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 Week in Psychedelics - 2.5.21

Cannabis

• Democratic Senate Leaders Announce Steps To Federally Legalize Marijuana In 2021 (Marijuana Moment)

• Idaho Senate Passes Measure To Block Marijuana Legalization, Even If Voters Approve It On The Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Legalization Bills Headed to Virginia Senate and House (Filter)

• Top Minnesota Lawmakers File Marijuana Legalization Bill For 2021 (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Senators File Two Marijuana Legalization Bills, With More On The Way (Marijuana Moment)

• Maryland Marijuana Legalization Bill Sponsored By Senate President And Other Top Lawmakers (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Sustainability In The Cannabis Industry: Truly Going Green (Forbes)

• Clinical Trial: Whole-Plant Cannabis Extracts Associated with Improved Outcomes in Autistic Patients (NORML)

• The “Secret Handshake”—A Program Gifting Cannabis to Unhoused People (Filter)

• Adult-Use Marijuana Legalization Not Associated with Any Rise in Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions (NORML)

• Mississippi’s high court to hear arguments to block medical cannabis (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Philadelphia: Marijuana Treatment Admissions Drop Eighty Percent (NORML)

LSD

• Neuroscience study indicates that LSD “frees” brain activity from anatomical constraints (PsyPost)

• Diamond Therapeutics Signs Agreement with McGill University for Research on Low-Dose LSD (Psilocybin Alpha)

Magic Mushrooms

• New Jersey Governor Signs Psilocybin Bill To Immediately Reduce Penalties For Possession (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Mushroom Bills Filed In Florida And Connecticut As Movement Expands To Multiple States (Marijuana Moment)

• Federal Judge Decides Against Prison for Denver Mushroom Dealer (Westword)

• Psilocybin and Neurogenesis: The Long-Term Effects of Magic Mushrooms on Your Brain (Entheonation)

• COMPASS Pathways announces publication in Frontiers in Psychiatry of paper on therapist training programme for psilocybin therapy (GlobeNewswire)

MDMA

• MDMA and psilocybin not approved for medicinal use in Australia (9News)

• MDMA-Assisted Therapy is Less Effective if You Take Antidepressants (DoubleBlind)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Launches Stroke Treatment Clinical Research Program with Psychedelic Drug DMT “The Spirit Molecule” (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Why Does DMT Pervade Nature? (Reality Sandwich)

Ayahuasca

• The Ancestral Healing Power of Ayahuasca (Psychedelic Science Review)

5-MeO-DMT

• Psychedelic Toads Pushed To The Limit, Conservationists Urge Synthetic 5-MeO-DMT Option (Forbes)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Mindset Selects Compounds from Its Third Psilocybin-Inspired Drug Family to Move into in vivo PoC Studies (Psilocybin Alpha)

Nitrous Oxide

• Nitrous Nation (The New York Times)

Ketamine

• Proposed law could bar SC 1st responders from using ketamine to incapacitate suspects (The Post and Courier)

• PharmaTher Signs Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement for Patented Microneedle Delivery Technology to Deliver Ketamine (Psilocybin Alpha)

• PharmaTher Announces Successful Completion of Pre-IND Meeting with FDA for the Clinical Development of Ketamine in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelic Wellness-Focused Company Delic to Acquire Ketamine Infusion Centers LLC (PR Newswire)

• Core One Labs Announces Its Entrance into the Ketamine Space with Proposed Acquisition of Ketamine Infusion Centers of Texas (BioSpace)

Miscellaneous

• Drug Decriminalization Goes Into Effect in Oregon (Rolling Stone)

• Cambridge City Council Decriminalizes Psychedelics And Urges Police To End Drug Arrests More Broadly (Marijuana Moment)

• Washington Lawmakers Introduce Long-Awaited Bill To Decriminalize All Drugs And Expand Treatment (Marijuana Moment)

• Mass General Launches New Center to Study Psychedelics in Psychiatry (Massachusetts General Hospital)

• Psychedelics as Antidepressants (Scientific American)

• Health Canada considers amending Special Access Program (Psillow)

• QAnon shaman turns against Trump, says he would testify that president incited Capitol riots (National Post)

• Biden Quietly Announces Harm Reduction Among His Drug Priorities (Filter)

• Timothy Leary’s Castalia Foundation Has Been Co-opted to Promote Conspiracy Theories about COVID and Elite Pedophile Rings (Psymposia)

• Tryp Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris to Scientific Advisory Board (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Neuroscience students launch Psychedelic Society (The Glasgow Guardian)

• Pharmacological Testing in Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

• How To Setup Music for Psychedelic Sessions (+ 6 More Playlists for Psilocybin) (Maps of the Mind)

• Marlene Dobkin de Rios: A Case for Complex Histories of Women in Psychedelics (Chacruna)

• Is Microdosing Psychedelics the Secret to Sobriety? (MEL Magazine)

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 - 9.11.20

Cannabis

• Medical Marijuana Measure Removed From Nebraska’s November Ballot By State Supreme Court (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana Is Making Its Mark on Ballots in Red States (The Daily Beast)

• Pakistan Legalizes Industrial and Medical Cannabis Aiming to Expand Global Market (MERRY JANE)

• Maine Finally Approves First Marijuana Business Licenses Weeks Before Legal Sales Launch (Marijuana Moment)

• Give cannabis to elderly people with chronic pain, doctors say (The Telegraph)

• Virginia: Marijuana-Related Bills Advance During Special Legislative Session (NORML)

• USDA Reopens Public Comment Period On Hemp Rules Following Intense Industry Pushback (Marijuana Moment)

• Key Congressional Committee Advances Legislation to Facilitate Clinical Research Studies Using State-Authorized Marijuana Products (NORML)

• Twitter Partners With Feds On Campaign Flagging ‘Marijuana’ Searches While Giving ‘Alcohol’ A Pass (Marijuana Moment)

• Hong Kong Just Opened Its First CBD Café Despite Country's Notoriously Harsh Weed Laws (MERRY JANE)

• Greenstop launches its cannabis vending machine in California dispensaries (TechCrunch)

• Global Drug Body Recommends 20 Ways to Improve the Cannabis Industry (VICE)

• Marijuana Possession Arrests Plummet In Texas After Hemp Legalization, New State Data Shows (Marijuana Moment)

• This is how cannabis effectively eases inflammation (Chicago Tribune)

• I used to be on the police drug squad. Here's why I'm voting against legalising cannabis (Stuff.co.nz)

LSD

• LSD Tolerance Could Develop Faster than You Expect (DoubleBlind)

• Acid Tab Feeling Lot Of Pressure To Present Tech CEO With Game-Changing Ideas For Disrupting Telecom Industry (The Onion)

Magic Mushrooms

• Havn Life Sciences Granted Section 56 Exemption to Begin Scientific Work With Psilocybin (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Bett Williams Walks Between Worlds (Lucid News)

MDMA

• MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD Trials Progressing Through Phase 3 (Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network)

Nitrous Oxide

• One in four drug users at festivals now get high on laughing gas - TD (Independent.ie)

Ketamine

• Esketamine spray for treating depression 'not cost-effective' (BBC)

• Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists ask CDPHE to suspend 'excited delirium' ketamine waiver (9news.com)

Miscellaneous

• Will Australia be the First Country to Reap the Benefits of Psychedelic Medicines? Rescheduling Proposal Submitted to TGA (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Depression and suicidal ideation reduced after psychedelic usage (Big Think)

• Psychedelic experiences share many features with those described by mystics and religious practitioners (PsyPost)

• Biden Pledges To Force People Who Use Drugs To Enroll In Mandatory Treatment Programs (Marijuana Moment)

• Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories in Psychedelia (Psymposia)

• Psychedelics Company Havn Life Announces Commencement of Public Trading on the CSE (Psilocybin Alpha)

• AWAKN Life Sciences Launches Clinical Research Division with Prof. David Nutt & Dr. Ben Sessa Identifying Suitable Studies Across Europe & North America (Yahoo! Finance)

• How Mescaline Helped Me to Better Understand Schopenhauer’s Philosophy (Psychedelic Frontier)

• Quipazine: A Long-Standing Enigma in Psychedelic Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Scientists Use Psychedelics to Discover an Anti-Inflammatory Pharmacophore (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 catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychoactives - 2.8.19

CANNABIS

• World Health Organization Recommends Reclassifying Marijuana Under International Treaties (Forbes)

• The Most Efficient Way to Smoke Cannabis? Study Says Dabs (Leafly)

• Jury Convicts Church Of Cannabis Founder On Public Consumption Charges (Colorado Public Radio)

• Most Strains of Weed Are More Alike Than People Think (Men's Health)

• Hawaii Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• A New Study Says Pot Smokers May Have Higher Sperm Counts. But There’s a Catch (TIME)

• Patients Frequently Substituting Cannabis For Anti-Anxiety Drugs (NORML)

• CBD-Infused Food Banned by Health Department at NYC Restaurant, Owner Says (Eater)

• After A Decade Of Testing, Israeli Medical Cannabis Comes To The US (Forbes)

• Republican Senator Pitches Weird Conspiracy Theory About Weed Legalization, Menthol Cigarettes, and the FDA (Reason)

• Science Backs Most Medical Cannabis Treatment, Study Finds (Leafly)

• Medicinal cannabis legalisation opens gateway for psychedelic research (Small Caps)

• Traffic fatalities on a high after cannabis legalisation (Medical Xpress)

• Nebraska Could Vote On This Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure In 2020 (Forbes)

• Congressional Democrats Plan Hearing And Vote On Marijuana Business Banking (Marijuana Moment)

• Pot for pets: Cannabis products for our furry friends increasing in popularity (The GrowthOp)

• A Hemp Company Sues After Police Mistake Their Product for Weed (Reason)

• Trump Allies Consider Using Hemp Concrete To Build Border Wall With Private Funds (Marijuana Moment)

• Here’s Where Ontario’s First Private Cannabis Stores Could Open (Leafly)

• More Seniors Are Using Marijuana and It May Decrease Their Opioid Use (Green Entrepreneur)

• New Hampshire Considers Legalization, but Gov. Sununu Vows to Veto It (Leafly)

• Maryland Lawmakers Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• Latest Medical Marijuana Bill Proposes Full Use Of Cannabis Plant In Tennessee (WPLN)

• Reports Claim Bisexuals Smoke the Most Cannabis. Is There Any Truth to It? (Leafly)

• Why do so many Americans now support legalizing marijuana? (The Conversation)

• Study Reveals Little-Known Trick To Make Marijuana Plants Grow More Bud For Less (Marijuana Moment)

• Toronto Maple Leafs Suing Snoop’s Cannabis Brand Over Logo (Leafly)

• Smoke without fire: Cannabis for the observant Jew (ynetnews)

• Where Presidential Candidate Cory Booker Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• A Patient’s Guide to Using Cannabis for Cancer (Leafly)

• Cannabis in Small Commonwealth States: Turning a New Leaf? (Talking Drugs)

• How To Invest In Cannabis IPOs (Forbes)

• Why We Should Treat Cannabis like Organic Food or Fine Wine (Civilized)

LSD

• LSD allows more information to flood into the brain by altering activity in the thalamus (PsyPost)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Denver Will Vote on Psilocybin Decriminalization in May (Westword)

• The Push to Legalize Magic Mushrooms for Depression and PTSD (WIRED)

• Shrooms Are the Safest Drug You Can Take (VICE)

• Oregon "Psilocybin Services" Ballot Measure Has Significant Support, Poll Shows (PR Newswire)

• 'Magic Mushrooms' May Soon Be Decriminalised in Parts of The US (Science Alert)

• Magic Truffles in Amsterdam and the Monastic Path: Interview with Chi of Truffles Therapy (Psychedelic Times)

MDMA

• MDMA users more empathetic than people who take other drugs, study finds (The Independent)

• Parents whose son died after taking ecstasy want to educate others on dangers of drug (WGN-TV)

• Antisocial Species Of Octopus Becomes Friendlier On MDMA, Study Finds (Study Finds)

DMT

• Why Do Jesters and Tricksters Appear in the DMT Experience? (Sam Woolfe)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Man filmed dying girlfriend at festival after taking 2C-P instead of helping her (Rave Jungle)

• First National Study on Flakka Finds Disturbing Trend Among Teens (Psychedelics Daily)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Synthetic cannabis may stop colorectal cancer from growing, study suggests (Daily Mail)

• K2 Overdose Calls Reach Lowest Numbers since 2014 (Spectrum News)

• Natural and synthetic cannabinoids for agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s disease: A meta-analysis (MDLinx)

• 'Spice turns you into a zombie': Battling an addiction with synthetic cannabis (Shropshire Star)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Longmont United Hospital Offers New Pain Management Option for Laboring Mothers (Longmont Observer)

• Laughing gas now available for women in labor (WGME)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine Could Be the Key to Reversing America’s Rising Suicide Rate (Bloomberg)

• New variation of ketamine to be approved by FDA for treatment of depression (Mixmag)

• Ketamine Noninferior to Fentanyl for Traumatic Injury Pain in Children (Clinical Pain Advisor)

• Kansas City woman credits controversial depression treatment with saving her life (Fox 4 Kansas City)

• Can ketamine help depression? (WTSP)

• Fears grow that Ketamine use by young is on the rise in England (The Guardian)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• U.S. Prosecutors Sue To Stop Nation's First Supervised Injection Site For Opioids (NPR)

• Family Behind OxyContin Made Billions By Pushing to Keep Patients on Drug Longer, Filing Shows (TIME)

• Study: Illicit opioid deaths to rise by 147 percent by 2025 (UPI.com)

• Fentanyl Overdoses Spike on Mexico’s Northern Border But Remain Invisible (Filter)

• #MSLeg: 'Parker's Law' would punish drug dealers for death or injuries (Clarion Ledger)

• Struggling to Compete with Fentanyl, Mexico’s Poppy Farmers Ask for Legalization (Filter)

• Naloxone boxes to be placed in Downtown Cincinnati in new bid to stem overdose deaths (Cincinnati.com)

• Ohio doctors must now offer overdose antidote naloxone to some pain patients (The Columbus Dispatch)

• Cops Claimed She Set Up A Drug Deal. Now She's Being Prosecuted for Manslaughter. (The Appeal)

• Alphabet's Verily is opening an opioid addiction center in Ohio (Engadget)

• Trump Decries Unjust Crack Sentences but Wants to Repeat the Mistake With Fentanyl (Reason)

• The Third Opium War (Manitoba Post)

• New bill clarifies who can dispense, administer Naloxone (KIVI-TV)

• Program trains high school officials to give naloxone (Tuscaloosa News)

• Myanmar's opium farmers cling on to lucrative crop (Mail and Guardian)

• IN PICTURES: Myanmar, the second biggest source of opium in the world (The Courier)

• Why we need to talk about take-home naloxone (Australian Journal of Pharmacy)

• How to Get and Use Fentanyl Testing Strips (Lifehacker)

• Let's define terms to understand the opioid crisis (Murfreesboro Post)

COCAINE

• This Is Why Cocaine Dealers Should Fear Venezuelan Unrest (OZY)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• DEA testing shows meth is running rampant in New Jersey (New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio)

• Iowa sees increase in methamphetamine use (Sioux City Journal)

ALCOHOL

• Richer, older men more likely to drink to excess, figures show (The Guardian)

• Heavy Drinking in Teens Causes Lasting Changes in Emotional Center of Brain (Neuroscience News)

• Utah lawmaker wants to scrap low-alcohol beer rule (KUTV)

• Some Super Bowl ads seem to suggest that some kinds of alcohol are better for you. Health officials say it's better to punt on the drinking altogether (Deseret News)

• Alcohol related deaths in England and Wales rocket in past decade (Yahoo! Sports)

• Know how alcohol is harming your teeth! (Times of India)

• 10 things that can happen to your body when you give up alcohol (INSIDER)

ABSINTHE

• This Maine-made absinthe won’t make you hallucinate (Bangor Daily News)

NOOTROPICS

• Nootropic spearmint extract may improve reactive agility, according to new study (Nutritional Outlook)

• The future's getting smarter (Mashable)

• Nootropics: A Necessary Mental Aid in Modern World? (The Frisky)

• Are ‘smart drugs’ all they claim to be? (ZME Science)

KRATOM

• Kratom Now Banned in Columbus (WCBI)

• Advocate: Kratom 'should be regulated,' not illegal (The Dispatch)

• Residents seek Kratom ban in Lowndes (The Dispatch)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Does microdosing improve your mood and performance? Here’s what the research say (The Conversation)

• GOP Lawmaker’s Bill Would Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms And MDMA For Medical Use (Marijuana Moment)

• How the Drug War Eats the Poor (VICE)

• El Chapo Jury Begins Deliberation in Bombshell Drug Trafficking Trial (TIME)

• This is what psychedelic mainstreaming looks like…in Arizona (Psymposia)

• Houston Narcs Were 'Clearly Labeled' During Deadly Drug Raid, Police Spokesman Says (Reason)

• Why More and More People Are Leaning Toward Microdosing for Depression (Civilized)

• Are Electronic Cigarettes Facilitating Illicit Drug Use? (News-Medical.net)

• Is Permatripping Real? (Gizmodo)

• Should I Drug Test My Kids? Why the Experts Say No (Filter)

• Sri Lanka to begin hangings within months, ending 43-year stay on executions (The Guardian)

• Cory Booker Invites Former Drug War Prisoner To Trump’s State Of The Union (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelic Privilege: Report from the Women and Psychedelics Forum (Chacruna)

• The GOP Needs A Better Drug Policy to End HIV (Medium)

• Drug Reform Campaigner Calls For Legal MDMA, Cannabis & Pill Testing in Australia (Your EDM)

• Meet the Artists Designing Clothes For Businesswomen Who Micro-Dose LSD (Interview)

• Nine pill testing myths (Australia's Science Channel)

• This is why you should vote to make drugs safer (The Bristol Cable)

• I took daily doses of magic mushrooms to improve my performance and mental health. Here’s what happened (news.com.au)

• Psychedelics could treat mental disorders (4BC)

---

On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

---

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 Psychedelics - 4.27.18

Cannabis

• Top Democrats Embrace Marijuana Reform Ahead of Midterm Elections (Truthout)
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Jeff Sessions: Medical marijuana could save many addicted to opioids (CNN)
• NEW POLL: 63% of Americans Believe “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)
• Sessions Admits There ‘May Well Be Some Benefits From Medical Marijuana’ (Marijuana Moment)
• Marijuana Legalization Will Be on Michigan's Ballot in November (Reason)
• Cannabis is having its 'smartphone' moment (Engadget)
• How activists are fighting for full cannabis legalization in Washington, D.C. (Psymposia)
• The End of the Joint As We Know It (The Ringer)
• NORML Delivers Over 10,000 Citizen Comments To The FDA Calling For The Reconsideration of Cannabis Prohibition (NORML)
• The best way to fight illegal pot is with legal cannabis (The Hill)
• Why Are Marijuana Policies So Behind in 4/20-Heavy Places Like New York? (Rolling Stone)
• How Seniors Joined the Cannabis Craze (The New Yorker)
• Cannabis Flowers Are Legal in Italy. You Just Can’t Eat or Smoke Them. (The New York Times)
• How 'dank' became a compliment for both beer and marijuana (Detroit Free Press)
• Greens' cannabis plan could raise $3.6bn (9NEWS)
• Isle Of Man Could Be The First Place In The British Isles To Decriminalise Cannabis Possession (HuffPost)
• These Five States Lead the Nation in Marijuana Arrests (AlterNet)
• Miracle drug or the devil's lettuce? (The Washington Post)
• The Complicated History of Cannabis in the US (History)
• FDA Rejects Anti-Legalization Pharma Co’s Cannabis Drug Request (Marijuana Moment)
• Legalising marijuana is a lot more complex than you might think (The Age)
• 4/20 Special: How Advocates and Entrepreneurs of Color Are Fighting for Equity in the Legal Weed Business (Colorlines)
• Liberal party members overwhelmingly vote for decriminalizing drugs while Trudeau repeats opposition (The Georgia Straight)
• Assemblyman introduces bill that would allow vets to prescribe cannabis for pets (KABC-TV)
• Utah Medical Marijuana Measure Has Enough Signatures For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)
• Is marijuana decriminalization possible in the Middle East? (The Washington Post)
• Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract (NPR)
• YouTube Continues Its Cannabis Purge and Nobody Knows Why (Leafly)
• Facebook Has a Cannabis Problem That ‘Community Standards’ Don’t Solve (Leafly)
• Two Cannabis Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets For Success (Forbes)
• Police Department Offers Prize For Possessing The Most Cannabis (High Times)
• Medical cannabis oil is legal in Texas, but epilepsy patients still struggle (The Texas Tribune)
• A Multibillion-Dollar Cannabis Company Has Announced Its Asia-Pacific Headquarters In Australia (BuzzFeed News)
• Senator Wants Jeff Sessions To Meet With Drug War Victims (Marijuana Moment)
• Psychedelic Rapper Challenges New Jersey's Cannabis Laws In New 420 Song (PR Newswire)
• 'The Truth About Cannabis': Inside New Pro-Pot Web Doc (Rolling Stone)
• Cannabis Cultivation Will Be A Race To The Bottom (Forbes)
• 'Women of Cannabis' Cultivate Ideas and Relationships (Seven Days)
• Cannabis and psychosis: what is the link and who is at risk? (The Conversation)
• Marijuana moguls optimistic about legalisation of recreational cannabis in Australia (ABC)
• Can Cannabis Make You Sick? (The Stranger)
• Is This The Most Expensive Marijuana In The World? (Forbes)
• Could 'one puff' of cannabis ease depression? (Medical News Today)
• Understanding Terpenes: Linalool (Cannabis Now)
• Harvard Medical Students Say Schools Need to Teach More About Medical Marijuana (Civilized)

LSD

• LSD Provokes Synesthetic Hallucinations in a Congenitally Blind Man (Psychedelic Times)
• Couple drop LSD to see if it makes them better at assembling IKEA furniture (Metro)
• Psychedelic Cyclists – An Irishman’s Diary about Albert Hofmann and Flann O’Brien (The Irish Times)
• St. Pete man on LSD punches 13-year-old girl in face, knocks her out (WFLA)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• The Man Who Treated His OCD with Magic Mushrooms (VICE)
• Inside Jamaica's magic mushroom retreat for women (The Independent)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Can MDMA Treat Alcoholism? Scientists Begin First Clinical Trials (Newsweek)
• MDMA research meets Australian antipathy (Cosmos Magazine)
• An Amsterdam house had so much MDMA discovered inside it's been locked down (Mixmag)
• Teen dies after taking 'Netflix and Chill' ecstasy pills (New York Post)
• Melissa McCarthy Snorts Ecstasy With Sex Crazed Puppets in ‘Happytime Murders’ (Variety)
• Gardaí fear 'bad batch' of MDMA may have killed teen (17) (Independent.ie)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Canadian Lynched by Mob After Being Accused of Killing Shaman at Ayahuasca Retreat (VICE)
• UN condemns murder of Peruvian indigenous leader (Andina)
• A Judge Has Ordered Arrests Over Killing of a Canadian in the Peruvian Amazon (TIME)
• Effects and risks of ayahuasca, the hallucinogen sought after by Canadians travelling to the Amazon (CBC)
• How Did Avicii Die? Details On The Artist's Sudden Passing (EDM Sauce)
• Doctor sees healing power in psychedelic plant as Peru investigates deaths (The Reminder)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Why opioid addicts desperate to quit are turning to this risky treatment (New York Post)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Nasal Spray May Help Reduce Depression Symptoms, Study Says (The Fix)
• Oral ketamine does not ease cancer-related neuropathic pain (medwireNews)
• Beneficial effects of ketamine in a chronic pain state with allodynia, possibly due to central sensitization (Science Direct)
• Document: Hagerstown man smoked PCP before shooting woman (Herald-Mail Media)
• Boyfriend of Morgan Freeman's slain kin knew what he was doing despite being in PCP haze (New York Daily News)

Opiates/Opioids

• New York Could Open the First Safe Injection Site in the US (The Nation)
• asha bandele: Prince could still be alive today if America didn’t shame people for using drugs (Mic)
• Google uses its search skills to help fight opioid addiction (Engadget)
• The New York Times Suggests Opioids Should Be Reserved for Terminal Patients (Reason)
• Will Getting Tough on Dealers Curb the Opioid Crisis? (The Crime Report)

Kratom

• Leading Scientists Say Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Kratom May Be Side-Effect Of FDA Crackdown & Underscores Need For Regulation … Not A Ban (PR Newswire)
• Kratom Products Recalled for Risk of Salmonella (Coherent Chronicle)
• Kratom Wars: FDA, Proponents Square Off on Controversial Opioid-Like Plant (Pain Medicine News)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Lessons from Portugal: The Case for Drug Policy Reform (Beckley Foundation)
• Becoming a Psychedelic Researcher: Alan Kooi Davis (Psymposia)
• Are psychedelics the answer to depression and addiction? (Salon)
• Not all drug dealers are the same – it’s time to ditch outdated stereotypes (The Conversation)
• Harm Reduction: More than just clean needles (Julian Buchanan)
• A Survey Shows The Most Used Drugs At Music Festivals: Here’s What We Learned (Dance Music Northwest)
• Antidepressants and Withdrawal: Readers Tell Their Stories (Mad in America)
• A revolution in teen drug education (New York Daily News)
• Police chiefs studying decriminalizing drugs as possible solution to opioid crisis (CBC)
• Just Because You Can't Stop Taking Antidepressants Doesn't Mean You're Addicted (VICE)
• Pill-testing trial approved for Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra (ABC)
• Why we should test drugs for safety (Virgin)
• The Best Drug Documentaries On Netflix Right Now (HotNewHipHop)
• 'Archaic and harmful': report condemns strict handling of student drug takers (The Guardian)
• Psychedelic Scholar Robert Forte Talks Conspiracy Theories and Consciousness (Santa Barbara Independent)
• New Research Provides First Peek at Ancient Mesopotamian Drug Use (Ancient Origins)

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.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.