PEYOTE

IBOGA

  • What Is Ibogaine? New Details About What Gwyneth Paltrow Calls The 'Next Big Thing' In Wellness (YourTango)

SALVIA DIVINORUM

  • Salvia divinorum: from recreational hallucinogenic use to analgesic and anti-inflammatory action (Dove Press Medical)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

  • Even low doses of synthetic cannabinoids can impair cognitive performance (EurekAlert!)

  • Identifying Metabolites of Synthetic Cannabinoids (News-Medical.Net)

  • Owner of Madison convenience store chain gets 30 months in prison for synthetic marijuana, contraband tobacco (Madison.com)

  • Yeast Could Help Fill Demand for Cannabinoid Compounds (Drovers Magazine)

NITROUS OXIDE

  • Some Women Turning To Laughing Gas As Alternative To Drugs During Childbirth (CBS Philly)

KETAMINE

  • Scientists Gave Alligators Ketamine and Headphones to Understand Dinosaur Hearing (Motherboard)

  • High Holy Strangeness: A Playlist for Ketamine by Eric Sienknecht (Chacruna)

  • Ketamine Prohibition Across the Globe Has Deadly Effects (71 Republic)

  • VA to offer new ketamine-based nasal spray to help combat depression (Task and Purpose)

  • Long known as a party drug, ketamine now used for depression, but concerns remain (San Francisco Chronicle)

PCP

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

  • FDA to Review Higher Dose Naloxone Injection for Opioid Overdose Treatment (Monthly Prescribing Reference)

  • Opium prices plummeted as much as 80% in 2018, hurting farmers (Mexico News Daily)

  • Methadone Helped Her Quit Heroin. Now She’s Suing U.S. Prisons to Allow the Treatment. (The New York Times)

  • Fentanyl-Linked Deaths: The U.S. Opioid Epidemic's Third Wave Begins (NPR)

  • Naloxone use up as overdose deaths begin to plateau (WBIR)

  • Puerto Rico approves sale of naloxone amid opioid crisis (Medical Xpress)

  • Former DEA official now working for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma (NBC News)

  • Naloxone now available at every emergency room in the state (Journal Inquirer)

  • Vermont state trooper exposed to suspected heroin revived with Narcan (UPI)

  • Vermont’s police chief said cops risk death from opioid exposure. He’s wrong. (PolitiFact)

  • Opioid response team offers help, hope to overdose survivors (KENS5)

COCAINE

  • Bristol named cocaine capital of Europe (Mixmag)

  • Cocaine Poses Silent US Drug Threat as Production Nears Record Levels (Homeland Security)

METHAMPHETAMINE

ALCOHOL

  • Scientists hunt down the brain circuit responsible for alcohol cravings (ScienceDaily)

  • Elementary school bans kombucha over alcohol content (The Takeout)

  • Big Alcohol Is Bracing for a More Sober Future (Bon Appetit)

  • The dangers of alcohol extend to those who don’t even drink (Earth.com)

  • Contrary to folklore, alcohol does not help with rheumatoid arthritis (Cosmos)

  • Now, There Is Zero Proof That Alcohol Is What Makes A Great Cocktail (NPR)

  • March Madness Alcohol Study Shows One Demographic Is Affected the Most (Inverse)

  • Is ‘Breaking the Seal’ When You Drink Alcohol Really a Thing? (SELF)

KRATOM

KHAT

  • Somalia- Khat-Munching: A Connecting Factor in East Africa (MENAFN)

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Activists Plan Initiative To Decriminalize Psychedelic Drugs In Oakland (Marijuana Moment)

  • First supervised drug injection site in U.S. offered lease in Philadelphia’s Kensington district (Philly.com)

  • It’s Time to Reject the Racist “Drug Dealer” Stereotype (Filter)

  • 'It's about saving lives': inside the UK's first licensed drug testing service (The Guardian)

  • Germany named drug use capital following Europe-wide sewage study (Deutsche Welle)

  • Psychedelic pioneer, consciousness researcher Ralph Metzner dies in Sonoma (Sonoma Index-Tribune)

  • “Addicted to the War on Drugs” Is Right, Despite the Rhetoric (Filter)

  • What Groovin the Moo musicians think about the pill testing trial (The Canberra Times)

  • The European Psychedelic Renaissance: Interview with Dr. Henrik Jungaberle (Psychedelic Times)

  • Hallucinogen Therapy Is Coming (Nautilus)

  • From “Meth Crisis” to “Opioid Crisis” to “Fentanyl and Meth Crisis” to… (CATO Institute)

  • Legalization Is the Only Viable Drug Policy (Project Syndicate)

  • Here are the 10 most seductive drugs — and their fascinating histories (AlterNet)

  • What's the deal with microdosing? (The Telegraph)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this week’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychoactives" 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 Psychedelic Astronaut.

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap: