This Week in Psychedelics - 7.23.21

Cannabis

• Cops Will No Longer Bust People for Weed at New York Airports (MERRY JANE)

• Redlining in Cannabis is Cutting Off Opportunity For Black People. (Chicago Defender)

• Medical Marijuana Patient Sues Polis Over New MMJ Laws (Westword)

• The Pernicious Myth of Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis (Filter)

• Virginia's “Marijuana Martyr” Is Now Smoking Legal Weed 48 Years After His Arrest (MERRY JANE)

• Another North Carolina Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: Cannabis Use Not Linked to Motivation Loss (NORML)

• Missouri Marijuana Activists File Legalization Initiatives For 2022 As Other Groups Prepare Separate Measures (Marijuana Moment)

• High-Potency THC Concentrates Are Just As Safe As Regular-Potency Weed, More Data Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Mississippi Lawmakers Aim To Pass Medical Marijuana Bill In August Special Session After Ballot Measure Blocked By Court (Marijuana Moment)

• The future of cannabis is female: Gen Z women are fastest-growing consumers of legal weed (NBC News)

LSD

• Performance-enhancing psychedelics: Can LSD make you better at sport? (New Atlas)

• Mississippi city settles over case of man who had taken LSD, then died after police used Taser to restrain him (Magnolia State Live)

Magic Mushrooms

• The Magic Mushroom Map shows likely spots for psilocybin-containing mushrooms (Boing Boing)

• The Other Magic Mushroom: Why a Canadian Startup is Suddenly Interested in the Fungus From Super Mario (Discover Magazine)

• Mouse Study Reveals New Details on Psilocybin’s Rewiring of the Brain (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Expert: Psilocybin Treatment May Support Patients With Obesity Who Have Tried Everything, Need Further Support (Pharmacy Times)

• Tryp Therapeutics Announces Plans for Phase 2a Clinical Trial for Fibromyalgia with the University of Michigan (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• AOC Promotes Research On Benefits Of Psychedelics Like Psilocybin And MDMA With New Amendment (Marijuana Moment)

• MDMA as a Potential Treatment for PTSD (Reality Sandwich)

DMT

• Could DMT Sweep Existing Treatments for Depression Aside? (MarketWatch)

Ayahuasca

• The Good, The Bad, and the Soul: Drug Interactions and Ayahuasca with Ben Malcolm (EntheoNation)

5-MeO-DMT

• Sonora’s traditional toad medicine ‘removes the madness from your mind’ (Mexico News Daily)

Iboga

• Lamar Odom Reveals ‘Ibogaine’ Use To Treat Drug Addiction In Explosive New Interview (The Blast)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Mydecine Expands Portfolio of Novel Molecules Filing New Patent for MDMA-like Compounds (Psilocybin Alpha)

Nitrous Oxide

• Is Nitrous Oxide a Psychedelic Drug? (Psychedelic Science Review)

Ketamine

• Ireland trials use of ketamine to treat depression (Irish Central)

• Braxia Scientific says ketamine treatment now covered by insurance for Canadian military and RCMP veterans (Proactive Investors)

• Sublingual Ketamine Is Safe and Effective for Management of Chronic Nonmalignant Pain (Clinical Pain Advisor)

• Ketamine Therapy and Addiction Risk Management: Part II (Truffle Report)

• PharmaTher Expands Psychedelic Patent Portfolio with Filing of U.S. Patent Application for Novel Ketamine Formulation (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Mindful Use of Nitrous Oxide: How to be a Connoisseur of Getting High (Maps of the Mind)

• What Neurotransmitters Does Ketamine Affect Most In The Brain? (Healing Maps)

Miscellaneous

• Is It Too Early to Invest in Psychedelic Stocks? (Nasdaq)

• Why Mindfulness Practitioners are Better Positioned to Trip on Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• How Freaks of Color Shaped Psychedelia (Lucid News)

• From Screening to Integration: Harm Reduction in Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Psychedelic Surrender (Maps of the Mind)

• Psychedelics Are Not a Mental Health Panacea (Sam Woolfe)

• Towards a More Rational and Compassionate Drug Policy (Dr. Bronner's)

• Psychedelic Activity Menus: Having Options for Your Session (Maps of the Mind)

• What Is Depth Psychology and How Does It Relate to Psychedelics? (Psychedelics Today)

• Are Potentially Legal Psychedelics Safe For Pregnant Women? (Healing Maps)

• Psychedelic Therapeutics Startup Cybin To List On NYSE’s Small Cap Market (Forbes)

• Could Psychedelics Help Prevent Mental Health Problems? (Kahpi)

• Working at Legal Psychedelic Retreats Around The World (Maps of the Mind)

• Psychedelics and Queerness (Reality Sandwich)

• What International Drug Users Remembrance Day Means to Me (Filter)

• Chelsea Osmond: Linking the Past and Future of the Psychedelic Renaissance (Chacruna)

• Creating Music Playlists for Psychedelic Journeys (Maps of the Mind)

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 - 7.16.21

Cannabis

• Schumer, Senate Democrats unveil new bill to decriminalize marijuana (The Hill)

• Can Marijuana Make You a Better Athlete? (The New York Times)

• Missouri Man Released From Prison After Serving 11 Years for Possessing One Pound of Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis vs. HIV: UNC researcher lands $4M grant to explore possibility (WRAL Tech Wire)

• DEA Approves Denver Marijuana Facility for Medical Research (Westword)

• Tennessee Republican Lawmaker’s New Bill Would Put Three Marijuana Questions Before Voters On 2022 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Michigan governor moves to regulate delta-8 THC products (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Missouri Governor Vetoes Medical Marijuana Tax Deduction Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Analysis: Marijuana Legalization Correlates with Higher Home Values (NORML)

• Study Shows Cannabis Terpenes Provide Pain Relief, Contribute to ‘Entourage Effect’ (The University of Arizona Health Sciences)

• Cannabis may have originated in northwest China, study suggests (Henry Herald)

LSD

• Auckland University researchers to trial LSD microdoses on advanced-stage cancer patients (Newshub)

• LSD vs. Acid: A Brief History of Acid Slang (DoubleBlind)

• Calls to reclassify LSD out of class A as mental health research picks up steam (Newshub)

• Genetic Determinants of the LSD Response (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Mushrooms in Mexico in Danger of Extinction (Chacruna)

• Living In Peace: Cancer Patients Extralegally Seeking Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy Amid DEA Suit (Maps of the Mind)

MDMA

• Vancouver psychedelics company gets Health Canada greenlight for MDMA therapy study (CBC)

• The Re-Emergence of Ecstasy - But Not at the Club (JD Supra)

Ayahuasca

• DMT, active component in ayahuasca, aids in the growth of new neurons (PsyPost)

• First Study on Psychedelics and Epigenetics Explores Ayahuasca’s Effects on Gene Expression (Lucid News)

• Megan Fox Said She Went To “Hell For Eternity” During A Hallucinogenic Tea Trip With Machine Gun Kelly And It “Bonded” Them Even More (BuzzFeed News)

• The Ayahuasca Experience: A Pilgrimage to the Spirit (DoubleBlind)

• Lessons From Ayahuasca (Maps of the Mind)

5-MeO-DMT

• From Hunter Biden To HGTV Star Christina Haack, Psychedelic Toad Venom Hits The Mainstream (Forbes)

Peyote

• The Traditional & Medicinal Use of Peyote in North America with Oscar Matzuwa (EntheoNation)

Iboga

• MINDCURE Announces Filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Applications for Company’s First Fully Synthetic Routes to Create an Ibogaine Psychedelic Compound (Psilocybin Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• The Rise in Synthetic Cannabinoids and Cathinones (Psychiatric Times)

Ketamine

• Microdoses of psilocybin and ketamine enhance motivation and attention in rodent models relevant to depression (PsyPost)

• Ketamine, esketamine do not differ in cognitive effects for treatment-resistant depression (Healio)

• Dissociation as Medicine? Exploring Dissociation & Dissociative Psychedelics like Ketamine (Psychedelics Today)

• Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Frontline Workers (Truffle Report)

• Awakn Life Sciences Initiates Research Program to Further Develop Ketamine-Assisted Therapies for Treating Addiction (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Ketamine Therapy and Addiction Risk Management: Part I (Truffle Report)

• Here’s How Ketamine Affects The Brain (Healing Maps)

Miscellaneous

• California Bill To Legalize Psychedelics Possession Advances Again, With New Amendments That Add Limits (Marijuana Moment)

• In the Light of Dying Stars (Here and Now Studios)

• Ethan Nadelmann Reexamines Adult Drug Use in New Podcast ‘Psychoactive’ (Rolling Stone)

• Biden Selects White House Drug Czar Who Helped Implement State Marijuana Program And Touted Medical Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

• World Reimagined: The Growth of the Psychedelic Industry (Nasdaq)

• Syncing Psychedelic Sessions with Moon Cycles (Maps of the Mind)

• Advocacy Group Asks to Delay California Psychedelics Bill Until 2022 (Truffle Report)

• Mass. Communities Move Toward Decriminalizing Psychedelics, With Some Pushback (WGBH)

• Shamanic Ceremony Leaders Join Forces to Shape Legal Strategy through the Sacred Plant Alliance (Lucid News)

• Can Coca Leaf Avoid the Wrongs of The Psychedelic Revolution? (Chacruna)

• Religious Access to Psychedelics is No Substitute for Decriminalization (DoubleBlind)

• Is public discourse on drug overdoses improving? (Drug WarRant)

• Active vs. Passive Coping Distinguishes Antidepressants and Psychedelics (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Food Suggestions for Before, During, and After Psychedelic Sessions (Maps of the Mind)

• Ultimate Guide on the Legalization and Decriminalization of Drugs (Reality Sandwich)

• Psychedelics and Death: Transitioning from this World with Consciousness (Chacruna)

• The interesting origins of psychedelic therapy (Freethink)

• New Frontiers in the Law of Psychedelics (JD Supra)

• Psychedelic Decriminalization Creating Market Opportunities (PR Newswire)

• Going Offline for Psychedelic Journeys (Maps of the Mind)

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 - 7.9.21

Cannabis

• First Full-Service Marijuana Delivery App Launches On Apple Store Following Policy Change (Marijuana Moment)

• Delta-8-THC craze concerns chemists (Chemical and Engineering News)

• Federal Marijuana Trafficking Convictions Have Fallen Dramatically Following Enactment of Statewide Legalization Laws (NORML)

• Study: Cannabis farms not as thirsty as previously thought (Eureka Times-Standard)

• FBI Loosens Marijuana Employment Policy For Would-Be Agents (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Use Associated With Increased Decision Making Skills (Green Entrepreneur)

• Sioux Tribe Is Opening South Dakota's First and Only Medical Cannabis Dispensary (MERRY JANE)

• Brazil Gains Ground on Medical Marijuana, in Defiance of Bolsonaro (Filter)

• Temple research finds that tweaking CBD may help it curb pain and opioid use in mice (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• South Dakota Marijuana Activists Unveil Four Legalization Initiatives For 2022 Ballot, Pending Supreme Court Decision (Marijuana Moment)

• Study: Cannabis use may be associated with suicidality in young adults (The Highland County Times)

Magic Mushrooms

• Just One Dose of Magic Mushroom Compound Regrows Lost Brain Connections in Mice (ScienceAlert)

• Is This Peter Thiel–Backed Startup Trying to Monopolize the Astral Plane? (Mother Jones)

MDMA

• Director James Cameron was high on MDMA when he came up with key Terminator 2 character (Metro)

• One-third of MDMA tested at festivals actually 'dangerous' drug eutylone - KnowYourStuff (Newshub)

• My summer of love: ‘Under the spell of ecstasy, strangers went straight to limitless intimacy’ (The Guardian)

DMT

• Tripping On Your Lunch Break: Inside the Rise of Casual DMT Use (VICE)

• Microdosing DMT… Wait, That’s a Thing? (EntheoNation)

Ayahuasca

• A Brief Heritage of Ayahuasca Art (DoubleBlind)

Mescaline

• Mescaline Could Help Fight Addiction, Depression, PTSD, and Anxiety, Study Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• Mescaline is Resurgent (Yet Again) As a Potential Medicine (Lucid News)

• Is Mescaline A Key Component In The Future Of Medicine? XPhyto Aims To Find Out (Forbes)

Peyote

• Inside a Peyote Pilgrimage (The New York Times)

• Two Projects Seek to Change the Legal Status of Peyote and Mushrooms in Mexico (Chacruna)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Twenty Two Plus One: Sunrise αMT at Huangshan (Maps of the Mind)

• NSW Health issues urgent alert over 'potent hallucinogen' found in MDMA (Sky News)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Warning over dangerous synthetic cannabis batch as death probed (Radio New Zealand)

Ketamine

• Colorado ketamine bill signed into law, limits police influence on sedative’s use (KDVR)

• Portrayed As Date Rape Drug, Ketamine Is Removed from California Decrim Bill (Lucid News)

Miscellaneous

• Rhode Island Governor Signs Historic Bill Legalizing Safe Consumption Sites For Illicit Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

• Study suggests psychedelic users reframe “bad trips” into positive experiences through detailed narratives (PsyPost)

• Michael Pollan is Back with Mind-Bending Thoughts on Drugs, Ego Death, and the Healing Power of Plants (GQ)

• Third California City Seeks To Decriminalize Psychedelics (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Drugs Are Moving From The Fringes Of Medicine To The Mainstream (Forbes)

• Best Practices for Serious Psychonauts (Maps of the Mind)

• Psychedelic Motherhood: The Altered States of Birth (Chacruna)

• Tryptamine Patents: Explaining Deuterated Drug Analogs (Truffle Report)

• The Ritual: A Framework for Psychedelic Journeys (Maps of the Mind)

• Real-World Research in Psychedelic Science (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Keeping a Drug Journal (Maps of the Mind)

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 - 7.2.21

Cannabis

• Mexico’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Marijuana Prohibition After Lawmakers Fail To Act (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Law Officially Takes Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• Clarence Thomas says federal laws against marijuana may no longer be necessary (NBC News)

• The UN Is Trying Really Hard to Pass a Global Ban on Weed Advertisements (MERRY JANE)

• NC Senate panel approves medical marijuana bill (WRAL)

• Sha'Carri Richardson, U.S. sprinter, out of 100m event at Tokyo Olympics after failing drug test (CBS Sports)

• Pennsylvania: Governor Signs Legislation Expanding Medical Cannabis Access for Qualified Patients (NORML)

• Apple Now Allows Marijuana Businesses On Its App Store, While Google Maintains Ban (Marijuana Moment)

• Flint’s old police academy sold for marijuana grow facility despite objections (MLive.com)

• Delaware Marijuana Legalization Effort Dead For This Session, Bill Sponsor Says Following Equity Disagreements (Marijuana Moment)

• The Biden Administration Is Trying to Block Medical Cannabis Research for Veterans (MERRY JANE)

• State lawmakers weigh options as hemp-derived delta-8 THC disrupts marijuana market (Marijuana Business Daily)

• House Approves Bill To Let Researchers Access Marijuana From State-Legal Dispensaries (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Smokers Are Exposed to Fewer Toxic Chemicals Than Cigarette Smokers, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Massachusetts Cannabis Workers Unionize, Part of a National Movement (Filter)

• Short-Term Cannabis Use Helps Chronic Insomniacs Get Solid Sleep, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

LSD

• Can LSD Treat Food Allergies? We Don’t Know, But It’s Already Been Patented (VICE)

• Mouse Study Uncovers LSD Mechanism That Promotes Positive Social Behavior (StreetInsider.com)

Magic Mushrooms

• Oregon Psilocybin Board On Track To Meet Timeline Goals (Truffle Report)

• Comparing Psilocybin Mushroom Bruising with Trichoderma Infection (Psychedelic Science Review)

• COMPASS Pathways completes COMP360 psilocybin therapy administration for 216 patients in large-scale phase IIb psilocybin therapy trial for treatment-resistant depression (Psilocybin Alpha)

• DEA Asks Appeals Court to Drop Psilocybin Lawsuit (Truffle Report)

• Psilocybin Dispensaries Could Soon Be Coming: What’s That Mean For Psychedelic Therapy? (Healing Maps)

• Why Has Growing Magic Mushrooms At Home Suddenly Started To Boom? (Healing Maps)

Ayahuasca

• First-Ever Study Looks At Ayahuasca’s Impact On DNA Expression (Forbes)

• Ayahuasca FOIA Requests Reveal Increased Ayahuasca Seizures, Lack of Due Process and Government Secrecy (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca relieves depression and anxiety, finds study on nearly 12,000 users (ZME Science)

• Ayahuasca Research: Where Science Meets Spirituality (The Third Wave)

Mescaline

• Use of mescaline may facilitate unintended improvements in several psychiatric conditions, study suggests (PsyPost)

Iboga

• Traditional Missoko Bwiti Iboga Pre-Initiations offered outside of Gabon (EIN News)

Ketamine

• Ketamine And Seizures: Can One Lead To The Other? (Healing Maps)

• IV Ketamine Shown to Be Effective and Safe for Cancer-Related Neuropathic Pain (Clinical Pain Advisor)

Miscellaneous

• California Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Psychedelics Possession In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Helping Drug Users Survive, Not Abstain: ‘Harm Reduction’ Gains Federal Support (The New York Times)

• Harvard University Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Psychedelics Policy Center (Marijuana Moment)

• UN Highlights Role of Drug War in Racist Policing (TalkingDrugs)

• Maine Senate Defeats Drug Decriminalization Bill That Cleared The House (Marijuana Moment)

• Why a UNC professor is on a quest to remove the ‘trip’ from psychedelic drugs (The News & Observer)

• The War on Drugs Comes to the Doctor’s Office (Truthout)

• Early warning system for dangerous drugs reaches online audience of more than a million in a year (Stuff.co.nz)

• How to Survive the Psychedelic Renaissance (Maps of the Mind)

• Lobe Sciences Appoints Charles Grob, MD to Scientific Advisory Board (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s (Reality Sandwich)

• Can Psychedelics Open Us to Pleasure? (Chacruna)

• What Is Transpersonal Psychology and How Does It Relate to Psychedelics? (Psychedelics Today)

• The Medicine Path (Maps of the Mind)

• Research Adds to Weight of Evidence on People Checking Drugs They Sell (Filter)

• Psychedelic Treatment for Eating Disorder Recovery (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Exploring Research on Psychedelics and Autism (Reality Sandwich)

• Microdosing, And The Gentrification Of Psychedelic Culture (Forbes)

• Militarism, Prohibitionism, Drug War: A Formula for Massacre (TalkingDrugs)

• An Insight Into Psychedelic Stocks (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 Month in Psychedelics - June 2021

June was another busy month for the world of psychedelics. In this post we’re going to cover a bunch of interesting stuff, including an LSD shop operating legally in Berlin, an update on an ayahuasca church’s attempt to get a religious exemption to use the psychedelic drug in America, an app that lets users scan their pills to see what they contain, 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:

Drug Policy

Wins

There were a few more drug policy reform wins this month. Perhaps most impressively, after several years, Mexico’s Supreme Court finally struck down marijuana prohibition in the country after its lawmakers failed to do so. This means that possessing and using cannabis in Mexico will be legal, but establishing a regulated market will take some time.

In the United States, New Mexico’s cannabis legalization law went into effect, making limited possession and cultivation of marijuana legal for adults 21 and over.

Connecticut’s governor signed two bills: one that will prompt the state to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms and another that will enable Connecticut to become the 18th state to legalize cannabis for adults.

Texas’ governor let a bill go through (without signing it) that will require the state to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for military veterans.

California’s Senate approved a bill that would decriminalize psychedelics by removing criminal penalties for possessing or sharing this class of drugs, although it still has a few more steps to go before it can be enacted into law.

Rounding out this month’s drug policy wins, Nevada’s governor signed a bill into law that regulates cannabis consumption lounges and Louisiana’s governor signed a marijuana decriminalization bill into law.

Losses

Not everything went smoothly, however. After a four-year wait, the DEA has finally denied a request for religious exemption that was submitted back in 2017 by an ayahuasca church known as Soul Quest. The church has been offering ayahuasca ceremonies in the United States for many years even though it had not previously been given a religious exemption to do so. The DEA’s investigation uncovered concerns about Soul Quest’s safety and security protocols and procedures and the church’s sincerity of religious belief was also questioned.

But the fight isn’t over yet, as there is still a chance that the matter could still be resolved in court. This particular case will be important for the future because it will set a precedent for other churches and religions to use other psychedelics as well, so it’s worth keeping your eyes on this one.

Meanwhile, Delaware’s attempt to legalize cannabis in the state has died for this session, following disagreements regarding social equity initiatives involving the bill.

Future

Looking to the future, a federal drug decriminalization measure was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although it’s unlikely to pass at this time, it’s a sign that our society has come quite a long way when it comes to loosening up its approach to drug policy.

Industry

This next one is quite a doozy. It turns out that Berlin now has an above-ground LSD shop run by one of Donald Trump’s relatives, thanks to a loophole in the law.

Well, kind of… technically the store is selling an LSD analogue known as 1CP-LSD, and owner Carl Trump claims to share a distant relative with former U.S. President Donald Trump, but that relationship has not been officially verified. At any rate, Berliners have had access to legally purchase the psychedelic drug but they better act quickly because Germany has announced plans to make it illegal soon.

In other industry news, the company known as Atai Life Sciences went public on the Nasdaq, raising more than $200 million during its initial public offering. Now Atai is the largest publicly-traded psychedelic company in the world.

After three big IPOs from the top juggernauts in the psychedelic industry (COMPASS Pathways, Field Trip, and now Atai) over the last year, it looks like psychedelics have officially secured their position in mainstream by joining the second-largest stock exchange in the world.

Research

There were a handful of interesting psychedelic research studies that caught my eye this month. First up is a small phase II clinical trial of using nitrous oxide to treat depression where 85 percent of patients saw improvements.

Next up, a study found that psilocybin may be capable of reducing suicidal thoughts in terminally ill patients. It may not come a surprise to the readers of this blog that magic mushrooms have the potential to provide a real sense of hope to a group of people who are in dire need of it. Hopefully psychedelic medicine will be available to them soon.

And some new research on drugged driving was published, this time specifically about operating a motor vehicle after ingesting cannabis. One study found that driving stoned is actually far safer than getting behind the wheel after taking prescription drugs, which really makes me think about how scary it is to be on the road with people who are on medications recommended to them by their doctor that negatively impact their ability to drive. Meanwhile, a separate (federally-funded) study found that testing people for impairment based on their levels of THC is not reliable.

Miscellaneous

Harm reductionists have yet another tool that can be used to help psychonauts use drugs as safely as possible; a new app called Pill-iD lets users scan pills to see what they contain.

However, it’s not a perfect option because rather than find out what’s actually inside a pill, the app instead uses machine learning to cross-check the user’s image against a large database of scanned pills to provide details about what drug is actually contained within, the risk level from taking it, and any potential side effects.

So while it’s not advisable to rely solely on this new app to find out what’s inside your pill, it could help inform naïve users that there is a possibility they might have bought an adulterated drug. As I’ve tried to hammer home over and over again, it’s always advisable to use a reagent test kit to further rule out the possibility that your pills contain unwanted drugs and to properly weigh your substances before you take them.

June brought two new psychedelic holidays that you might consider celebrating next year. The first, on June 12th, could possibly be named “Tram Day” (it doesn’t appear to have an official name yet), celebrates the day when Albert Hofmann’s assistant, Susi Ramstein, became the first woman ever to take LSD.

And the second holiday, on June 20th, was the first annual World Psychedelics Day, which was intended to “recognize a new age of informed perspectives on the beneficial properties of both modern psychedelic compounds and ancient plant medicines and practices.”

Although this year’s celebrations have already passed, you can put both of these new psychedelic holidays on your 2022 calendar so you can celebrate them next year.

Wrapping up this month’s recap is a story about a revolution in drug checking: at-home psilocybin test kits that can test the potency of magic mushrooms. Until now it’s been difficult to determine with any level of accuracy the amount of psilocybin in a batch of shrooms but this new technology will give anyone the ability to find that out for themselves.

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.