This Week in Psychedelics - 2.11.22

Cannabis

• South Carolina Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill Officially Approved In Senate, Heads For House Consideration (Marijuana Moment)

• Maryland Lawmakers Introduce Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Bill (High Times)

• UK trial of medical cannabis and long covid to get underway this month (Cannabis Health News)

• The Super Bowl won’t be lit: no cannabis ads allowed (The Verge)

• Bill Introduced to Raise THC Limit in Hemp to One Percent (High Times)

• Cannabis Store Co-owned By Top Virginia Senator Sells Mislabeled Products With Illegal THC Content, Media Investigation Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Study Shreds Cannabis ‘Amotivational Syndrome’ Theory (High Times)

• Flower still king of US marijuana market, though supremacy waning (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Oklahoma Becomes Marijuana Legalization Battleground Between Advocates, With Legal Challenges And A New Ballot Initiative (Marijuana Moment)

• New York Cracks Down on Illegal Cannabis Businesses (High Times)

• Missouri Supreme Court Unanimously Orders Medical Marijuana Applicant Disclosures (Marijuana Moment)

• Pennsylvania Senate committee holds first-ever hearing on legalizing recreational marijuana (WGAL)

• Police Seizure Of Marijuana Dispensary Cash Leads To Federal Litigation (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis platform Leafly closes merger with SPAC, goes public on Nasdaq (Marijuana Business Daily)

• The Eternal Pricing Struggle of UK Medical Cannabis Patients (TalkingDrugs)

• Weedmaps Ad Satirizes Plight Of Broccoli Emoji As Marijuana Stand-In On Social Media (Marijuana Moment)

• Young cannabis users at increased risk of repeat stroke (Medical News Today)

• Federally Owned Utility Company Walks Back Threat To Block Electricity For Marijuana Businesses (Marijuana Moment)

• Cali Vibes Rocks Long Beach, Allowing Cannabis (High Times)

• How does cannabis use affect brain health? Caution advised, more research needed, experts say (ScienceDaily)

LSD

• Microdose Psychedelics Presents a Molecular Masterclass: The LSD Conference (GlobeNewswire)

Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin microdosing does not reduce symptoms of depression or anxiety, according to placebo-controlled study (PsyPost)

• Lawmakers say no to bill legalizing psilocybin-assisted therapy in Maine (The Portland Press Herald)

• Oregon proposes only using one type of mushroom for new psilocybin system, and no pills (OPB)

• More States Follow Oregon’s Lead Toward Legal Psilocybin Therapy (Lucid News)

• Usona Identifies Controlled Crystal Engineering Process for Large-Scale Synthesis of Psilocybin Polymorphs (Business Wire)

• Maine CDC Director Opposes Bill to Legalize Therapeutic Psilocybin (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• The Many Types of Psychedelic Mushrooms (Truffle Report)

• Mazatec Shamanic Knowledge and Psilocybin Mushrooms (Chacruna)

MDMA

• Can MDMA Save a Marriage? (The New York Times)

DMT

• DMT Vape Pen Patent Illustrates a Big Problem in the Psychedelics Industry (Psychedelic Spotlight)

Ayahuasca

• Creating Awareness on Sexual Abuse in Ayahuasca Communities: A Review of Chacruna’s Guidelines (Chacruna)

5-MeO-DMT

• Scientists Create Cell-Based Psychedelic Toad Venom, a Potential 5-MeO-DMT “Bio-Factory” (Lucid News)

Mescaline

• Mescaline As Therapy Is Getting Attention, Despite Stigma (Green Market Report)

Iboga

• Osoyoos Indian Band eyes cutting-edge drug treatment centre (Vancouver Sun)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Cybin Announces Grant of U.S. Patent Covering its Proprietary Compound CYB004 (Deuterated DMT) for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders (Psilocybin Alpha)

Nitrous Oxide

• Another new weapon to beat Corona, first 'nasal spray' launched in India (News Track)

• Nitrous Oxide Safe For Dental Procedures In Children With Sickle Cell Disease: Study (Medical Dialogues)

Ketamine

• Ketamine effectively silences suicidal thoughts, especially in bipolar patients (Study Finds)

• Researching Ketamine for Social Anxiety Disorder (Truffle Report)

• Yale researcher receives grant to study effects of ketamine in individuals with epilepsy (Yale Daily News)

• Trip Tunes: A Conversation with Producer Jon Hopkins About Making Music for Ketamine (DoubleBlind)

• Ketamine Infusions in the Home May Facilitate Safe Treatment Access During the Pandemic (Pharmacy Times)

Miscellaneous

• Can microdosing psychedelics boost mental health? Here’s what the evidence suggests. (National Geographic)

• Utah House Overwhelmingly Approves Psychedelics Study Task Force Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Maryland Senate Bill Would Provide ‘Cost-Free Access’ To Psychedelics For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelics Offer New Route to Recovery from Eating Disorders (NEO.LIFE)

• Are Psychedelics the Future of Pain Relief? (VICE)

• Michigan Activists Submit Psychedelics Decriminalization Language (High Times)

• DEA Faces Backlash Over Proposed Scheduling Of Five Psychedelic Compounds (Marijuana Moment)

• Proposed Drug-Decrim Ballot Initiative All Set in Washington State (Filter)

• Can Psychedelics Make People More Drawn to Conspiracy Theories? (Sam Woolfe)

• Yes, Psychedelics Do Change Our Metaphysical Beliefs (DoubleBlind)

• Panel Discusses Coalition Building to Unlock Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelics (The Yale School)

• Legal Psychedelics: The U.S. Cities Where Psilocybin, LSD And Others Are Decriminalized (Healing Maps)

• Canada’s Reforms on Psychedelics Are Slowly Taking Shape (Bloomberg)

• Survey Shows 65% of Affected Americans Want Access to Psychedelic Treatments for Mental Health Conditions (Pharmacy Times)

• New Polling by Mind Medicine Australia Reveals Over 60% of Australians Support Increased Access to Psychedelic Medicines (Mind Medicine Australia)

• Big Pharma In Psychedelics: Inside Mindset Pharma’s Deal With Otsuka (Forbes)

• Using Real-World Evidence to Accelerate Psychedelic Drug Development (Truffle Report)

• Is city getting ‘high’ on hallucinating drugs? (The Hindu)

• Drug Euphoria Is a Good Thing, Actually (Filter)

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 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:

• Somerville, MA

• Cambridge, MA

• Washington, D.C.

• Northampton, MA

• Seattle, WA

• Arcata, CA

• Easthampton, MA

• Detroit, MI

• Port Townsend, WA

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:

• New Jersey

• New York

• Virginia

• New Mexico

• Connecticut

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:

• A failed attempt at rolling out a legal snortable marijuana product dubbed Canna Bumps

• An above-ground “LSD shop” in Berlin that was opened by a relative of Donald Trump

• Wearable psychedelics that will give patients the ability to fine-tune their dose or automatically administer doses to the wearer

• Hamilton Morris ended his show and joined COMPASS Pathways

Research

Published Studies

Several studies came out:

• MAPS Phase 3 MDMA trial indicated the drug may be effective at treating PTSD

• The largest psilocybin trial to date yielded mixed results

• There seems to be a correlation with microdosing and mental health benefits

• However, Imperial College London found that the reported benefits from microdosing may come down to the placebo effect

• The world’s first trial studying MDMA for alcohol addiction was promising

• A study showed that psilocybin has the potential to induce new neural connections

• Psychonauts should remain skeptical of at-home genetic testing to identify whether someone will have a bad trip

• Classical music may not be as superior for psychedelic therapy as was once thought

• MDMA therapy could be less effective for people who take antidepressants

• SSRIs can be used safely with psilocybin to treat depression

• And psilocybin was found to be as effective at treating depression while producing fewer side effects

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:

• The Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mount Sinai

• Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics

• COMPASS Pathways’ Drug Discovery Center

• New York University’s Center for Psychedelic Medicine

• Aion Therapeutic’s Aion International Center for Psychedelic Psychiatry in Jamaica

• Usona Institute’s Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances

• A first-of-its-kind psychedelic therapy research center in Melbourne, Australia

• Canada’s first psychedelic therapy research center under Toronto’s University Health Network

• The Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at the University of Texas at Austin

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

• More people started talking about sexual abuse in psychedelic therapy

• A self-appointed psychedelic guru known as the “QAnon Shaman” joined a group of insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol

• There were significant updates to the Elijah McClain case, with an independent investigation leading to a new Colorado law and the criminally-negligent homicide and manslaughter charges given to the officers and paramedics involved in McClain’s death

• U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was disqualified from an Olympic race because she failed a drug test

• Activists in Washington, D.C. and a Michigan dispensary gave out free cannabis to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine

• A man injected magic mushrooms into his veins and developed a life-threatening infection that resulted in a month-long hospital stay

• 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

• A former Latter-day Saint politician with some impressive cajones formed a psilocybin church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dubbed “The Divine Assembly”, the church serves magic mushrooms as a sacrament that enables its members to commune with the divine

• Causing a bit of a stir in the global psychedelic community, a publication known as Psychedelic Invest published a list of the 100 most influential people in psychedelics ranking candidates based on the following factors: social reach, scientific accomplishments, legislative initiatives, and value creation/contribution

• Three new psychedelic holidays: Tram Day and World Psychedelics Day in June, and Entheogenic Plants and Fungi Awareness Month in August

  Conclusion

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:

• Psychedelic Spotlight: “2021: A Year in Review for the Psychedelics Business”

• Marijuana Moment: “Here Are The Biggest Marijuana, Psychedelics And Drug Policy News Stories Of 2021”

• Truffle Report: “Looking Back at 2021’s Psychedelics Milestones”

• New Atlas: “Highlights from a landmark year in psychedelic science”

• Psilocybin Alpha: “Psychedelics 2021: A Year in Review”

• The Microdose: “The Year in Psychedelic News”

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

• 2020

• 2019

• 2018

• 2017

• 2016

• 2015

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 Month in Psychedelics - September 2021

September was another busy month in the world of psychedelics. Some of the highlights include Hamilton Morris ending his show and joining a notorious psychedelic company, the FDA and CDC issuing scary warnings about delta-8 THC products, Scotland decriminalizing all drugs, the looming threat that nitrous oxide might become illegal in the UK soon, and a study finding that young adults are using a lot of psychedelics during the pandemic.

Here’s a video version of this month’s recap if you’d prefer to watch the update instead:

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

Policy

Wins

Every month activists and politicians work feverishly toward reforming drug policies all over the world, and this month was no exception. Among some of the victories, the possession of Class A drugs is now set to be effectively decriminalized in Scotland, which means people who are caught with substances like MDMA and LSD will be given a warning instead of facing prosecution.

A recreational cannabis trial in Zurich is slated to begin in 2022. The Swiss pilot program will run for three-and-a-half years and may influence other European countries to follow suit.

Future

There are several drug policy bills and initiatives coming down the pike. Michigan has multiple efforts to decriminalize psychedelics, including Senate Bill 631, which would decriminalize the possession and use of many psychedelics across the state, and there are also local efforts to decriminalize psychedelics in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Hazel Park.

Meanwhile, authorities in the UK are so concerned about the trash that is generated from public nitrous oxide use that they’re pushing to ban the drug outright.

Just a couple months after the suspension of runner Sha’Carri Richardson from competing in the Olympics due to a positive THC test, the World Anti-Doping Agency is going to conduct a scientific review of cannabis next year to figure out whether to continue the international ban of marijuana use by athletes.

Industry

If you haven’t already heard of him, Hamilton Morris is a very well-known figure in the world of psychedelics. He’s a research scientist, journalist, and filmmaker who gave the world the brilliant TV show Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, which explores the chemistry, history, and cultural impact of various psychoactive drugs.

However, his show is coming to an end after three seasons, as he has been hired as a full-time consultant for COMPASS Pathways, the mental healthcare company notoriously attempting to profit off of medicalizing psilocybin.

Research

Published Studies

The annual Monitoring the Future survey looked at the recreational use of psychedelics by young people and found that it is on the rise in the United States. This increase in psychedelic exploration by U.S. college students and other young adults has risen in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also because psychedelics are more accepted today than they used to be.

Yale researchers found that a single dose of psilocybin can promote structural changes in the brains of mice that fight against symptoms of depression. The scientists discovered that psilocybin triggered a 10% increase in neuron size and density in the animals’ frontal cortex, which occurred within 24 hours and lasted for one month, indicating that psilocybin engendered long-lasting changes in the brain.

A first-of-its-kind study published in Psychopharmacology found that synthetic cannabinoid users experience more severe withdrawal symptoms than traditional cannabis users. During a period of abstinence, adverse side effects like insomnia, irritation, moodiness, heart palpitations, and appetite were significantly worse in the synthetic cannabis-using group.

Future Studies

Looking ahead, a study looking to treat tobacco addiction with psilocybin will receive federal funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, making this the first time an investigation into the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics has received funds from the federal government since the War on Drugs began in the 1970s.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco will determine how effective Fireside Project’s psychedelic hotline and app actually are at helping people navigate their psychedelic experiences.

A study has been given the fitting name of “Desire Project” because it will look at treating female hypoactive sexual desire disorder with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

The first participant in a psilocybin trial for a rare headache disorder named short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA) received an initial low dose of the drug to kick off the study. The disorder involves short, incredibly painful headaches that can occur many times a day, and there are not currently any approved treatments for it. This proof-of-concept Phase 1B trial will enroll 12 patients and is expected to generate results in early 2022.

The Heroic Hearts Project UK announced a study with Imperial College London that will investigate the physiological and psychological effects of psilocybin on veterans with traumatic brain injury. The researchers hope to add additional weight to the mostly anecdotal body of evidence suggesting that the drug may help people heal from this sort of ailment.

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.

Miscellaneous

Following up on the case involving the death of unarmed 23 year-old Elijah McClain after being administered a fatal dose of ketamine by first responders in Aurora, Colorado back in 2019, the police officers and paramedics involved have all been charged with criminally-negligent homicide and manslaughter.

New forensic science techniques have been developed that will enable law enforcement agencies to recover human DNA from the surfaces of pills and capsules, which authorities hope will help them identify who has handled illicit substances that are seized by police. This means that anyone touching an MDMA capsule or ecstasy pill for as little as 15 seconds during their production, assembly,  or distribution could be identified using this new technology.

A new Hulu show called Nine Perfect Strangers is the latest mainstream production to feature psychedelic use, and apparently it’s fairly problematic. I haven’t watched it yet myself but from what I’ve read, the plot involves a wellness guru who runs a retreat where she gives attendees microdoses of psilocybin without their knowledge or consent. It should go without saying that this is not cool and dosing others without them knowing it is unethical and potentially extremely dangerous. I’m going to reserve any judgment on this show until I make time to check it out myself, but now you’ll have at least a little bit of an idea about it in case anyone you know mentions it to you.

There is an update on the story involving Jake Angeli, AKA the “QAnon Shaman” who participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th of this year. Earlier this month Angeli plead guilty to one of the most serious of his six charges and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, although his lack of a criminal record will likely mean he will serve much less time.

The ongoing global labor shortage means that employers around the world are finding it difficult to hire employees, and screening them for drug use is making things even harder. As a result, many companies are getting rid of drug tests in an effort to attract more applicants, fill vacancies, and keep their existing workers.

Hiring wasn’t the only thing that was impacted during the pandemic—it turns out that cannabis arrests in the U.S. declined significantly during 2020, according to data released by the FBI. Still, more than 350k marijuana-related arrests were made last year, mostly in states that have not yet decriminalized or legalized possession and use of the plant.

Wrapping up this month’s recap is a story out of Canada where a group of drug users and drug policy reformers are so fed up with the drug war that they are suing the government. The non-profit organization is known as the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs and they are claiming that the Canadian government is responsible for fatal overdoses because it requires users to go to the illegal market and purchase unsafe drugs from a toxic drug supply.

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 Week in Psychedelics - 9.17.21

Cannabis

• FDA And CDC Issue Warnings On Delta-8 THC Products Derived From Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• World Anti-Doping Agency Reviews Marijuana Ban For Athletes Following Pushback On Richardson Suspension (Marijuana Moment)

• California: Lawmakers Advance Legislation Providing for Medical Cannabis Use in Hospitals (NORML)

• Runner’s High Gets New Meaning (The Wall Street Journal)

• Cannabis-Related Arrests in Virginia Decrease By 90 Percent After Legalization (High Times)

• Cannabis use linked to subtle abnormalities in speech production (PsyPost)

• Wolf administration ordered to reveal details of cannabis use as drug addiction treatment (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Virginia Judge Jails Woman For Using Marijuana Before Testifying Against Alleged Domestic Violence Abuser (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Has Expunged A Third Of A Million Marijuana Convictions Since July (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Take First Step To Put Marijuana Legalization On 2022 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Michigan Medical Marijuana Activists Push Back Against Alleged Corporate Effort To Restrict Home Cultivation (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• LSD-triggered altered behaviors linked to abnormal brain communication (Medical Xpress)

• Miami student seriously injured after he jumped off roof while on LSD (Oxford Observer)

Magic Mushrooms

• First subject dosed in psilocybin trial for rare headache disorder (Pharmaphorum)

• California Activists Cleared To Collect Signatures For Psilocybin Legalization Ballot Initiative (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic shroom fest gets green light from University of Michigan (MLive)

• What Happens When Dogs Eat Shrooms (DoubleBlind)

• Nova Mentis Applies to US FDA for Psilocybin Orphan Drug Designation Fragile X Syndrome Treatment (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• Turns Out Your DNA Sticks to MDMA Caps. That Could Help Police Track Down Drug Dealers. (VICE)

• Wesana Health Commits Funding of $1.5 Million To Support MAPS’ Research Pipeline (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Letter With MDMA Sent From the UK House of Commons to Prisoner (EDMTunes)

DMT

• How to Integrate Those Difficult-to-Remember DMT Experiences (Sam Woolfe)

• DMT vs. Mushrooms: Are We All Tripping On The Same Thing? (DoubleBlind)

5-MeO-DMT

• Tourists Are Now Smoking Toad Venom in Mexico’s Hipster Town Tulum (VICE)

Peyote

• Santa Cruz City Council Removes Peyote from List of Decriminalized Psychedelics (Good Times Santa Cruz)

Iboga

• Post-9/11 war vets go to Mexico to treat trauma with a psychedelic that's illegal in the US (Stars and Stripes)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• COMPASS Pathways acquires IP portfolio of novel psychedelic compounds and prodrugs (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Mindset Pharma Further Validates Lead Candidate, MSP-1014, as a Next Generation Psilocybin Analog through Drug Discrimination Assay (Psilocybin Alpha)

Nitrous Oxide

• Nitrous-oxide: Laughing gas hits a new high in Ireland (The Irish Times)

Ketamine

• Colorado attorney general report found Aurora police racially biased and fire department administered ketamine illegally (CNN)

• Ketamine monotherapy reduces suicidal ideation in adults with depression (Healio)

• Psychable is the First Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Company to Offer a Buy One, Give One Program (GlobeNewswire)

• Sharon Osbourne Says She Underwent Ketamine Therapy After Leaving The Talk amid Controversy (People)

• Perception Neuroscience initiates Phase 2a study of PCN-101 (R-ketamine) for treatment resistant depression (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• Detroit Voters Will Decide On Psychedelics Decriminalization Ballot Measure In November (Marijuana Moment)

• Michigan Lawmaker Introduces Psychedelics Decriminalization Bill (Forbes)

• Addiction specialists accused of 'massive conflict of interest' for ties to drug-testing industry (CBC)

• Tim Ferriss Gift Creates Journalism Fellowships at Berkeley’s new Center for Science of Psychedelics (UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism)

• Seattle bid to decriminalize psychedelics could have ‘profound’ effect on treating addiction (MyNorthwest.com)

• Psychedelic medicine comes to the VA (The Psychedelic Renaissance)

• House Could Vote On Psychedelics Research For Military And Marijuana Banking As Part Of Defense Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Survey: U.S. College Students Drank Less, Used More Marijuana And Psychedelics During Covid-19 (Forbes)

• Congressional Panel Votes To Repeal Drug Conviction Penalty Blocking Education Tax Credit (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Use on the Rise As Gen Z Seeks To ‘Enhance Connectedness’ (VICE)

• Seattle Councilmember Says He’ll Introduce Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure By Year’s End (Marijuana Moment)

• A Renaissance for Psychedelics Could Fill a Long-Standing Treatment Gap for Psychiatric Disorders (Scientific American)

• Ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms: are these drugs the future of therapy? (The Guardian)

• Fear of Death Impacts Quality of Life-How Psychedelics Can Help (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Washington State Activists Announce 2022 Drug Decriminalization Ballot Campaign (Marijuana Moment)

• Digital Psychedelia: Hidden Experience and the Challenge of Paranoia (Somatosphere)

• A Workbook for Psychedelic Integration Focuses on Life’s Big Questions (Lucid News)

• The impact and importance of psychedelic medicine (Open Access Government)

• 'Nine Perfect Strangers' is a deranged portrait of psychedelic wellness retreats (Mic)

• Understanding ‘Spiritual Emergency’ in the Context of Psychedelics (Psychedelics Today)

• What Substances Are More Likely To Be Contaminated With Fentanyl? (Lucid News)

• Discovering New Psychedelic Drugs (Reality Sandwich)

• Studying Psychedelics Pt I: North American Research (Truffle Report)

• The Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelics: 2A or Not 2A? – Part 1 (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 - 6.19.20

Cannabis

• Louisiana Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Expansion Into Law (Marijuana Moment)

• Pennsylvania: Supreme Court Rules That Medical Cannabis Use Is Permissible While on Probation (NORML)

• New Jersey Assembly Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Ahead Of Legalization Referendum (Marijuana Moment)

• Switzerland releases details on recreational marijuana experiment, but full legalization likely years away (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Nevada Pardons More Than 15,000 People With Marijuana Convictions Under Governor’s Resolution (Marijuana Moment)

• Nebraskans hustle to get medical legalization on ballot, with July 3 deadline (Leafly)

• Science Reveals The Cannabis Industry’s Greatest Lie: You’re Buying Weed Wrong (And So Is Everyone Else) (Forbes)

• Ohio Marijuana Activists Plan Supreme Court Appeal After Federal Judges Deny Electronic Signature Case (Marijuana Moment)

• Using cannabis during pregnancy could be bad news for your baby: new research (The Conversation)

• Library Of Congress Highlights Racist News Coverage Used To Justify Criminalizing Marijuana A Century Ago (Marijuana Moment)

• Patients Who Use Medical Cannabis Report Being Happier and Healthier Than Those Who Don’t (Grit Daily News)

• Fed report urges doctors to treat cannabis users as drug addicts (Leafly)

• Colorado Governor Could Issue Marijuana Pardons Under Social Equity Bill Lawmakers Sent To His Desk (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Can Increase Intimacy and Reduce Anxiety During Sex, New Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• CDC Flooded With Comments On Marijuana And Kratom As Alternative Painkillers Ahead Of Deadline (Marijuana Moment)

• These 3 Marijuana Nonprofits Are Offering Real Responses To The Pandemic And Racial Injustice (Green Entrepreneur)

• A Founder Looks at 50: The Important Role of Medical Experts in Support of Legalization (NORML)

• Lawmakers Push USDA To Let Hemp Farmers Access Coronavirus Relief Funds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why the Cannabis Sector May be Turning a New Leaf (Investopedia)

Magic Mushrooms

• Combining therapy with the psychedelic drug psilocybin results in large reductions in anxiety and depression (PsyPost)

• Colorado Activists Likely To Pursue 2022 Psilocybin Ballot Measure After Poll Shows Support (Marijuana Moment)

• Numinus receives Health Canada OK for mushrooms research (PressReader)

• Palliative Canadians endure punishing waits while Health Minister delays approval of Psilocybin mushrooms; TheraPsil expands effort to Ontario (Globe Newswire)

• A Deep Dive Inside Oregon’s Path to Legalizing Psilocybin Therapy (DoubleBlind)

• Life Sciences Firm Expands Collaboration Efforts with Major US University to Develop Psilocybin-Based Medicines (StreetWise Reports)

• New Wave Holdings Corp- Launching the first publicly-traded Psilocybin-growing operation (Value the Markets)

• Cannabis Company Eyes Medicinal Magic of Mushrooms (Real Money)

• Psilocybin to Treat Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Patients (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Cute as Children, but Not Handsome as Adults: María Sabina, Life Magazine, and Cold War Propaganda (Chacruna)

DMT

• MindMed To Evaluate Ayahuasca's Active Ingredient DMT In Phase 1 Clinical Trial Collaboration (BioSpace)

• NeonMind Files Patent Application for Therapeutic Use of DMT (Yahoo! Finance)

Ayahuasca

• Is Ayahuasca Possibly Less than Five Hundred Years Old? (Chacruna)

Iboga

• Could ibogaine offer a revolutionary long-term solution to addiction? (Health Europa)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• New K2 Compound in Canadian Heroin Supply Amid Surging Fatal ODs (Filter)

Nitrous Oxide

• Nitrous oxide use among young people is increasing in lockdown because it’s cheap and accessible (iNews)

Ketamine

• Why People are Using Ketamine Nasal Spray to Party (DoubleBlind)

• High Doses of Ketamine Can Temporarily Shut Down the Brain, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Champignon’s Dr. Mcintyre / Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence (CRTCE) Published in Two Peer Reviewed Study Journals (Globe Newswire)

Miscellaneous

• UNC to Receive $26.9M from DARPA to Develop Psychiatric Medicines (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Microsoft reportedly tried to sell facial recognition tech to the DEA (Engadget)

• Mira X Acquisition Corp. Announces Proposed Qualifying Transaction with Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. (Yahoo! Finance)

• Fixing American policing also requires an end to the war on drugs (Baker Institute Blog)

• Champignon Provides Corporate Update; Announces Name Change, Rebranding and Planned Spin Out (Globe Newswire)

• CFN Enterprises Launches Premier Psychedelics Stock Index Site: PsyIndex.com (Stockhouse)

• Beyond Stigma: How Researchers May Trigger Drug Users (Filter)

• Psychedelics Quickly Creating a Potential $100 Billion Market Opportunity (Baystreet)

• New Wave Holdings Corp Appoints Dr. Dennis McKenna to Psychedelic Research Advisory Board (PR Newswire)

• Seed crystal: on the contributions of Alexander Shulgin to the science of consciousness (Medium)

• Psychedelic Medical Start-Up AWAKN Life Sciences Enters the UK Market with Dr. Ben Sessa (Yahoo! Finance)

• Mota Ventures Appoints Roger C. Clinton as Member of Advisory Board to Verrian GmbH (MarketWatch)

• L’Chaim Psilocybin: How Psychedelics are Reigniting Judaism (DoubleBlind)

• Greenstar Biosciences Signs Agreement to Acquire 100% of Eleusian Biosciences Corp. (Yahoo! Finance)

• 2nd Gen Psychedelic Drugs For Depression Can Be Safer For Older Adults (Forbes)

• ‘Canada’s first psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy centre’ changing how we treat depression (GlobalNews)

• Don’t Get Caught in a Trip Trap; Psychedelic Lessons for this Collective Moment (Lucid News)

• How psychedelic drugs could help our veterans (9News)

• Pure Extracts: The Second Wave of Psychedelic Operators (The Deep Dive)

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 catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.