This Week in Psychedelics - 2.4.22

Cannabis

  • Mississippi governor signs law allowing medical marijuana (Leafly)

  • The NFL is throwing $1 million into cannabinoid research (Leafly)

  • House Officially Approves Marijuana Banking Amendment To Large-Scale Bill Set For Final Passage Friday (Marijuana Moment)

  • Delta-8 Debate: The 2018 Farm Bill gave rise to an unlikely intoxicant (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • House Advances SAFE Banking Act as Part of the America COMPETES Act (NORML)

  • Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety - Review (Drug Science)

  • Minnesota: Patients’ Access to Herbal Cannabis Products Begins March 1 (NORML)

  • Claim of Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis Overdoses in Connecticut was False (High Times)

  • Cannabis being used to treat symptoms of Long Covid in new landmark trial (Mirror)

  • ‘The science about the benefits of cannabis is limited’: Does legalizing marijuana lead to an increase in tobacco use? (MarketWatch)

  • Utah Lawmakers Pass Bill To Protect Medical Cannabis Patients (High Times)

  • A Cannabis Monopoly Asteroid is Coming (Marijuana Moment)

  • Petition Forces Ohio Lawmakers into Action on Cannabis Legalization (High Times)

  • Marijuana legalization push increasingly unites unlikely political bedfellows (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • 2021: A Year In Review For The Cannabis Industry (Forbes)

  • Top Maryland Lawmaker Files Marijuana Legalization Bill In Anticipation Of Ballot Referendum Passing (Marijuana Moment)

  • Pennsylvania Issues Mandatory Recall for Hundreds of Cannabis Products (New Cannabis Ventures)

  • Wisconsin Governor Vetoes GOP Bill To Increase Marijuana Extraction Penalties (Marijuana Moment)

  • Republican Lawmakers in Virginia Have Drafted New Cannabis Legislation (High Times)

  • Marijuana Banking Reform Cleared For House Floor (Again) Following Committee Action On Large-Scale Bill (Marijuana Moment)

  • Can Cannabinoids Unlock a Better Understanding of Our Bodies and Brains? (Discover Magazine)

  • Nearly One In Ten New Missouri Jobs Came From Medical Marijuana Industry In 2021, Trade Group Report Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Jackson seeks cannabis exemption as part of shock comeback at age 40 (The Sydney Morning Herald)

LSD

Magic Mushrooms

  • Virginia Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill Defeated In Senate Committee After Top GOP Lawmaker Flips Support (Marijuana Moment)

  • Religious Practice Under Oregon Measure 109 (Psychedelics Today)

  • Maine Lawmakers Hear Testimonies For and Against Psilocybin Bill (Truffle Report)

  • Seattle Doctor Files DEA Petition To Reschedule Psilocybin For Medical Use (Marijuana Moment)

  • America’s only psychedelic mushroom store is a church in Oakland. We observed the sacrament (Leafly)

  • Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Cancer Patients’ Case To Use Psilocybin Under Right-To-Try Laws (Marijuana Moment)

  • Psyched Wellness Announces Additional Positive Results from the 14-day Oral Toxicity Study of AME-1 (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Health Canada Grants Private Company Approval for Healthcare Professionals to Take Psilocybin, Prove Safety (Truffle Report)

MDMA

  • Couple Takes MDMA Right Before Grandfather Dies, Trips in Front of Family (Newsweek)

DMT

  • Entheon Biomedical Announces the Approval of DMT Clinical Trial (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

  • Yaminawa Women and Ayahuasca: Shamanism, Gender, and History in the Peruvian Amazon (Chacruna)

  • Women Who Heal: Musicians in the Urban Ayahuasca Scene (Chacruna)

  • Madrinha Rita: Brazilian matriarch of ayahuasca (Chacruna)

5-MeO-DMT

  • Inside a 5-MeO-DMT Retreat: Who Should and Shouldn’t Embark on This ‘Hero’s Journey’ (Psychedelic Spotlight)

Peyote

Ketamine

  • Testimony: Minneapolis police trained to ignore city's civil rights report on ketamine and excited delirium (StarTribune)

  • Can Ketamine and A.I. Improve Wellness? (Inc)

  • PharmaTher Granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Ketamine to Treat Status Epilepticus (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

  • Who Will Control the Future of Psychedelics in Colorado? (Westword)

  • Utah Lawmakers Vote To Study Benefits Of Psychedelics In Treating Mental Health Disorders (Marijuana Moment)

  • Psychedelics Decriminalization Ballot Proposal Filed in Michigan (Truffle Report)

  • I Read Every Neuroscience Study On Psychedelics Published Since 2017. Here’s What I Learned (Healing Maps)

  • Researchers use linguistic analysis to uncover differences between psychedelic drug experiences (PsyPost)

  • Psychedelic therapy effective in reducing suicidality, more trials needed (Healio)

  • Psychedelic or Not: Of Mice, 5-HT2A Agonists, and Head Shakes (Psychedelic Science Review)

  • One Year on, Oregon Drug Decriminalization Is Boosting Harm Reduction and Housing (Filter)

  • Looking Ahead to a Psychedelic 2022 (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • The Tortured Double Think of the New Drug Strategy (Transform)

  • What Happens When Psychedelic Treatment for PTSD Turns Into a Bad Trip (Slate)

  • Are Double-Blind Studies Holding Back Psychedelic Research? (The Dales Report)

  • What Research Doesn’t Tell Us About Older Psychedelic Users (Lucid News)

  • Jeering Psychedelics: A Critique of Jacques Mabit’s Criticism of Queering Psychedelics (Chacruna)

  • Are psychedelics dangerous? - What the research says (Drug Science)

  • Psychedelics Without the Trip Could Be 'Healing Magic' for Mental Health (Singularity Hub)

  • Clinical study of psychedelic drugs for cancer patients could be a ‘game changer’ (The Salt Lake Tribune)

  • Sensible policy on psychedelic drugs is growing more common (The Economist)

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 - January 2022

There’s a lot to catch up on since last month. For starters, Canadians can now request access to psychedelics, a country became the first in Asia to decriminalize cannabis, a study found that hemp may protect against COVID-19, and a U.S. politician smoked a blunt in a campaign ad.

Just like last month’s recap, there is no video recap of this month’s psychedelic news recap up on YouTube. I’ll have another update about some changes coming to my YouTube channel that should hopefully be out later this week on my channel, so make sure you subscribe there if you’d like to be informed about things on that front.

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

Policy

Wins

Kicking off the new year on a positive note, Health Canada granted the ability for patients to request special access to illegal psychedelic substances for therapeutic purposes. Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and the treatment option will be reserved for serious treatment-resistant and life-threatening conditions only.

Thailand made history by becoming the first Asian country to decriminalize cannabis. The country’s Narcotics Control Board has already approved the removal of the drug from the ministry’s list of controlled substances and the delisting will go into effect 120 days after being formally signed by the health minister.

Future

A global coalition announced its campaign to internationally reschedule psilocybin mushrooms. The International Therapeutic Psilocybin Rescheduling Initiative is working toward a worldwide policy change that would enable new research into their therapeutic potential.

In a surprising move, the mayor of London appears to be pushing for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis by 18 to 24 year-olds. This pilot trial is still in its early stages but it may signal a potential for some progressive drug policy reform to start coming out of England.

There were several huge victories in the drug policy reform movement last year, and there’s no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, there are already more than two dozen states that might relax their laws involving cannabis and psychedelics in 2022. With any luck, this might be the biggest year for drug policy reform we’ve seen yet.

But not everything is going in the right direction. Last week the DEA proposed adding five more psychedelics to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The substances are: 4-OH-DiPT, 5-MeO-AMT, 5-MeO-MiPT, 5-MeO-DET, and DiPT. If this push goes through then they will be subject to the same laws that restrict the possession, distribution, import, export, manufacturing, and research of psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA.

Industry

While many psychedelic companies are trying to patent as much intellectual property as they can, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) published a study featuring an open science approach to synthesizing MDMA. Combined with Usona Institute’s recipe for manufacturing psilocybin that was published in 2020, open science like this will greatly benefit the overall psychedelic industry.

Although many people swear by the amazing transformational experiences they’ve had with classical psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, psychedelic companies are attempting to develop a wide range of novel psychoactive substances. This is similar to the work Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin did in the 20th century. However, the difference is that Sasha wasn’t attempting to corner the market on the psychedelic substances with the greatest potential return on investment.

Research

Published Studies

A study showing that hemp compounds may have the potential of blocking COVID-19 from entering human cells went viral this month. But before you run out to your nearest dispensary (or dealer) for some flower to cram in your vape, you should know that 1) This research was not conducted directly on humans, and 2) The results were not related to smoking, vaping, or eating weed. Instead, the study found that two specific cannabinoids (CBDA and CBGA) inhibited the reproduction and spread of coronavirus during in vitro lab tests.

A clinical trial testing the use of ketamine therapy to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD) reported positive results. The study found that the treatment—which also featured an AUD-specific form of mindfulness practice—led to a 90% abstinence rate for patients for six months. In addition, the risk of deaths was also reduced by ten times.

The field of microdosing research is still in its earliest stages, and the verdict is still out as to whether it’s actually effective or not. However, another study has found that there may be no difference between microdosing and placebo. More than 50 subjects participated in a double-blind trial exploring whether microdosing psilocybin could lead to improvements in emotional and mental health. There were not any significant differences between the periods when the participants were microdosing and the times they were taking a placebo.

Future Studies

With the opioid crisis getting worse every year and the rate of overdose deaths rising faster than ever before, the U.S. federal government is starting to consider its options for addressing these issues. One future study to keep your eyes on will take a look at using a non-hallucinogenic version of ibogaine for addiction treatment, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse is partnering up with neuroscience startup Delix Therapeutics to conduct the study.

Harm Reduction

Drug checking organizations in New Zealand have detected a dramatic decrease in the amount of eutylone (commonly referred to as “bath salts”) being sold as “MDMA” in the country. The reason for this drop in tainted drugs most likely has to do with the fact that New Zealand embraced the concept of drug checking after legalizing the practice in November.

Miscellaneous

A candidate running for U.S. Senate made a ton of waves when he smoked a blunt in a new campaign ad. Democrat Gary Chambers, who is hoping to be Louisiana’s newest senator, spends the ad’s 37 seconds (which is the amount of time in between each cannabis-related arrest in America) talking about the harms of criminalization. It’s really a must-watch.

Rounding this month’s recap out is a history lesson. New archaeological evidence from Peru indicated that elite members of the Wari Empire consumed hallucinogenic beer-like beverages to power and maintain political control. Similar to the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, we don’t know everything about what occurred at these parties, but one thing’s for sure—the Waris knew how to throw down!

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.

This Year in Psychedelics - 2021

Before we get into this recap of the biggest psychedelic news stories from 2021, I’d like to address the fact that this blog post is coming out a month late. Normally I strive to publish my yearly recaps on New Year’s Eve, but things have been really hectic on my end lately and I’ve been barely keeping up with putting out the weekly link roundups, much less creating monthly and yearly recaps or other types of content.

So I apologize for not getting this out into the world sooner. I’ve started to realize that I bit off way more than I can chew over the last year and fell behind on things here at Think Wilder. Here’s hoping 2022 will be a little more focused so I can meet my deadlines and get my work out in a timely manner for y’all to enjoy!

Just like last month’s recap, there is no video recap of this year’s psychedelic news recap up on YouTube. I’ll have another update about some changes coming to my YouTube channel that should hopefully be out later this week on my channel, so make sure you subscribe there if you’d like to be informed about things on that front.

Moving on to the main show, there was a ton of huge news in 2021. Without further ado, let’s jump into the news.

Policy

Wins

Nine U.S. cities decriminalized psychedelics:

When it comes to cannabis policies there were several successes at the state level, even though attempts to change things at the federal level were unsuccessful. Four states legalized weed:

In addition, Alabama legalized medical marijuana and New Jersey and Louisiana decriminalized cannabis.

Taking things a bit further, Baltimore, MD and Scotland decriminalized the use of all drugs.

The governors of Connecticut and Texas signed legislation that will enable the states to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. And New Zealand legalized drug checking, becoming the world’s first country to do so.

Industry

One of the biggest stories in the psychedelic industry involved the fight over patenting various aspects involving psychedelics. The one that probably stirred up the most discontent was when COMPASS Pathways submitted a patent application that attempted to claim the right to common, preexisting psychedelic therapy techniques. This prompted a discussion about patents in psychedelia, with many people wondering if companies should own the future of the field. COMPASS Pathways has five U.S. patents and a total of ten worldwide, so they are quickly claiming rights to a lot of intellectual property in the space. But not without a fight—last month a non-profit known as Freedom to Operate submitted a new legal filing that argues against COMPASS Pathways’ patent on its form of synthetic psilocybin based on the idea that it is not a novel invention. The results from this case will set a precedent for not just COMPASS Pathways but for other psychedelic companies as well.

Psychedelic companies started making waves on the stock markets around the world, with five companies joining the Nasdaq (Mindmed, atai Life Sciences, Field Trip Health, Enveric Biosciences, and Bright Minds Biosciences) and Cybin joining the New York Stock Exchange.

Psychedelic companies secured a historic amount of funding, estimated at a cool $2 billion.

A few other interesting stories in the realm of psychedelic industry from 2021:

Research

Published Studies

Several studies came out:

Future Studies

Looking ahead:

  • A study looking to treat tobacco addiction with psilocybin will receive federal funding

  • The NIH granted Yale nearly $200k to fund the studying of psilocybin for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder

  • The Australian government earmarked $15 million for psychedelic research

  • The DEA has proposed a dramatic increase in the production of cannabis and psychedelics for research in 2022

Research Centers

A record-breaking number of psychedelic research centers were announced or opened:

In addition to these new psychedelic research centers, Harvard Law School’s Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation will contribute to the effort to create evidence-based laws and policies involving psychedelics.

Harm Reduction

The FDA and CDC issued warnings to consumers about potential risks involving delta-8 THC, a relatively new psychoactive cannabinoid that has grown in popularity due to its widespread legality but remains essentially unregulated at this time. Apparently there has been a significant increase in reported adverse health effects from people using this drug.

However, before you go ahead and toss any of these products you may already own out of the window, it may be helpful to know that it’s not like people are getting poisoned. In fact, it’s far more likely that they are unintentionally getting high after using delta-8 THC because of misunderstandings, bad labeling, and a lack of experience.

The Fireside Project has been helping people process psychedelic experiences via its free peer support phone line since it launched last April, but the organization took things to the next level by releasing a psychedelic peer support app. Now psychonauts in need of support can find help on either the phone or via chat, which may be helpful for people who prefer one form of communication over another.

Drug checking is an essential practice for any responsible psychonaut, and new technologies are coming out that will ensure more innovative and accurate results than ever before. The popular harm reduction organization known as DanceSafe released a new ketamine test kit (called the Morris reagent) that was engineered to identify the difference between ketamine and common analogues like DCK and 2FDCK. And a startup called Miraculix took things one step further by creating rapid at-home test kits that can assess the potency of various psychoactive drugs, including MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin.

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.

Miscellaneous

What a year! Tons of new psychedelic research studies, a streak of drug policy reform wins, the growing psychedelic industry, and several important developments in psychedelic culture… last year was certainly a lot to take in.

Now that you’ve read my recap of the biggest psychedelic news from 2021, I’d like to recommend the following highlights from other publications that you might enjoy:

And lastly, I will leave you with the links to the annual psychedelic news recaps I’ve published over the last six years. I hope you have a wonderful 2022 and make sure you subscribe to my monthly newsletter to keep up-to-date with all the latest psychedelic news.

Previous Years in Psychedelics

That’s all for this year’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 year’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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 1.28.22

Cannabis

  • Thailand Becomes First Country in Asia to Decriminalize Marijuana (TIME)

  • New York medical cannabis approved for ‘any’ condition a doctor recommends (Leafly)

  • Mississippi: Lawmakers Advance Medical Cannabis Access Bill to Governor’s Desk (NORML)

  • Amazon Endorses Federal Cannabis Legalization (High Times)

  • Europeans choosing cannabis over ecstasy (The Portugal News)

  • Delaware Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

  • Arkansas voters could see 3 recreational marijuana initiatives on ballot (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Cannabis Events Come Out of Hiding in New York City (The New York Times)

  • North Dakota recreational marijuana measure fails to qualify for ballot (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Wisconsin Republicans Announce Limited Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

  • Legal Cannabis Opens a Pandora’s Box of Equity Issues (Capital and Main)

  • Ohio Lawmakers Will Be Forced To Consider Marijuana Legalization As State Validates Activist Signatures (Marijuana Moment)

  • Active Ingredient in Cannabis Protects Aging Brain Cells (Neuroscience News)

  • Majority Of Americans Say They’d Vote For A Politician Who Smokes Marijuana, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • What Happens When You Quit Cannabis? (IFLScience)

  • Missouri Marijuana Legalization Measures Take Differing Approaches to Expungement (Marijuana Moment)

  • Minnesota Groups Bind Together to Oppose Legal Cannabis (High Times)

  • Don’t Feed Marijuana Buds To Donkeys, New Study Warns (Marijuana Moment)

  • South Dakota: House Lawmakers Move to Repeal Citizen-Initiated Home Cultivation Rights (NORML)

LSD

  • FDA clears phase 2b study of LSD treatment for generalized anxiety (Healio)

Magic Mushrooms

  • No difference between psilocybin microdosing and placebo, trial finds (New Atlas)

  • Colorado Activists File Revised Ballot Initiatives To Legalize Psilocybin And Establish ‘Healing Centers’ (Marijuana Moment)

  • Oregon Lawmakers File Psilocybin Equity Bill As State Implements Legal Use Program (Marijuana Moment)

  • Oklahoma Republicans File Bills To Decriminalize Psilocybin And Encourage Research On Medical Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

  • Numinus Identified as a Licensed Psilocybin Supplier by Health Canada (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Psilocybin: Following in the Footsteps of Cannabis Along the Path to Legality (JD Supra)

  • Psyched Wellness Provides Update on Anti-Inflammatory Study with the National Research Council of Canada (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • How is Oregon Preparing for the Facilitated Use of Psilocybin? (Lucid News)

  • Red Light Holland’s Partner CCrest Laboratories Approved By Health Canada to Supply Psilocybin to the Special Access Program (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Diamond Therapeutics Looks At Low-Dose Psilocybin (The Dales Report)

  • Mydecine Partners with Combat Stress to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans (Psilocybin Alpha)

DMT

  • Algernon Pharmaceuticals Discloses Novel Salt Patent Strategy as Part of its Psychedelic Drug DMT Intellectual Property (Psilocybin Alpha)

5-MeO-DMT

  • A Psychedelic Craze Has Taken Hold Among The Rich, Toad Venom (Baller Alert)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • The Future of Psychedelic Medicine Will Be Drugs You’ve Never Heard Of (VICE)

  • Awakn Life Sciences Files Patent Application for a New Class of Entactogen-Like Molecules to Treat a Broad Range of Addictions (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ketamine

  • New study indicates ketamine is less effective than electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression (PsyPost)

  • Ketamine Intravenous Therapy Shown to Improve Depression, Reduce Suicidal Ideation (Psych Central)

  • Have We Eliminated Stigma Surrounding Ketamine-Assisted Treatment? (Volteface)

Miscellaneous

  • Missouri Legislators Introduce Bill to Give Terminally Ill Patients Access to Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

  • Virginia House Committee Pushes Back Psychedelics Decriminalization Bill Until 2023, But Senate Proposal Still Pending (Marijuana Moment)

  • Lawmakers Propose Study of Natural Psychedelics for Mental Health Use (Westword)

  • Introducing Vital: Immersive, Inclusive, and Personal Psychedelic Training for Professionals (Psychedelics Today)

  • Psychedelic Perceptions in 2021: Popular Culture & Controversy (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Family Tripping: How Multigenerational Psychedelic Drug Experiences Can Provide Connection (Everything Zoomer)

  • Psychedelic Capital: Public vs. Private Markets (Truffle Report)

  • Sensible policy on psychedelic drugs is growing more common (The Economist)

  • Inside the Growing Wellness Trend of Psilocybin Mushroom Microdosing (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • Hallucinogen chemistry guides antidepressant drug discovery (Chemical and Engineering News)

  • Decriminalize Nature and Students For Sensible Drug Policy Create a Community Healing Alliance (High Times)

  • Have You Taken Psychedelics? Participate In The Canadian Psychedelics Survey Sponsored By MAPS PBC (The Dales Report)

  • Laganja Estranja’s Psychedelic Life (DoubleBlind)

  • Psychedelics and Parkinson’s Disease: Improving Patient Quality of Life (Truffle Report)

  • Psychedelic and Plant Medicines: A Portal to Transformative Realms of Possibility (Nonprofit Quarterly)

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 - 1.21.22

Cannabis

  • Thailand Plans to Make Marijuana Legal, Scrapping Jail Terms and Fines for Possession (Bloomberg)

  • U.S. Senate Candidate Smokes Marijuana Blunt In Campaign Ad About Harms Of Criminalization (Marijuana Moment)

  • After One Year As President, Biden’s Marijuana Promises Remain Unfulfilled (Marijuana Moment)

  • Mississippi House Approves Medical Marijuana Bill With Amendments (Marijuana Moment)

  • It’s high time that people caught with cannabis be spared jail, declare public (The Telegraph)

  • London’s Cannabis Diversion Plan Draws Political Fire (Filter)

  • Kansas Medical Marijuana Hearings Cancelled After Senate GOP Leader Reroutes House-Passed Bill (Marijuana Moment)

  • What Is THC-O Acetate, And Why Is It Getting Attention? (Forbes)

  • Study Shows Cannabis was Food Staple for Ancient Chinese Dynasty (High Times)

  • Most Americans Predict Biden Won’t Uphold Marijuana Decriminalization Promise In 2022, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Austin, Texas Cannabis Decriminalization Initiative Set for Ballot in May (High Times)

  • Rhode Island Governor Includes Marijuana Legalization And Expungements In Budget Request (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis use impacts cognitive ability beyond intoxication: study (CTV News)

  • Minnesota Democratic Leaders Preview Marijuana Legalization Plan For 2022 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Ohio Advocates Submit Additional Signatures for Cannabis Proposal (High Times)

  • Kentucky Addresses Cannabis Reform Through New Legislation (High Times)

  • Canada might be home to the world’s first airport dispensary (Leafly)

  • Nebraska Activists Say New GOP Medical Marijuana Bill Is A ‘Poison Pill’ Meant To Detract From Ballot Efforts (Marijuana Moment)

  • South Dakota Governor Demands Cannabis Advocates Cover Legal Costs (High Times)

  • Banking Activity Increases In States That Legalize Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis Companies Target Teens on Social Media, Study Claims (High Times)

  • Cloudastructure’s Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Cannabis Surveillance (High Times)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Controversial Kansas Lawmaker Files Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Possession And Cultivation (Marijuana Moment)

  • Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Tell DEA To Allow Psilocybin Treatment For Terminal Patients (Marijuana Moment)

  • New Research Probes Psilocybin’s Effect on Suicidality (Lucid News)

  • Optimi Health Submits Natural Psilocybin Combined Drug Delivery and Extraction Formulations for Provisional Patent (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

  • Why MDMA Makes You Horny (VICE)

  • Use of ecstasy and cocaine drops during pandemic (Irish Examiner)

  • Numinus Announces Key Milestones in MAPS-Sponsored MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD Clinical Trial (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • The MDMA Comedown: Why Coming Down From Molly Feels So Bad (DoubleBlind)

  • A psychedelic trip to recovery: How psychedelics can help treat PTSD (The Ubyssey)

DMT

  • Algernon Pharmaceuticals Files for Clinical Trial and Ethics Approval for Phase 1 DMT Human Stroke Study (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Why Do People See Elves And Other "Entities" When They Smoke DMT? (IFLScience)

Ayahuasca

Morning Glory Seeds

  • What Is LSA? Your Guide To The Complicated Psychedelic (Healing Maps)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

  • BetterLife Receives FDA Response On Its Pre-IND Application For Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Treatment With BETR-001 (Psilocybin Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

  • Study: Cannabinoids May Help Prevent and Treat Peanut Allergies (The Marijuana Herald)

  • Trial Will Test Synthetic Cannabinoid for Weight Loss in Obesity (Medscape)

  • Dyadic Introduces Novel Method to Produce Synthetic Cannabinoids and Precursors Utilizing C1 Cell Line Production Platform and Patent Pending Process (GlobeNewswire)

Ketamine

  • Plastic Surgeons Are Using Ketamine to Make Nose Jobs More Pleasant (Allure)

Datura

  • Are your food grains adulterated with poisonous dhatura (Times of India)

Miscellaneous

  • DEA Proposes Adding 5 More Psychedelics to Schedule 1 Controlled Substances (Psychedelic Spotlight)

  • Psychedelic use is only “weakly” associated with psychosis-like symptoms, according to new research (PsyPost)

  • Utah Lawmaker Files Bill To Explore Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics (High Times)

  • Psychedelics ‘Train Has Left the Station’ Says Federal Drug Official as More States Seek Access (Psychedelic Spotlight)

  • Sydney Researchers Awarded Over $2.2 Million By Australian Government To Study MDMA, Psilocybin (Forbes)

  • Missouri Lawmaker Files Bill To Decriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession (Marijuana Moment)

  • Psychedelic legalization now (The New Amsterdam Psychedelic Law Blog)

  • Psygen Receives Dealer’s Licence To Become Canada’s First Dedicated Psychedelics Manufacturing Facility (The Dales Report)

  • Allowing psychedelic assisted therapy is an enlightened move, medical experts say (National Post)

  • Majority of Mental Health Patients Support Access to Psychedelics, Survey Finds (Psychedelic Spotlight)

  • Psychedelic Company Highlights in 2021 (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Talking Drugs Updates from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (TalkingDrugs)

  • Pandemic Tripping With Psychedelics (Green Market Report)

  • What are the potential risks of microdosing psychedelics? (Leafly)

  • Cybin Set to Measure Psychedelic Effects on the Brain Using Kernel Flow’s Revolutionary Technology (Psychedelic Spotlight)

  • Peek Inside Philadelphia’s Psychedelics Revolution (Philadelphia Magazine)

  • Psychedelic Science Leader Eleusis to Become Public Company in Merger with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. II (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • How Port Townsend, Washington, Decriminalized Psychedelics (Filter)

  • Athletes and Psychedelics: Mental Health and Performance (Truffle Report)

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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.