This Week in Psychoactives - 1.17.20

Cannabis

• Hawaii’s Marijuana Decriminalization Law Is Officially In Effect (Marijuana Moment)

• Scientists discover the reason why anxious people smoke marijuana (Inverse)

• Pot seizures jumped at U.S. border in the year after Canada legalized cannabis (CBC)

• Black Swan: rare Jamaican cannabis strain could treat pancreatic cancer (Health Europa)

• Report: Federal Marijuana Prosecutions Declining (NORML)

• New Jersey: Court Affirms Employer Must Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses (NORML)

• Medical Marijuana Is an Ideal Replacement for Opioids, Another Study Confirms (MERRY JANE)

• New CDC Report Highlights the Risks of Black-Market THC Vapes (Reason)

• Weed impairs driving skills long after the high is gone (FOX6Now.com)

• New Approach Montana aims to put two legalization measures on 2020 ballot (Leafly)

• New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed After Governor Puts Issue On 2020 Agenda (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Delivery Drones Are Coming to Seattle This Spring (MERRY JANE)

• Colorado lawmakers want to stop employers from firing people for using weed in their personal time (The Denver Post)

• Marijuana Record Expungement Movement Growing Rapidly, Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• Can Workers Still Get Fired For Using Marijuana In Legal States? (BroBible)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Take New Approach To Marijuana Legalization For 2020 (Marijuana Moment)

• More pets accidentally eating marijuana (WNEM)

• Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Shifts Focus To 2022 Instead Of This Year (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study Finds ALD-52, 1P-LSD, and 1B-LSD Are Prodrugs of LSD (Psychedelic Science Review)

Magic Mushrooms

• A Single Dose of Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Reduce Anxiety for Nearly Five Years (MERRY JANE)

• COMPASS Pathways Granted Patent Covering Use of Its Psilocybin Formulation in Addressing Treatment-resistant Depression (PR Newswire)

• Psychedelic Events Are Going Mainstream, Where The Much-Maligned Mushroom Industry Focuses On Mental Health (Forbes)

Ayahuasca

• We Are Harvesting the Ayahuasca Vine at an Alarming Rate (Kahpi)

• 'I wake up and I'm a baby': an NFL star's journey into ayahuasca (The Guardian)

• How Can You Drink Ayahuasca Legally in the U.S.? (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca, Nazis, and the Life of Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (Kahpi)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• The World’s First LSD Microdosing Kit is Here (DoubleBlind)

Nitrous Oxide

• Laughing gas can ease symptoms of depression in just two hours by acting on a brain chemical with no side-effects, new research suggests (Daily Mail)

• Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban (The Guardian)

• UAMS first hospital in central Arkansas to offer laughing gas for women in labor (KTHV)

Opioids

• Up to a third of opioid overdose deaths might be suicides, researcher concludes (Medical Xpress)

• Heroin, Fentanyl Deaths Drop in Medicaid Expansion States (U.S. & News Report)

Cocaine

• A Cocaine Nasal Spray Just Received FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)

Methamphetamine

• Meth overtakes marijuana, now most reported drug in Tennessee crime labs (WJHL)

Caffeine

• Using caffeine as a tool to study information processing (Medical Xpress)

Nicotine

• Vaping crackdown: School system will send e-cigarette users to alternative school (AL.com)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepine prescriptions reach ‘disturbing’ levels in the US (New Scientist)

Alcohol

• The Latest Findings on Why It’s So Hard to Quit Drinking (Elemental)

Kratom

• Kratom to Be Removed as Type-5 Narcotic in Thailand (Chiang Rai Times)

• Kratom Business From Colorado Breaks New Ground in Oregon (Westword)

• The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug? (NPR)

• Kratom Lab Testing and Why It Matters (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Vanuatu stops issuing kava export licences, moves to tighten regulations (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous

• Explosive growth of plant medicine movement aims to help heal the world (Chacruna)

• Activists Take Steps To Decriminalize Psychedelics In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)

• How researchers and advocates of color are forging their own paths in psychedelic-assisted therapy (WHYY)

• The DEA seized her father’s life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred, lawsuit says (The Seattle Times)

• A Report From the Rocky Path to Legal Psychedelics (Playboy)

• Johns Hopkins Scientists Give Psychedelics the Serious Treatment (Scientific American)

• Ukraine paves the way for innovative harm reduction in the EECA region (TalkingDrugs)

• Roadside drug tests failed by 185 drivers during festive campaign (BBC)

• BBC Duped into Promoting Marketing Scheme for Microdosing Psychedelics (Psymposia)

• NYC To Host Economics Of Psychedelics Investing Summit (Benzinga)

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.22.19

Cannabis

• Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Congressional Committee In Historic Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Biden Says Marijuana Might Be A Gateway Drug (Forbes)

• Britons who legally smoke cannabis in the US 'risk being deported' (The Guardian)

• Pure CBD Does Not Trigger Positive Drug Tests for Weed, New Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Thailand Will Soon Allow Its Citizens To Grow Cannabis At Home To Sell To The Government. (Forbes)

• Colorado Supreme Court Rules Convicts Can Use Medical Weed While on Probation (MERRY JANE)

• Hemp-Derived CBD Helps Chronic Pain Patients Reduce Opioid Use, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Medical Cannabis Isn't Working in the UK (VICE)

• Access to Legal Cannabis Leads to a Decline in Sleep Aid Sales (MERRY JANE)

• NJ Lawmakers Plan to Put Legalization on 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Virginia Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Filed For 2020 After Democrats Reclaim Legislature (Marijuana Moment)

• Why Are Doctors Still So Reluctant To Prescribe Medical Cannabis? (HuffPost)

LSD

• Silicon Valley's extreme new productivity hack: LSD (GQ)

Magic Mushrooms

• Are Magic Mushrooms The Next Frontier For The Cannabis Industry? (The Fresh Toast)

MDMA

• Dad pushes for drugs to be legalised after sons on MDMA die side-by-side (Mirror)

DMT

• Scientists Discover Psychedelic DMT Creates Waking Dream State in Brain (Newsweek)

Ayahuasca

• Can the psychedelic drug ayahuasca help fight suicide? (PsyPost)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Designer Drugs: My Addiction to Research Chemicals (The Fix)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Under the Radar: Synthetic Cannabinoids and Vaping-Related Lung Injuries (Project CBD)

Ketamine

• Ketamine’s potential to fight alcohol abuse has a major problem (Inverse)

• Side effects mild, brief with single antidepressant dose of intravenous ketamine (ScienceDaily)

Opioids

• Doctors Are Cutting Patients Off Opioid Medications Too Fast, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Surgeon General To Purdue Students: Carry Naloxone, Get Screened For Addiction Risk (WJCT)

Methamphetamine

• ‘Meth. We’re on It’: South Dakota’s Anti-Meth Campaign Raises Eyebrows (The New York Times)

Tobacco

• President Trump Backing Off Banning Vaping Flavors Popular With Teens (TIME)

• Bill Passed by Massachusetts House Would Allow Police to Seize Cars from Vapers who Possess DIY or Black Market E-Liquids (Tobacco Analysis)

• Juul Sued by Two States for Allegedly Marketing E-Cigs to Kids (MERRY JANE)

• American Medical Association Calls for Immediate Ban on All E-Cigarettes and Vaping Products (TIME)

• Philippines' Duterte Says He Will Ban E-Cigarettes, Threatens To Arrest Vapers (NPR)

• Apple to remove vaping apps from store (Axios)

• Influential U.S. doctors group calls for ban on vaping products (Reuters)

• How Wily Teens Outwit Bathroom Vape Detectors (WIRED)

• Smokers who switch to vaping rapidly boost heart health in trial (Yahoo! News)

Kratom

• What Causes Kratom Wobbles & How To Treat It? (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom and Diabetes: Everything You Need to Know (Diabetes Insider)

Khat

• Miraa, muguka crawling with germs, study says (Standard Media)

Miscellaneous

• Where US Psychedelic Decriminalization Efforts Stand Right Now (Filter)

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

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.

This Week in Psychoactives - 9.13.19

CANNABIS

• Three Companies Subpoenaed in Weed Vape Illness Investigation (Rolling Stone)

• British vapers are safe, claim health experts after deaths in US (The Guardian)

• U.S. Pot Industry Faces Antitrust Overhang: Cannabis Weekly (Bloomberg)

• Overregulation Drives Illegal Marijuana Market In Legal States, Study Suggests (Marijuana Moment)

• These Cops Are Seizing Cash from People Who Smell Like Weed Before They Fly to California (VICE)

• New Mexico Will Now Allow Out of State Residents to Get Medical Marijuana Cards (MERRY JANE)

• Canadian Company Planning to Introduce Odourless Cannabis (Leafly)

• Harmful Stereotypes About Marijuana Consumers Persist In The Media, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• DEA Wants 3.2 Million Grams Of Marijuana Legally Grown In 2020 (Forbes)

• Tim Hortons’ WiFi Blocks Legal Cannabis Websites (Leafly)

• Cannabis smoking may lower diabetes risk in obese individuals: study (Speciality Medical Dialogues)

• Joe Biden Says Marijuana Should Remain Illegal As A Misdemeanor At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• Legal Marijuana Is A ‘Positive Amenity’ For New Colorado Residents, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Mark Sanford Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief' (NPR)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Motion to prevent sale of magic mushrooms defeated by Vancouver council (CBC)

• Could Magic Mushrooms Soon Be Used for Therapy in Denver? (5280)

MDMA

• King's College London needs volunteers for a new MDMA study (Mixmag)

DMT

• DMT: The Biosynthesis Debate (Psychedelic Science Review)

AYAHUASCA

• Watch the Vibrations of Ayahuasca Songs Projected on Water (DoubleBlind)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Chilling map shows which synthetic drugs are killing Kiwis around New Zealand (Newshub)

KETAMINE

• Tripping My Way Toward Wellness One Ketamine Infusion at a Time (The Bold Italic)

OPIOIDS

• Data Touted by OxyContin Maker to Fight Lawsuits Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story (ProPublica)

• ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Denying a Federal Prisoner Buprenorphine (Filter)

• Taliban's Opium Fields Blocking Chinese Conquest of Afghanistan (Breitbart)

• These Newborn Babies Cry for Drugs, Not Milk (The New York Times)

COCAINE

• Cocaine burned massive hole in man's throat before untimely death: report (Fox News)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Meth in the Miami Valley: Users are violent, paranoid, psychotic (Dayton Daily News)

CAFFEINE

• Drinking tea improves brain health, study suggests (ScienceDaily)

TOBACCO

• Trump Announces Disastrous Plan to Ban Flavored Vapes Across the US (Filter)

• FDA criticizes Juul for telling students its e-cigs are ‘totally safe’ (Engadget)

• Denver Pushing to Raise Tobacco Purchasing Age, License Retail Stores (Westword)

• Utah representative pushes to ban e-cigarette products, claiming study found illegal drugs in e-liquids (Fox 13 Now)

• Bloomberg Takes on Vaping After Giving $1 Billion to Fight Tobacco (The New York Times)

ALCOHOL

• Only a fraction of the costs of excessive drinking are paid for by alcohol taxes (Medical Xpress)

• Doctor Warns Alcohol Is The Most Dangerous Substance To Unborn Babies (WCCO)

KRATOM

• Can You Vaporize Kratom? Is It Safe To Vape? (Kratom Guides)

• Tons of Kratom Being Sold in Colorado (Westword)

• Most Common Street Names For Kratom (Kratom Guides)

KHAT

• Judge rules Somali man detained for stimulant can stay in US (SFGate)

DATURA

• Killer Hallucinogenic Weed Blooming in Upper West Side Median Strip: Report (NBC New York)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Oregon Voters Could See Measure To Decriminalize All Drugs On 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Researchers Find Unexpected White Blood Cells in Patients With Mysterious Vaping Illness (VICE)

• Berkeley City Council To Vote On Decriminalizing Psychedelics (Marijuana Moment)

• Why some South American indigenous tribes give their dogs psychedelic drugs (The Outline)

• Google puts drug addiction recovery info front and center (Engadget)

• Emotional breakthroughs during psychedelic experiences linked to future increases in mental well-being (PsyPost)

• NSW Health backs plan for early warning system on drugs (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• New law gives NZ police discretion not to prosecute drug users, but to offer addiction support instead (The Conversation)

• The HPPD Debate: Is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder Real? (MERRY JANE)

• REPORT: 1/4 Of Youth Have Seen Drugs For Sale On Snapchat & Instagram (Your EDM)

• DARPA wants benefits of psychedelics but without hallucinations (The Sociable)

• Too many hooked on prescription drugs - health chiefs (BBC)

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.

The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit

Mark Joseph Stern, writing for Slate:

The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday, placing real limitations on policing for profit across the country. Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines, including the seizure of property, on people accused or convicted of a crime. Rarely does the court hand down a ruling of such constitutional magnitude—and seldom do all nine justices agree to restrict the power that police and prosecutors exert over individuals. The landmark decision represents a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcement’s legalized theft has gone too far.

It’s rare to see a unanimous decision come out of the Supreme Court. This is excellent news for civil asset forfeiture reform. And it’s been a long time coming. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that the law is crystal clear now—some things remain undefined:

But Wednesday’s decision leaves some questions unanswered. The court has already ruled that when the federal government seizes money or property, the fine must not be “grossly disproportional to the gravity of [the] offense.” Presumably, this same standard now applies to the states. But when is a forfeiture grossly disproportionate? Does Indiana’s seizure of Timbs’ Land Rover meet this standard? Ginsburg didn’t say, instead directing the Indiana Supreme Court to evaluate the question. Prepare for a flood of litigation urging federal courts to determine when civil asset forfeiture crosses this constitutional line.

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This Week in Psychedelics - 3.31.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Canada Is Going to Legalize Marijuana in 2018 (TIME)
• Marijuana Treated Like Alcohol? Legislation Filed In Senate and House (NORML)
• Johns Hopkins University Dropped Out of a Clinical Trial for Smoked Cannabis, and Veterans With PTSD Want to Know Why (Reason)
• Are You Overdosing on Cannabis? Preventing Negative Side Effects From Marijuana (Psychedelic Times)
• List of Major Cannabinoids in Cannabis and Their Effects (Leafly)
• Research Suggests Legal Cannabis Is Failing To Corrupt Youth (Forbes)
• First Amendment Victory Over Ban on Political Contributions from Medical Marijuana Businesses in Illinois (Reason)
• Colorado Has a Plan to Avoid a Marijuana Crackdown by President Trump (TIME)
• John Kasich Says Medical Marijuana Has No Place in Stopping Ohio's Opioid Crisis (TIME)
• Georgia lawmakers expand medical cannabis conditions, but still haven't legalized cultivation (The Cannabist)
• Illinois Considers Cannabis Legalization, Seeking Financial Boost (Leafly)
• Wisconsin City Removes Fines for Marijuana Possession and Consumption (NORML)
• Cannabis infused candy floss edibles now exist and they need to come to the UK (Metro)
• Chatting With Chef Dave Hadley: Chopped Winner and Cannabis Connoisseur (Leafly)
• Cannabis growing expo attracts international audience (Northern Nevada Business Weekly)
• Queensland Takes Lead as Australian Cannabis Stocks Soar (Leafly)
• Kansas City Voters to Weigh in on Decriminalization Measure – Yes on 5 (NORML)
• This Patient Was Denied a Kidney Transplant Over Medical Marijuana (ATTN:)
• Could cannabis crowns become Coachella's hot new floral headpiece? (Los Angeles Times)
• 'I gave my dying son cannabis to ease his cancer symptoms and he made a miracle recovery' reveals mum (Mirror)
• The DEA's Approval of This Drug Highlights Its Own Hypocrisy (ATTN:)
• How to Make DIY Cannabis-Infused Lube (Leafly)
• Trafficked and enslaved: the teenagers tending UK cannabis farms (The Guardian)

LSD

• Taking LSD 'could actually heal your brain' rather than just treating mental illness (Metro)
• The extraordinary story of the Welsh LSD ring that supplied 60% of global supply and was worth equivalent of half a billion pounds (Mirror)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• I Saw The Light: Reducing anxiety, stress, depression, more with shrooms (City Paper)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• For women, ecstasy could more easily become a nightmare (The Rival)
• MDMA spike in Tasmanian regional area could be linked to music festival, ACIC says (ABC Online)
• Darwin has highest levels of MDMA consumption according to analysis of waste water by Australian Crime Commission (The Mercury)
• Which capital city in Australia has the dodgiest MDMA? (Happy)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• The Toad of Dawn: 5-MeO-DMT and the Rise of Cosmic Consciousness by Dr Octavio Rettig Hinojosa (Psychedelic Press UK)
• An LGBTQ Guide to Ayahuasca Tourism In South America (Psychedelic Times)
• The Therapeutic Value of Ayahuasca (Reality Sandwich)
• New Business Fad: Tripping on Ayahuasca (The Daily Beast)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Can ibogaine treatment facilitate long-term recovery from addiction? (iBogaine-Thailand)

Morning Glory Seeds

• Why Chewing Morning Glory Seeds Gets You High (Inverse)

Dissociatives

• How Ketamine's Neurological Functions Make It a Promising Psychedelic for Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Times)
• Ketamine: A Club Drug That May Be the Future of Antidepressants (Big Think)
• Is ketamine use for depression safe? (ABC Online)
• Police: Man high on PCP strips naked, trashes Turkey Hill (WFMZ)
• Frederick man ran from officers, tossed jar of PCP, police say (The Frederick News-Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• The Fanged Fish That Drugs Its Enemies With Opioids (Wired)
• Seattle to let heroin addicts shoot up in first-ever government 'supervised injection facility' (The Blaze)
• Donald Trump's Opioid Commission Is Stacked With Prosecutors and 12-Steppers (Reason)
• Australia was waging a war on opium smuggling in early 1900s (Daily Telegraph)
• Who's Next? Perspectives on Fentanyl Poisoning and the Opioid Crisis (Reality Sandwich)
• Naloxone nasal spray possibly saves lives, but is hard to find (The Telegraph)
• Proposal Would Bill Naloxone Recipients for Drug Costs (Maine Public)
• Heroin Use Is Spiking Among White Americans (TIME)
• Fentanyl, the Opioid Crisis and Naloxone (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Educating Public on Naloxone Options Key to Dealing with Opioid Epidemic (Pharmacy Times)
• Parrots on high branches gorge on poppies feeding opium addiction (Daily Mail)

Absinthe

• I got drunk off of absinthe and didn't hallucinate. What gives? (ScienceLine)

Kratom

• How To Ease Kratom Withdrawal? (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Fiji kava exporter calls for price regulation (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Miraa chewing causes serious mental problems, study reveals (The Standard)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• DEA Seized $4 Billion From People Since 2007. Most Were Never Charged with a Crime (Reason)
• The Future of Permanent Psychedelic Sanctuaries Beyond Festivals (Psychedelic Times)
• Bill Clinton Said He 'Didn't Inhale' 25 Years Ago—But the History of U.S. Presidents and Drugs Is Much Older (TIME)
• Detroit Police Department Blames Drug War for Shooting So Many Dogs (Reason)
• Efforts launched to legalize marijuana, heroin, cocaine, LSD and other drugs in Arizona (FOX 10)
• LAUGHING AND LEARNING ABOUT PSYCHEDELICS (Dope Magazine)
• Detroit Argues Dogs Killed in Drug Raid Were 'Contraband' Because They Were Unlicensed (Reason)
• Sad Legislation or SADDEST Legislation?: The Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act of 2017 (Reason)

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