This Week in Psychedelics - 5.28.21

Cannabis

• New York bans delta-8 THC, resists calls to track hemp like marijuana (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Legal Marijuana States Have Generated Nearly $8 Billion In Tax Revenue Since Recreational Sales Launched, Report Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Minnesota: Governor Signs Legislation into Law to Legalize Medical Marijuana Flower (NORML)

• Nevada: Lawmakers Send Multiple Marijuana Reform Measures to Governor’s Desk (NORML)

• Cannabis emoji remains elusive: When it will exist, what it might look like, and why we don’t have one (yet) (GreenState)

• Louisiana: House-Approved Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Heads to Senate Floor (NORML)

• The Decriminalization of Marijuana in Brazil Beyond the Medicinal Use: Cannabis Associations and Human Rights (Chacruna)

• Atheists Are Much More Likely To Back Marijuana Legalization Than Christians Are, New Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Microdosing Psilocybin and LSD: Panacea or Placebo? (Spirit Pharmacist)

• MindMed and Liechti Lab in Basel Switzerland Publish First Pharmacogenetic Data on LSD to Help Guide Personalized Dosing (Psilocybin Alpha)

Magic Mushrooms

• Attorneys General Back Doctor on DEA Psilocybin Lawsuit (Truffle Report)

• Health Canada Approves Expansion of Mydecine’s Cultivation Capabilities for Psilocybin Producing Mushrooms (Psilocybin Alpha)

• María Sabina, Mushrooms, and Colonial Extractivism (Chacruna)

• The Psilocybin vs. Escitalopram Trial – Part 1 (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• The Effects of MDMA on Liver Health (Truffle Report)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Highlights New Animal Study Showing Effectiveness of Psychedelic Drug DMT in Treatment of Stroke (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

• When Ayahuasca Microdosing Might Cause Serotonin Toxicity (Chacruna)

• Breathe Easy: Combining Albuterol & Ayahuasca (Spirit Pharmacist)

Iboga

• Why Iboga Is Considered a Master Healer (Lucid News)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog reverses effects of stress in mouse study (Science Daily)

Nitrous Oxide

• London borough bans ‘laughing gas’ nitrous oxide over anti-social behaviour (The Independent)

Ketamine

• Effort to limit ketamine use by Colorado paramedics, police advances toward governor’s desk (The Colorado Sun)

• PharmaTher Files for FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Ketamine to Treat Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Psilocybin Alpha)

• PharmaTher Collaborates with MediSynergics to Develop Patented Ketamine Formulation for Pain Disorders and to Discover Novel Psychedelic Formulations (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• Texas Senate Approves Psychedelics And Marijuana Concentrates Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• Maine Lawmakers Advance Drug Decriminalization Bill To House Floor With Conflicting Recommendations (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelics’ Exciting Potential to Benefit Autistic People (Filter)

• Virtual Reality and Psychedelic Synergy (Psychedelic Science 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 Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.21.21

Cannabis

• Alabama Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Montana Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Implementation Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Governor Signs Bill To Double Marijuana Possession Limit And Calls For Pardons Review (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi Supreme Court Overturns Medical Marijuana Legalization Ballot That Voters Approved (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado bans hemp-derived delta-8 THC (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Minnesota: Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Medical Cannabis Flower (NORML)

• Texas Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Moves Forward In Senate After Initially Stalling (Marijuana Moment)

• Louisiana Marijuana Legalization Effort Stalls After House Rejects Complementary Tax Proposal (Marijuana Moment)

• The Impact of Specific Genes on Cannabis Use Disorder (Psychedelic Science Review)

LSD

• Acid test: scientists show how LSD opens doors of perception (The Guardian)

• The Untold Story of the CIA’s MK Ultra: A Conversation with Stephen Kinzer (Los Angeles Review of Books)

• MindMed Receives FDA Type C Meeting Response for Project Lucy Phase 2b Clinical Trial (Psilocybin Alpha)

Magic Mushrooms

• A single dose of psilocybin has a lasting therapeutic effect on migraine headache, according to a new placebo-controlled study (PsyPost)

• Kristen Bell Tried Hallucinogenic Mushrooms to Help Manage Her Depression (People)

• Wake Network Successfully Completes First Legal Importation of Psilocybin Mushrooms into the U.S. (Lucid News)

• Cybin Granted IRB Approval for Phase II Clinical Trials of its Sublingual Psilocybin Formulation for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• FDA Clears Researchers To Study MDMA Use By Therapists Being Trained In Psychedelic Medicine (Marijuana Moment)

• How MDMA, Octopuses, and Gül Dölen Reopen Minds (Chacruna)

• Narcos Scotland: The 90s rave culture in Scotland brought a deadly new trend with Ecstasy (Scottish Daily Record)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Receives Positive Feedback from U.S. FDA for Psychedelic Drug DMT Clinical Research Program for Stroke (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Entheon Biomedical Announces DMT Drug Supply Agreement with Ofichem Group (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

• Controversies on the Environmental Legislation on Ayahuasca in Brazil (Chacruna)

• Can Ayahuasca Help Us Communicate with the Souls of the Dead? (DoubleBlind)

Mescaline

• MindMed Announces the Approval of Mescaline Study (Psilocybin Alpha)

Peyote

• Psychedelics Advocates And Indigenous Groups Split On Decriminalizing Peyote Cactus (Marijuana Moment)

• Is Peyote the same as mescaline?: A Cultural History (Chacruna)

Salvia Divinorum

• This DEA ‘medication of concern’ may have health benefits (MD Linx)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Why Big Pharma Loves The Power Of Synthetic Cannabinoids (The Fresh Toast)

Ketamine

• Lamar Odom says he is using ketamine to stay sober (Page Six)

• PharmaTher Announces FDA Approval of Ketamine IND In The Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• California’s Psychedelic Decriminalization Bill Heads to Senate Floor (Truffle Report)

• Texas Senate Advances Bill To Study Healing Potential Of Psychedelics Like Psilocybin and MDMA (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Drugs Will Follow Pot’s Path to Legalization (Bloomberg)

• The future of psychedelic science (Imperial College London)

• Use of hallucinogens linked to risk seeking, emotional dysregulation in youth and college students (PsyPost)

• Confronting Inequity and Seeking Social Justice in the Psychedelic Movement (Chacruna)

• The Jacarezinho Massacre and Lethal Drug Policy Enforcement in Brazil (Filter)

• IPI: The Top Recommended Psychedelic Therapy Training (The Third Wave)

• Imagine Psychedelic Dinosaurs Tripping Daily (Reality Sandwich)

• An Investor Looks at Drug Development Strategies of Top Psychedelic Companies (Lucid News)

• Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: Reshaping Perspectives and Guiding Transformation (Psychedelic Times)

• Do Animals and Psychedelics Go Together? (Reality Sandwich)

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.14.21

Cannabis

• Republicans Push for Federal Legalization of Marijuana to Ensure 'Individual Liberty' (Newsweek)

• Minnesota House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Kansas Senate Running Out Of Time To Pass Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill That Cleared House (Marijuana Moment)

• Nebraska Activists Relaunch Medical Marijuana Ballot Campaign After Legislative Filibuster Blocks Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Louisiana: House Lawmakers Advance Marijuana Decriminalization Legislation (NORML)

• Cherokee Nation Just Decriminalized Weed Possession in State Where Pot Is Still Illegal (MERRY JANE)

• Feds Announce New Standard THC Dose To Be Used In Marijuana Research, Effective Immediately (Marijuana Moment)

• Ignorance Still Plagues The Field Of Cannabis Medicine (Forbes)

• America’s most conservative states are embracing medical pot (Politico)

• Georgia: Governor Signs Legislation into Law Expanding Access to Low-THC Medical Cannabis (NORML)

• Medicinal cannabis improves quality of life, finds largest study of UK patients (Cannabis Health News)

• Cannabis may slightly reduce RA disease activity based on 'very uncertain' evidence (Healio)

• Don’t Bring CBD Pet Shampoo Onto Military Bases, U.S. Air Force Warns (Marijuana Moment)

• Understanding the History of Rastafari and the Sacramental Use of Ganja with Jahlani Niaah (Chacruna)

Magic Mushrooms

• How Psychedelic Mushrooms Went from Schedule I to Psychotherapy (The Pacific Index)

• Who’s in Charge of Psilocybin? (Chacruna)

• OHSU doctors study how psilocybin interacts with other meds (KATU)

• Havn Life Develops New Method for Rapid Psilocybin Testing (StreetInsider.com)

• Cybin Advances Psilocybin as Treatment for Depression and Addiction (Innovation and Tech Today)

• Numinus Wellness and Optimi Health Submit All-Natural Psilocybin Extract to Health Canada for Pre-Clinical Trial Application (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• MDMA Shows New Promise for Trauma, but the Drug Alone Is Not a Cure (Scientific American)

DMT

• Small Pharma on conducting world’s first clinical trials for psychedelic DMT and listing in Canada (Proactive Investors)

5-MeO-DMT

• Hunter Biden’s Admission Of Toad Venom Use Signals A Sea Change For Addiction Treatments (Lucid News)

Peyote

• Decriminalize Nature Releases Peyote Conservation Plan (Truffle Report)

• Open Letter to the Psychedelic Movement Regarding Peyote in Policy Efforts and How to be an Ally to Indigenous Peoples of North America (Chacruna)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Potentially Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Could Open Door for Treatment Developments (Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• China issues total ban on synthetic cannabinoids (Seattle Times)

Nitrous Oxide

• Municipality of Amsterdam to ban laughing gas (I Am Expat)

Ketamine

• Colorado lawmakers move to restrict law enforcement’s use of Ketamine (KKTV)

• Delic's Acquisition Target, Ketamine Infusion Centers, Announces Proposal to Acquire 2 Additional Clinic Locations (Yahoo! Finance)

Miscellaneous

• The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same. (The New York Times)

• Drug Possession Is Officially A Crime Again In Washington, But As A Misdemeanor Instead Of Felony (Marijuana Moment)

• Drug Advice Is Better Than Government Approach of 'Just Doing Nothing', Research Finds (VICE)

• How this NHL star’s brain trauma led him to found a psychedelics startup (Fast Company)

• Aspen City Council not quite sold on decriminalizing psychedelics (Aspen Daily Times)

• Some people with color blindness report improved color vision after psychedelic drug use (PsyPost)

• How a Psychedelic 12-Step Program Is Saving Lives (Rolling Stone)

• Psychedelic Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder? (Psychedelic Science Review)

• An Introduction to Psychedelic Phenethylamines (Spirit Pharmacist)

• Anaïs Nin and the Vocabulary of the Psychedelic Experience (Chacruna)

• Psychedelics Move to The Forefront of Innovative Research as the FDA Approves Large-Scale Testing (PR Newswire)

• Psychedelic Intellectual Property (Reality Sandwich)

• Routes of Administration in Psychedelic Drug Research (Psychedelic Science 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 Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychedelics - 5.7.21

Cannabis

• Mexican Lawmakers Fail To Legalize Marijuana Ahead Of Supreme Court Deadline (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Medical Marijuana Bill Heads To Governor’s Desk Following Legislature’s Approval (Marijuana Moment)

• Louisiana House Votes To Legalize Medical Marijuana Flower And Advances Bill To Prepare For Recreational Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas House Passes Marijuana Decriminalization Bill, Sending It To Senate (Marijuana Moment)

• Philadelphia: Mayor Signs Law Prohibiting Pre-Employment Drug Screening for Cannabis (NORML)

• Frequent Marijuana Consumers Are Actually More Physically Active Than Non-Users, Study Finds, Smashing Stereotypes (Marijuana Moment)

• Neat idea, Canna Bumps: Thanks for keeping marijuana illegal (Leafly)

• Switzerland Just Got One Step Closer to Federally Legalizing Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis Offers Immediate Nausea Relief, Study Shows (Forbes)

• French Lawmaker Displays Marijuana Joint In Parliament As New Report Calls For Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• 58% of Americans Don't Know the Difference Between THC and CBD, Survey Says (MERRY JANE)

• Colorado Governor Signs Bill To Expand Medical Marijuana Access For Students In Schools (Marijuana Moment)

• Kansas: House Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Bill (NORML)

• Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears 11th House Committee On Path To The Floor (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado: Legislature Approves Measure Eliminating Civil Penalties for Possessing Between One and Two Ounces of Cannabis (NORML)

• Kansas Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Wilmington, Delaware City Council Votes to Support Cannabis Legalization (NORML)

• Cannabis 'gravest threat' to mental health of young people (The Irish Times)

Magic Mushrooms

• MycoMeditations' Psilocybin-Assisted Wellness Retreat Urgently Addresses COVID-19's Impact on Mental Health (PR Newswire)

• Psychedelics and Veganism: Personal Change Catalysed by Psilocybin (Sam Woolfe)

• Psyched Wellness Signs Supply Agreement for Amanita Muscaria (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psilocybin and the Will to Live (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Optimi Health Partnership with Numinus Wellness Provides Update on First All-Natural Psilocybin Protocol (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• A Psychedelic Drug Passes a Big Test for PTSD Treatment (The New York Times)

Mescaline

• A Century of Mescaline (Chacruna)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• The Power of Synthetic Cannabinoids and Why Big Pharma Prefers Them (Cannabis Science and Technology)

Ketamine

• Champignon Brands Changes Name to Braxia Scientific to Reflect the Integration of Ketamine and Psychedelic Clinics and its Research and Development Priorities (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Ketamine, esketamine effective for depression but have limitations (Healio)

• What’s in the ketamine bill that just passed the House Judiciary Committee in Colorado? (KDVR)

Miscellaneous

• 100 Most Influential People in Psychedelics (Psychedelic Invest)

• Texas House Approves Psychedelics Research Bill As Marijuana Reform Measures Also Advance (Marijuana Moment)

• Can a genetic test predict your response to psychedelic drugs? (New Atlas)

• What Happens When Big Pharma Starts Selling Mass-Market Hallucinogens (The Federalist)

• Now that New York Legalized Cannabis, Could Psychedelics Be Next? (DoubleBlind)

• The push to legalize psychedelics has ignored Indigenous communities (Mic)

• Psychedelics at a Crossroads: We Need Constructive Not Extractive Capital (Dr. Bronner's)

• Red Light Holland Receives Patent Pending Status For ‘Find Your Dose’ Customization of Microdosing Kits Based on Biometric and Movement Data (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelics are transforming the way we understand depression and its treatment (The Irish Times)

• Portland Advocates Push for Psychedelic Decriminalization (Truffle Report)

• Can Psychedelics Provide Relief for Autistic Individuals? (Psychedelics Today)

• Nova Mentis Launches Autism Clinical Study (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Why drugs should be not only decriminalised, but fully legalised (New Statesman)

• Ketanserin’s Contributions to Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

• MindMed Announces Project Angie, Targeting the Treatment of Pain with Psychedelics (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Navigating the Legal Landscape of Psychedelics (Sam Woolfe)

• Culture, entrepreneurial spirit makes Okanagan viable for psychedelic research (iNFOnews)

• Psychedelics and Ecological Consciousness (Reality Sandwich)

• DoubleBlind Editor-in-Chief Shelby Hartman on Covering the World of Psychedelics (Muse by Clio)

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

This Month in Psychedelics - April 2021

April was yet another busy month in the world of psychedelics. In this recap we’re going to cover a bunch of interesting stories, including the results from a study that pitted psilocybin therapy against traditional antidepressants, a few drug policy wins, new psychedelic companies listing on the Nasdaq, why Joe Biden’s son used psychedelics several years ago, and much more.

Here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

There’s a lot to get through this month, so without further ado, let’s jump into the news:

Followup

We’ve got a little bit of follow-up to get through before moving onto the latest psychedelic news from this month. At the end of March, after I finished making last month’s recap but before the end of the month, New York became the 15th state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.

There’s a lot in New York’s bill, including the legalization of possessing, growing, using, and purchasing cannabis. The legislation placed an emphasis on social and racial equity, including things like the automatic expungement of prior convictions and the reinvestment of 40 percent of tax revenue raised from cannabis into minority communities that had higher numbers of marijuana-related arrests.

Drug Policy

Wins

Northampton, Massachusetts became the third city in the state to approve a psychedelic decriminalization measure this year after its City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that will deprioritize laws against the possession, use, and distribution of psychedelics. In addition, the resolution also states that no government or police funds should be used to enforce those laws.

In addition to the legalization of cannabis in New York from the end of March, two more states decided to free the weed as well this month. Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam signed the state’s legalization bill into law, making the state the first in the South to legalize marijuana. Not only that, but the enactment date for the possession and home cultivation components of its legislation were also moved up to this July 1st. However, retail sales still aren’t slated to start until 2024.

New Mexico also legalized cannabis for adults 21 years and older after Governor Michelle Grisham signed two bills into law this month. The first bill legalizes and regulates cannabis production, sales, and possession while the the second bill will expunge prior low-level marijuana convictions. New Mexico’s legal cannabis industry will launch no later than next April and taxes are expected to raise tens of millions of dollars for the state.

A few bills made significant progress this month: Alabama’s medical marijuana legalization bill passed the Senate and is headed to the House, Montana’s cannabis legalization bill is on its way to the state’s Governor, and lawmakers in Texas approved some cannabis and psychedelic reform bills. Several bills also cleared the committee round: cannabis legalization efforts in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Louisiana, and an attempt to legalize possession of psychedelics in the progressive state of California.

Losses

However, not every drug policy reform effort was successful. North Dakota’s Senate ended an attempt to put cannabis on the 2022 ballot, Florida’s Supreme Court killed a cannabis legalization initiative, Washington state replaced a drug decriminalization bill with a revised measure to reinstate penalties (and later downgraded those penalties), and opposition in Norway torpedoed a plan to decriminalize drug use.

Upcoming Bills and Initiatives

Looking ahead, cannabis legalization at the federal level is seeming more and more likely, with a bill expected to be filed shortly and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrating 420 on the Senate floor. A GOP congressman has introduced a bill that would protect marijuana consumers’ second amendment rights and a new proposal in Maine would legalize psilocybin therapy for adults with no medical diagnosis needed.

Psychedelic Industry

The psychedelic industry continued its growth as MindMed became the second psychedelic company to list on the Nasdaq (last September COMPASS Pathways was the first). And the trend isn’t stopping anytime soon, as ATAI Life Sciences is expected to IPO on the Nasdaq shortly as well. It’s becoming more and more normal to see news about above-ground psychedelic companies operating out in the open, and when it comes down to it, listing on the Nasdaq is about as public as it gets.

Research

A randomized controlled trial that compared psilocybin with a conventional SSRI antidepressant found the psychedelic option to be as effective at treating depression while producing fewer side effects. It was just a preliminary study with a small number of participants, but it shows that there may be hope for psychedelics to compete in the existing medical landscape.

In another study, microdosing psychedelics was associated with increases in conscientiousness and reductions in neuroticism, both of which are promising outcomes for something that has come under a lot of fire recently (a study last month showed that the positive effects of microdosing may come down to placebo effect).

Experienced psychonauts are no doubt familiar with the idea of using psychedelics to get more creative, and that concept was replicated in a clinical study that confirmed psilocybin mushrooms do in fact have the potential to enhance creative thinking after all.

Although the gold standard for psychedelic therapy currently consists of two therapists working with one patient, a study found that working in a group setting may have potential as well. However, due to COVID-19 it’s probably best to avoid any psychedelic group work until things calm down a bit.

Miscellaneous

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, published a memoir in which he detailed an account of how he worked with psychedelics to help him abstain from alcohol and crack cocaine. Back in 2014 Hunter went to a clinic in Tijuana where he was first given ibogaine, which presented him with a flickering “slideshow” of his life. Then he received 5-MeO-DMT therapy, which he credits with helping him stay sober for a year. So there you have it, psychedelics are so mainstream now that even the President’s son is coming out about his use.

Closing out this month’s recap is a story about researchers in Europe and the United States who are teaming up to produce a novel 5-MeO-DMT training program. Since this particular psychedelic is both relatively new and very powerful, clinicians don’t have a whole lot of experience administering it; hopefully this program will help them learn the knowledge necessary to make it a safe and effective experience for everyone involved.

That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this month’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.