Weekly Psychedelic Links - July 2022

7.1.22

Cannabis

• Fentanyl-laced marijuana is a myth. It’s time to end the hype (Leafly)

• Medical Weed Cards No Longer Required in Virginia Starting July 1 (High Times)

• Hemp, CBD get permanent legal status in NC after 11th-hour rescue (MSN.com)

• Scientists find THC in over 60% of CBD products they tested — and that may be a huge problem (ZME Science)

• UN Report Dramatizes Uptick in Global Cannabis Use (High Times)

• Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Providing Medical Marijuana Workplace Protections For State Employees (Marijuana Moment)

• Maryland Court: Cops Can Stop, Question Someone Who Smells of Pot (High Times)

• Nevada Cannabis Consumption Lounges Could Go Live By End Of 2022 (Marijuana Moment)

• Edibles, beverages infused with cannabis ingredient THC become legal Friday in Minnesota (Star Tribune)

• Inside The Process To Legalize Recreational Cannabis In Germany (Forbes)

• California Bill to Require Cannabis Warnings About Mental Disorder Risks Advances (High Times)

• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Advance Medical Marijuana DUI Protections And Cannabis Banking Reform Bills (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas Supreme Court Bans Smokable Hemp Production, Sales (High Times)

• Montana Lawsuit Challenges Marijuana Ban In State’s Third-Largest City (Marijuana Moment)

• House Panel Approves Amendment to Protect State Legal Cannabis Programs (High Times)

• Feds Fund Development Of Hemp-Based, 3D-Printed Materials To Build Affordable Housing (Marijuana Moment)

• New Vermont Guidance Looks to Eliminate Plastic Waste From State’s Cannabis Industry (High Times)

• Cannabis users are at greater risk for emergency and inpatient care: study (Fox News)

Magic Mushrooms

• These Mormons Have Found a New Faith — in Magic Mushrooms (Rolling Stone)

• New Jersey Senate President Files Psilocybin Legalization Bill That Includes Home Grow Option, Unlike Current Marijuana Law (Marijuana Moment)

• Tryp Therapeutics Strengthens IP Portfolio with Provisional Patent Application for Binge Eating Disorder Treatment (Psychedelic Alpha)

• Digging Up Druggable Targets: Psilocybin Efficacy in a Model of OCD (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• First-of-its-kind MDMA group therapy trial set to commence (New Atlas)

• Over One Hundred Years of MDMA Research (Drug Science)

Ayahuasca

• How the Shipibo Came to Be the Most Common Group Serving Ayahuasca to Foreigners (DoubleBlind)

Peyote

• Decriminalize Nature Targets Peyote: Drug Reform or Settler Colonialism? (Chacruna)

• Big business could wipe out Mexico’s sacred psychedelic peyote cactus (openDemocracy)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• How Did A Minnesota Honor Roll Student Die As Her Parents Were Sleeping Upstairs? (Oxygen)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• A Loophole in Japan’s Weed Laws Is Getting Tens of Thousands High (VICE)

Miscellaneous

• Colorado Activists Turn In Signatures To Put Psychedelics Legalization And Therapeutic Psilocybin Program On Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• War on drugs prolonged Colombia’s decades-long civil war, landmark report finds (The Guardian)

• Is there a future for psychedelic treatment in Saudi Arabia? (Arab News)

• Do Bad Psychedelic Patents Matter? (Lucid News)

• 4 Recommendations for Disability Inclusion in Psychedelic Therapy Research (Psychiatric Times)

7.8.22

Cannabis

• WNBA Star Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty To Cannabis Charge As Russia Calls Out U.S. Hypocrisy In Maintaining Criminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Make no mistake, marijuana edibles are legal now in Minnesota (Leafly)

• Washington, D.C. Mayor Signs Medical Cannabis Self-Certification Bill (High Times)

• Pennsylvania Bill Gives Medical Cannabis Patients DUI Protection (High Times)

• Oklahoma: Advocates Turn in Signatures to Place Adult-Use Legalization Measure on November Ballot (NORML)

• Study Shows Flower Still Reigns Supreme in U.S., Canada as Consumer Favorite (High Times)

• Arkansas Activists Set To Turn In Double The Signatures Needed To Put Marijuana Legalization On Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Nebraska Medical Marijuana Activists Turn In Ballot Signatures After Campaign Suffers Legal Setback (Marijuana Moment)

• Albania Prompted to Implement Medical Cannabis Reform After U.N. Criticism (High Times)

• U.S. Army Wants To Make Sniper Uniforms Out Of Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• A man whose daily headaches felt like an ice pick in his eyes says he tried 12 treatments but only found relief after taking LSD (Insider)

Magic Mushrooms

• New Study Shows Mood, Mental Health Improved by Microdosing Psilocybin (High Times)

• Indiana Nurse Faces Ten Years in Prison for Microdosing Psilocybin Mushrooms (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Two Cancer Patients Battle to Make Psilocybin Accessible for Palliative Care (Scientific American)

• Rural Oregon counties are lining up against psilocybin launch (OPB)

MDMA

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pushes for Psychedelic Reform in Congress (DoubleBlind)

• GOP Congressman’s Amendment Would Direct Military To Study Psilocybin And MDMA Benefits For Service Members (Marijuana Moment)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on Its Phase 1 DMT Stroke Study (Psychedelic Alpha)

Iboga

• ‘To Heal and to Care for’: Protecting Iboga and Indigenous Voices in the Face of Corporatisation (Volteface)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• DEA Announces Hearing On Proposed Ban Of Five Psychedelic Compounds Following Significant Pushback (Marijuana Moment)

• Mindset Pharma Receives Allowance for Patent Application Covering its Short-Duration Novel Psychedelic Medications for The Treatment of Central Nervous System Disorders (Psychedelic Alpha)

Ketamine

• PharmaTher Announces Positive Results from Study For Ketamine Microneedle Patch (Psychedelic Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• The Never-Ending Psychedelic Trip of Michael Pollan (Rolling Stone)

• Journey Colab scores $12M to move psychedelics-based addiction treatment into clinic (Fierce Biotech)

• User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study (Drug Science)

• Tripping the Reward Circuit: Psychedelics for Substance Use Disorders (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Psychedelics Give a Glimpse of Enlightenment (Psychology Today)

7.15.22

Cannabis

• Feds Must Defend Historical Rationale Of Banning Guns For Medical Marijuana Patients, Revised Lawsuit Argues After SCOTUS Ruling (Marijuana Moment)

• ‘Green way of life’: Thailand sees cannabis boom after law change (Al Jazeera)

• Washington DC just legalized weed for all adults—but it’s locals only (Leafly)

• Oklahoma, North Dakota, Arkansas, and Nebraska submit signatures to put cannabis on November ballot (Leafly)

• Study Shows Decrease in Heavy Truck Crash Rates Since Cannabis Legalization (High Times)

• NYPD Will Keep Testing Officers For Marijuana, Reversing Course Hours After Announcing Policy Change Mandated By City (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Laws in France Have Disproportionately Affected Muslims (High Times)

• New York Firefighters Won’t Be Tested For Marijuana, Department Says Following NYPD Leak (Marijuana Moment)

• Argentine Supreme Court Endorses Medical Cannabis Home Grow (High Times)

• Pennsylvania Governor Signs Marijuana Banking And Insurance Reform Bill Into Law (Marijuana Moment)

• Portland Weed Demand Hits Three-Year Low (High Times)

• Pennsylvania Police Arrested Over 13,000 People for Marijuana Possession in 2021 (NORML)

• The Fight for Medical Cannabis in Indonesia (High Times)

• Weed, Like Change, Nourishes The Soil To Regenerate The Cannabis Industry (Forbes)

LSD

• Why David Bowie wasn’t a fan of LSD (Far Out)

Magic Mushrooms

• DEA May Find Itself In Federal Court Again Over Refusal To Provide Psilocybin Access To Terminally Ill Patients (Marijuana Moment)

• Oregon therapeutic psilocybin program sparks some confusion (OPB)

MDMA

• World's first ecstasy 'shop' set to trial in the Netherlands (Mixmag)

• Luxury Champagne Recalled Again Over Ecstacy Contamination (Newsweek)

• MDMA: Rolling from Counterculture to the Clinic Counter (Psychedelic Science Review)

Ayahuasca

• Study suggests ayahuasca users tend to eat healthier, get more exercise, and experience physical and mental health benefits (PsyPost)

Ketamine

• PharmaTher Announces Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Covering Ketamine for the Potential Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and Motor Disorders (Psychedelic Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• Ann Shulgin, Forerunner of Today's Psychedelic Re-Emergence, Dies at 91 (Transform Press)

• House Approves Marijuana And Psychedelics Amendments As Part Of Must-Pass Defense Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• What Ethnographers Have Learned from People Who Use Drugs (Undark)

• Inside the Chemistry Lab Where the MDMA Godfather Synthesized Novel Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)

• The Tory Leadership Candidates on Drugs (Volteface)

• Filament Health Issued Third Patent By United States Patent and Trademark Office (Psychedelic Alpha)

• Doctors Urge Access to Psychedelic Therapies in New Mexico (TIME)

• Can Psychedelics Treat Inflammation and Eye Disease? Eleusis Thinks So. (Lucid News)

• Villain Or Victim? Understanding The Role of Women In The Latin American Drug Trade (TalkingDrugs)

• San Francisco’s New DA Vows to Ramp Up City’s Drug War (Filter)

• The Battle for Psychedelic Patents (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• How To Become a Psychedelic Therapist (DoubleBlind)

• 5 Countries Where Psychedelics are Legal (Psychedelic Spotlight)

7.22.22

Cannabis

• Senate Leadership Introduces Legislation to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition (NORML)

• District of Columbia: Mayor Signs Legislation Prohibiting Most Employers from Discriminating Against Cannabis Consumers (NORML)

• Legal cannabis is producing more plastic waste than pot (Leafly)

• Colorado Company To Research Cannabis As A Treatment For Parkinson’s Disease (Forbes)

• Biden Says He’s ‘Working On’ Bill To Release Cannabis Inmates (High Times)

• Germany, Luxembourg, Malta And The Netherlands Discuss Marijuana Legalization At Historic Joint Meeting (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Springs Recreational Cannabis Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot (High Times)

• Minnesota Is Home To America's First Cannabis Disc Golf Course (MIX 108)

• House Passes Bill Permitting Weed Ads on TV and Radio (High Times)

• Colorado's New Lead Marijuana Monitor Treks Through Heavy Issues (Westword)

• Cannabis Telemedicine Launches in Montana (High Times)

• Montana Marijuana Businesses Face Seemingly Endless Cycle Of Local Votes On Allowing Them To Operate (Marijuana Moment)

• People Busted for Weed in the U.K. Could Lose Passports Under Proposed Rules (High Times)

• Missouri Marijuana Legalization Measure In Danger Of Not Qualifying For Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Denver officials want to save struggling cannabis delivery businesses (The Denver Post)

• Study Finds Australians Support Cannabis Use Over Smoking Tobacco (High Times)

• House Will Not Vote On Marijuana Amendments For Veterans And Public Housing Residents After Committee Snag (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana use is higher among US states that have legalized recreational cannabis use (News-Medical)

LSD

• The Doors of Expression: LSD Alters Epigenetics and Protein Induction (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Science Feature: MindMed’s LSD Trial for ADHD (Microdose)

• Watch John Lennon explain that 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was not about LSD (Far Out)

Magic Mushrooms

• The Sloppy Science of Psilocybin Microdosing Surveys (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• A single dose of psilocybin has long-lasting antidepressant-like effects in fruit flies (PsyPost)

• Restrictions on Psilocybin ‘Magic Mushrooms’ Are Easing as Research Ramps Up (Scientific American)

MDMA

• Patient safety issues halt trial for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy during Health Canada review (CBC)

• 'Corrective' measures ordered, but Health Canada says 2nd MDMA trial can continue (CBC)

DMT

• Teenager Used LSD And DMT To Help Overcome Trauma, Case Report Says (IFLScience)

Ayahuasca

• Churches sue to use hallucinogenic tea in religious practice (UPI)

• The Global Ayahuasca Boom: What About the Conservation of the Ayahuasca Vine? (Chacruna)

5-MeO-DMT

• The Story Behind a 1984 Hallucinogenic Pamphlet From Denton Is Just as Trippy as Its Subject (Dallas Observer)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• Mydecine Files Full Patent Application Covering MYCO-006 Family of Novel Short-Acting MDMA Analogs (Psychedelic Alpha)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Weed vapes probably sending a toxic gas to your lungs, study finds (Salon)

• Cannabis getting stronger with synthetic versions added leading to psychosis, report warns (Independent.ie)

Ketamine

• Largest-ever clinical study of ketamine therapy shows that at-home model can be a safe, effective treatment for anxiety and depression; 62% fewer patients report suicidal ideation after four sessions (PR Newswire)

• Ketamine Beneficial For Treating Neonatal, And Pediatric Epilepsy: Study (Medical Dialogues)

Miscellaneous

• The Long, Strange Relationship Between Psychedelics and Telepathy (VICE)

• DEA Sued Over ‘Unlawful’ Delays On Psychedelic And Marijuana Public Records Requests Through FOIA (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Psychedelics Legalization Measure Qualifies for November Ballot (DoubleBlind)

• Keeping the Hippie Dream Alive (The New York Times)

• Accessibility Is Key for the Psychedelic Revolution (Pharmacy Times)

• Podcast aims to raise awareness about future of psychedelic treatments (CBC)

• Skip the trip – does the world need non-hallucinogenic psychedelics? (leafie)

• New Regulations for Psychedelics? Here's What Investors Need to Know (The Motley Fool)

7.29.22

Cannabis

• Weedmaps again advertising illegal marijuana retailers and products, complaints allege (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Singapore Executes Man for Cannabis Trafficking (High Times)

• House Passes Bipartisan Marijuana Research Bill, With Senate Expected To Send It To President Soon (Marijuana Moment)

• Zimbabwe OKs First Medicinal Cannabis Sales (High Times)

• Secret Australian marijuana facility exposes location after turning sky pink (The Washington Post)

• Biden Administration Proposes Prisoner Swap To Free Brittney Griner (High Times)

• Over 850 Doctors in Thailand Protest Pot Legalization (High Times)

• Senator Files Bill To Allow Marijuana Advertising On TV And Radio In Legal States (Marijuana Moment)

• The 'World's Biggest Cannabis Scam' Is Totally Unravelling (VICE)

• Bronx Cannabis Hub Fosters Opportunity in Communities Hit Hard by Arrests (Filter)

• Cannabis Users Less Likely to Face Complications After Spinal Fusion Surgery (High Times)

• 15 State Attorneys General File Brief Opposing Lawsuit To Help Put Medical Marijuana On Nebraska Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Thai businesses cash in on cannabis, from milk tea to toothpaste (Reuters)

• Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative Short Of Signatures Needed For Ballot In County Reviews (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire stands alone in New England as only state without legal marijuana (WMUR)

LSD

• New Zealand Government Grants $650K For LSD Microdosing Trials (Benzinga)

• Operation Julie: Rural Wales LSD bust becomes a musical (BBC)

Magic Mushrooms

• DEA Sued Again Over Refusal To Allow Psilocybin Access For Patients Despite Federal Law (Marijuana Moment)

• Why some of Colorado’s foremost shrooms advocates won’t be voting to legalize psilocybin (The Denver Post)

• Legal psilocybin prescriptions in Canada (Drug Science)

• Project Solace: The World’s Largest Medical Psilocybin Access and Data Project (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• COMPASS Pathways launches phase II clinical trial of psilocybin therapy in anorexia nervosa (Psychedelic Alpha)

DMT

• U.S. Patent Grant to Strengthen Small Pharma’s DMT Patent Strategy With Injectable Formulation (Psychedelic Alpha)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• DEA Cancels Proposed Ban Of Five Psychedelics, Giving Scientists More Time To Research Therapeutic Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

• Working with Indigenous allies is the ethical way to develop psychedelic-based pharmaceuticals (STAT News)

• Festival drugs: Warning over 'imposter' substances threat (BBC)

• Ecstasy for the 21st Century: Designer Drugs to Improve MDMA Therapy (Psychedelic Science Review)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Easy On The Eyes — This Company Reports Using a Unique Synthetic Cannabinoid Derivative To Treat Glaucoma (Benzinga)

Nitrous Oxide

• Doctors warn ‘dangerous’ laughing gas is becoming an ‘epidemic’ amid rise in hospitalisations (The Independent)

• A Law will Prohibit the Sale of Nitrous Oxide or “Laughing Gas” to Minors in Bulgaria (Novinite.com)

Ketamine

• At Home Sublingual Ketamine Exhibits Rapid And Significant Antidepressant And Anxiolytic Effects (Medical Dialogues)

• Ketamine found to be unlikely to lead to addiction (Medical Xpress)

• Silo Pharma Announces Positive Results from its Topically Administered Formulation of Ketamine (Psychedelic Alpha)

Miscellaneous

• Biden Administration Plans For Legal Psychedelic Therapies Within Two Years (The Intercept)

• San Francisco Launches Bid to Decriminalize Psychedelics (Filter)

• Your Genes May Determine How You React To Psychedelic Drugs (IFLScience)

• The Psychoactive Substances Act on Trial (Volteface)

• The High-Stakes Race to Engineer New Psychedelic Drugs (WIRED)

• Trump Urges ‘Very Quick Trial’ and Death Penalty for Drug Dealers (High Times)

• The Psychedelics Industry’s Next Hurdle Is How to Go Mainstream (Bloomberg)

• One in four Americans say they’ve tried at least one psychedelic drug (YouGov)

• Microdosing: Scientists tackle psychedelic trend becoming ‘creative enhancer of choice’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)

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.

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

This Month in Psychedelics - June 2021

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

Here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

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

Drug Policy

Wins

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

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

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

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

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

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

Losses

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

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

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

Future

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

Industry

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

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

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

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

Research

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

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

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

Miscellaneous

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this month’s update, please consider helping out by becoming a patron, making a one-time donation, or sharing this post with a friend. Thank you for your support.

This Week in Psychedelics - 4.23.21

Cannabis

• Schumer Celebrates 4/20 Marijuana Holiday On Senate Floor (Marijuana Moment)

• US House Passes Bill To Normalize Adult-Use Cannabis Commerce (NORML)

• Virginia Governor Signs Marijuana Legalization Bill In Ceremonial Event—Even Though It’s Already Enacted (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Company Must Cover Employee's Medical Marijuana Costs (MERRY JANE)

• Nine In Ten Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana For Recreational Or Medical Use, New Pew Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Florida Supreme Court Kills 2022 Marijuana Legalization Initiative That Hundreds Of Thousands Had Signed (Marijuana Moment)

• Border weed: How the hometown of tater tots became a cannabis capital (Politico)

• Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana Flower For Patients (Marijuana Moment)

• Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act Reintroduced (NORML)

• Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Eighth Committee On Route To The House Floor (Marijuana Moment)

• Two-thirds of La. voters support legalizing marijuana; state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle eye legalization (WAFB)

LSD

• Today Is Bicycle Day, Which Isn’t Quite What You Think (Mother Jones)

• LSD Side-Effects: Risks To Be Aware of When Consuming LSD (The Third Wave)

Magic Mushrooms

• Oregon’s and Compass’s Opposite Approaches to Psilocybin Therapy Should Coexist, Says Initiator of Measure 109 (Chacruna)

• Revive Therapeutics Announces Successful Research Results for Oral Thin Film Psilocybin and Filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application (Psilocybin Alpha)

MDMA

• MDMA and magic mushrooms reconsidered for rescheduling by Therapeutic Goods Administration (The Canberra Times)

• This is why sex on MDMA feels so good, according to experts (Gentside UK)

Ayahuasca

• Advocacy Group Aims to Decriminalize Ayahuasca in Portland (Willamette Week)

• Some Vermonters Turn to Ayahuasca as a 'Last Resort' to Heal Their Bodies and Minds (Seven Days)

5-MeO-DMT

• Researchers In Europe, U.S. Team Up To Produce First Ever 5-MeO-DMT Psychedelic Training Program (Forbes)

• Toad Conservation (Chacruna)

Peyote

• Hello, Religious Privilege is Good and Here's Why (Patheos)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• 18-MC Has Unique Brain Functions and Mechanisms (Psychedelic Science Review)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Study explores synthetic cannabinoid for cancer-related anorexia (Outsourcing-Pharma.com)

Ketamine

• PharmaTher Announces Submission of IND Application with the FDA for Phase 2 Clinical Trial Evaluating Ketamine in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Ketamine Infusion: How Ketamine Can Treat Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, and More (DoubleBlind)

PCP

• State's medical expert to grand jury: 'Police didn't kill Daniel Prude' (WXXI News)

Miscellaneous

• Norway opposition torpedoes plan to decriminalise drug use (France 24)

• Washington State Lawmakers Downgrade Proposed Drug Possession Penalties Ahead Of House Floor Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Biden Is Allegedly Planning to Double Down on Trump's Prohibitionist Drug Policies (MERRY JANE)

• MindMed To Commence Trading on Nasdaq (Psilocybin Alpha)

• The “Equity Elephant”: Why Psychedelic Mutualism and Cooperatives are Crucial for an Accessible Future (Psychedelics Today)

• Jewish psychedelics movement blasts off with first-ever conference (The Times of Israel)

• ATAI Nasdaq IPO Plans Announced (Truffle Report)

• Researchers Slam Drug War At Federally Hosted Psychedelics Event (Marijuana Moment)

• There’s a Land Grab for Psychedelic Patents: Here’s What We Can Do About It (Psychedelic Times)

• You're Not Hallucinating: Black People Are Being Left Out of the Psychedelic Renaissance (The Root)

• People who regularly use psychoactive substances experienced negative impacts during COVID-19 (News-Medical.net)

• Most Canadians not ready to expand drug legalization beyond cannabis: poll (Coast Reporter)

• Extinction Rebellion founder says psychedelic drugs 'helped start environmental movement' (Wales Online)

• Silo Wellness Announces Five New Psychedelic Wellness Retreats in Jamaica (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psychedelic Experience launches new website to help navigate the world of psychedelics (PR Newswire)

• The Overlap Between Kink/BDSM and Psychedelics (Chacruna)

• Cybin Demonstrates Proof of Concept of Its Deuterated Tryptamines for the Treatment of Depression and Addiction (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Michael Pollan: A Catalyst to the Psychedelic Renaissance (The Third Wave)

• If You're Going to Solo Trip On Psychedelics, Bear This in Mind (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 Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze the news links presented here. The purpose of this column is solely to catalog how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Month in Psychedelics - February 2021

Maybe it’s just me, but it was especially difficult to keep up with everything happening in the world of psychedelics this month. There are dozens of drug policy reforms and psychedelic research studies to keep up with, and making sure I’m covering each one and only reporting the most up-to-date news about them is extra tough when they change on a daily (and sometimes hourly) basis.

So I’ve tried my best to recap this month’s most important psychedelic news in this blog post. We’re going to cover a bunch of drug policy reforms, how patents are affecting the psychedelic industry, the latest events in psychedelic science, and much more.

Here is a slimmed-down video recap version that is available for those who prefer an easier-to-digest option:

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

Drug Policy

New Laws

Starting off this month’s recap with some good news and paving the way for the rest of the country, Oregon’s drug decriminalization bill went into effect. Now Oregonians will no longer face criminal charges for possessing small quantities of drugs and the state is prioritizing drug treatment over law enforcement.

Policy Reform Wins

Several other initiatives moved one step closer to becoming a reality—Cambridge, Massachusetts decriminalized psychedelics, New Jersey’s governor signed a whopping three reform bills (two separate bills that will legalize and decriminalize cannabis and a third bill that will reduce penalties for psilocybin possession), and the Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate announced steps to federally legalize cannabis later this year.

In addition, both Virginia’s House and Senate voted to legalize cannabis, North Dakota’s House voted to legalize recreational marijuana, and Alabama’s Senate passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana.

Lawmakers on committees in five states voted in favor of six drug policy reform bills this month. Cannabis legalization efforts passed in Hawaii, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Dakota, lawmakers in North Dakota also advanced a cannabis decriminalization bill, and a drug decrim bill in Washington made it out of the committee round. Just earlier this week the initiatives in Minnesota and New Mexico both passed their second rounds and will definitely be heading to each state’s House for further consideration.

Hanging on by a thread, Virginia’s lawmakers are facing a Saturday deadline to reconcile two different conflicting House and Senate cannabis legalization bills and at the moment things are looking tense. Hopefully they’ll get it all worked out.

Proposed and Submitted Bills

Several more bills have been either proposed or submitted: initiatives to decriminalize psychedelics in California and Vermont; bills that would permit access to psychedelics for seriously ill patients in Iowa and Missouri; legislation that would decriminalize all drugs in Kansas, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Washington; a new medical marijuana bill was introduced in Kansas; a bill to study psychedelics in Texas and a federal cannabis research bill; and California activists announced plans to work on legalizing magic mushrooms in 2022.

Prohibitionists Resist

The dying gasps of prohibitionists around the country can be heard in several states where there are efforts to overturn the will of voters that voted in favor of cannabis reforms last November. A judge in South Dakota ruled the state’s recreational marijuana measure unconstitutional and the governor delayed the launch of the state’s medical marijuana program until 2022, and the American Medical Association is attempting to overturn the medical marijuana vote in Mississippi and the Senate passed legislation to enact an alternate medical marijuana program from the one that voters approved in November.

In a future-proofing move, Idaho’s Senate passed a measure to block cannabis legalization even if voters approve it later on. For a bunch of teetotalers, that’s quite a paranoid move.

International News

On the international stage, an attempt to legalize the medical use of MDMA and psilocybin in Australia was rejected. But don’t worry—the fight’s not over yet because Mind Medicine Australia is challenging the decision.


And to round out this month’s drug policy update on a positive note, Norway is considering decriminalizing all drugs.

Psychedelic Industry

Psychedelic patents are a big area of concern in the psychedelic industry right now. In a controversial move, COMPASS Pathways submitted a patent application attempting to lay claim to pre-existing, common psychedelic therapy techniques including the use of soft furniture and holding hands.

Although the patent has not been granted, it just goes to show how psychedelic companies plan to use patents to gain an advantage over their competitors, with some even stooping as low as trying to patent things that have been a part of psychedelic culture long before these newfangled companies were around.

At this point, we can only hope that this patent application will be rejected. But in other cases, companies are already winning psychedelic patents.

A small biotech startup known as CaaMTech Inc. won a patent that will protect any new compositions and methods that are created by combining cannabinoids and psilocybin derivatives. So even though people have been combining cannabis and magic mushrooms for basically forever, now CaaMTech will own exclusive rights to any future pharmaceutical concoctions that come from combining the two drugs.

Psychedelic patents will continue to have a huge influence over how the industry evolves over the next few years. Hopefully they won’t completely ruin it.

Psychedelic Research

New Centers

The psychedelic research field is busier than ever before. Four new psychedelic research centers launched this month: Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics, COMPASS Pathways’ Drug Discovery Center, New York University’s Center for Psychedelic Medicine, and Aion Therapeutic’s new Aion International Center for Psychedelic Psychiatry in Jamaica.

Studies

There are several new studies to go over, including a preliminary clinical trial that found MDMA therapy to be more helpful at treating alcohol addiction than conventional treatment methods, a meta-analysis that showed MDMA therapy to be less effective for people who take antidepressants, a study that suggested that psychedelic researchers who admit to using the substances themselves are viewed as having less integrity than researchers who are psychedelically-naïve, a study that showed that people suffering from chronic suicidality were given quick relief by consuming regular oral doses of ketamine in a clinical setting, researchers found that the rapid antidepressant effects of ayahuasca are linked to changes in inflammatory biomarkers, and a neuroscience study indicated that LSD “frees” brain activity from anatomical constraints.

Although it hasn’t been published yet, one study that deserves mention is MindMed’s LSD neutralizer study, which is now underway and expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

In this study, MindMed is attempting to see if a 5-HT2A antagonist known as ketanserin is capable of safely and effectively stopping the effects of an LSD trip during LSD therapy sessions. This technique would be used if an active session got completely out of hand or simply became too uncomfortable for a client, and it’s come under a lot of scrutiny with many people arguing that it would be better for the full psychedelic trip to unfold than to halt it in its tracks.

While this study isn’t going to explore the efficacy of prematurely evacuating a psychedelic trip, at the very least we should know whether ketanserin is viable trip-killer within the year.

Announced Future Trials

Finishing up this month’s psychedelic research segment is a collection of clinical trials that will be conducted in the future. Algernon Pharmaceuticals will explore treating stroke survivors with DMT, PharmaTher wants to see if ketamine can help treat Parkinson’s disease, UC San Diego will explore using psilocybin to treat phantom limb pain for amputees, and Tryp Therapeutics will see if psilocybin can help people who suffer from over-eating disorders.

On a personal note, psilocybin helped me overcome some issues that I used to have with over-eating and so I’m interested to see how it fares in a clinical setting.

That’s a wrap on psychedelic research for this month. Even though it’s becoming increasingly tougher to keep up with it all, I’m more excited than ever before to see so much psychedelic science happening nowadays!

Denver Mushroom Dealer Avoids Prison

Next up is an update on a story from 2019 where the DEA raided a Denver man’s home because he was selling magic mushrooms in the city, which had just decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms a few months earlier. A federal judge decided against sending 29 year-old Kole Milner to prison, instead opting to sentence him to three years of probation and a fine of $5500.

This is actually a pretty encouraging turn of events, considering that just a few years ago the judge probably would’ve chosen the more punitive approach of imprisoning Miliner rather than slapping him with probation and a fine.

Just as a reminder, even though psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalized in Denver, they haven’t been given the same sort of approval from the state of Colorado or the federal government, AND they haven’t been legalized, so while it’s ok at the municipal level to possess and use them, it’s not legal to sell them. Be smart and safe out there, y’all.

New Professional Psychedelic Associations

As psychedelics continue to become more mainstream, legal and medical professionals are banding together to create new psychedelic associations that will enable researchers and therapists to establish new standards of care and help attorneys understand the complexities of a constantly-changing drug policy landscape.

Some of the newest organizations include the Psychedelic Medicine Association; the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists and Practitioners; the International Association of Psychedelic Nursing; Medicine Midwives, the Association of Entheogenic Practitioners; the Psychedelic Justice League; and the Psychedelic Bar Association.

If you’re a medical or legal professional then be sure to check out these new associations and get involved—your input could help shape the field of psychedelics for decades to come.

QAnon Shaman Turns Against Trump

This month there is a followup from January’s QAnon Shaman story, where self-described psychedelic guru Jake Angeli took part in the attempt to seize the U.S. Capitol and prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s November election victory.

It turns out that there was at least one other psychedelic right-winger at the Capitol that day—William Watson, who was out on a $103,000 bond for LSD and cannabis trafficking charges, also took part in the insurrection.

But getting back to Angeli, although he was previously “horrendously smitten” with Trump, the QAnon Shaman eventually turned against the former President after not receiving a pardon that would have set him free. He even went as far as to offer to testify against Trump in his second impeachment trial.

It doesn’t look like Angeli got that chance though, as the trial came and went and I couldn’t find any confirmation that he was given the opportunity to air his testimony.

We may never get to hear impeachment testimony from the QAnon Shaman on how Trump duped him, Watson, and thousands of others into participating in the insurrection, but this whole saga is a great reminder that—contrary to popular belief—there are people of all political persuasions that use psychedelics, not just liberals.

Independent Investigation Finds Elijah McClain to Have Been a Victim of Police Violence

A young Black man named Elijah McClain died in August 2019 after he was stopped by Colorado police, put in a carotid hold, and injected with ketamine. The officers involved were never charged because prosecutors claimed to lack evidence that would prove the officers caused McClain’s death or that the force was unjustified.

However, an independent investigation found that the officers did not have a legal basis to stop, frisk, or restrain him. This means that McClain is no longer listed as a suspect but rather was a victim, which has brought a ton of relief to his mother, Sheneen McClain. Aurora, Colorado, which is the town where this event occurred, has announced that it will hire an independent police monitor after hearing results of the investigation. While this is only a small step toward justice, it’s still progress.

Meanwhile, officer’s involved with the suffocation death of a Black PCP user named Daniel Prude will not face charges, indicating that there is still a lot of police reform work to be done in this country.

Tim Leary’s Castalia Foundation Co-Opted by Conspiracy Theorists

In an interested turn of events, Timothy Leary’s Castalia Foundation has been co-opted by conspiracy theorists who have been sharing anti-mask content, praise for Donald Trump, and discussion about elite pedophile rings. It’s a crazy tale and definitely worth checking out.

Jamaica Is Facing a Marijuana Shortage

Cannabis farmers in Jamaica are struggling as the country is currently running low on ganja. An extended drought following heavy rains, an increase in local consumption, and less marijuana farmers have caused the worst shortage that the island has ever seen. It’s gotten so bad that even tourists have noticed, posting on travel websites about difficulties finding some grass to imbibe. Hopefully this year’s crop will fare better and Jamaica can get back to being one of the best countries for cannabis.

That’s all for this month’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

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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.