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This Week in Psychedelics - 1.22.21

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Cannabis

  • France launches public consultation on legalising cannabis (France24)

  • UFC ditch marijuana ban but fighters warned to ‘temper enthusiasm’ after Usada rule change (The Independent)

  • Biden Taps Marijuana Legalization Supporter To Lead Democratic National Committee (Marijuana Moment)

  • American Medical Association Asks Court To Overturn Medical Marijuana Vote In Mississippi (Marijuana Moment)

  • Arizona: Adult Use Marijuana Sales On Track to Begin This Month (NORML)

  • This Michigan marijuana dispensary is giving free weed to anyone who got the COVID-19 vaccine (Detroit Metro Times)

  • Trump Grants Clemency To Marijuana Prisoners On Last Day In Office (Marijuana Moment)

  • Study: Nearly Half of Medical Cannabis Users Cease Using Opioids for Pain After Twelve Months (NORML)

  • Congressman Files First Federal Marijuana Reform Bill Of 2021 (Marijuana Moment)

  • Could Medical Cannabis Help with the Treatment of Movement Disorders? (Canex)

  • Latest Canadian cannabis recalls include melting vape pens, moldy bud (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Virginia Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Senate Committee, With Home Cultivation Provisions Intact (Marijuana Moment)

  • “Game changer” for the sector: First cannabis company expected to list on LSE next month (Cannabis Health News)

  • Police Find 1st 'Cannabis Factory' In London's Financial District, Destroy 826 Plants (NPR)

  • Hash landing: New Zealand police ditch annual helicopter hunt for cannabis dens (The Guardian)

  • Phytol cited as potentially dangerous cannabis vape ingredient (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Study: Cannabis Use Associated with Reduced Alcohol Intake Among Treatment-Seeking Drinkers (NORML)

  • Research establishes antibiotic potential for cannabis molecule (ScienceDaily)

  • Women who use cannabis may have harder time conceiving (Healio)

  • How Some THC Is Legal — For Now (Rolling Stone)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Florida Lawmaker Introducing Psilocybin Mushroom Legalization (Forbes)

  • Unique magic mushroom microdosing study to begin in Australia (New Atlas)

  • How Mixing Mushrooms and MDMA Affects Your Body and Brain (VICE)

  • Patient hopes Canada will introduce regulations for treatment with 'magic mushrooms' (CTV News)

  • BC Craft Supply Co Announces Letter of Intent with Psilocybin Research and Development Company Ava Pathways (Globe Newswire)

MDMA

  • MindMed Announces the Start of the First-Ever Clinical Trial Combining MDMA and LSD (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ayahuasca

5-MeO-DMT

Synthetic Cannabinoids

Ketamine

  • Ketamine Clinicians Publish Ethical Guidelines to Raise Treatment Standards (Lucid News)

  • Colorado officials resume review of ketamine program after Elijah McClain's death (CNN)

  • PharmaTher Signs Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement for Patented Ketamine Formulation Targeting Mental Health, Neurological and Pain Disorders (Psilocybin Alpha)

Miscellaneous

  • Icelandic Government Proposes Drug Decriminalisation (The Reykjavik Grapevine)

  • Peter Thiel-backed psychedelics start-up targets schizophrenia ahead of IPO (CNBC)

  • Psychedelic Therapy Schools Are Popping Up Like Mushrooms (Bloomberg)

  • The Biden Administration and Drug Policy: Expectation Versus Reality (Filter)

  • North American Psychedelics Index Published: Which Companies Will Be in the First Psychedelic ETF? (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • A New Supreme Court RFRA Ruling May Be a Boon to Psychedelic Religions (Chacruna)

  • Senator wants to 'lock in' 2020 drug laws (Idaho Press)

  • NeonMind Lists on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Is Psychedelic Medicine the Antidote to Anti-Black White Racism in the US? (Chacruna)

  • The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics and Nature Explored in New Study (Lucid News)

  • Psychedelic Authoritarianism Harm Reduction: “QAnon Shaman” Edition (Psymposia)

  • Here’s What’s Missing From Conversations About Psychedelic Integration (DoubleBlind)

  • Attorney General Merrick Garland a Disheartening Prospect (Filter)

  • Dopamine Release and Duration of Action: Rules of Thumb to Predict Addictive Potential of Phenethylamines (Spirit Pharmacist)

  • Ergot in Canada: A Lost Tradition? (Chacruna)

  • BetterLife Pharma Is Developing Second Generation Psychedelics: Drugs That Leave Out The Trip (Forbes)

  • Former Defence Force chief Chris Barrie supports increased accessibility of psychedelic drugs (The Canberra Times)

  • Could Biden Make His Country’s Global Drug War Even More Imperialist? (Filter)

  • What Will The Psychedelics Space Look Like In 2021? Experts Weigh In (Yahoo! Finance)

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

This Year in Psychedelics - 2017

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy New Year's Eve! 2017 had a lot in store for the psychedelic community this year. I've attempted to capture as much of it as I could below, although I'm sure there are some important events and items that I have missed.

This year's psychedelic-related news is broken up into various sections, each including the news items that were covered for each substance this year. The final section is a compilation of items that include frequently-seen themes in 2017, psychedelic research updates, and news about individual people in this space.

So without further ado, here is this year in psychedelics:

Cannabis

Cannabis had an extremely busy year in 2017. The new year started with someone changing the iconic Hollywood sign to say Hollyweed, and only got weirder from then on out. There were quite a few political things going on in America, including Donald Trump getting sworn in as the President of the United States. Pot protesters made sure to be there for his inauguration, passing out roughly 9000 joints to help keep the peace during the tumultuous times. No one has been able to get a clear read on how his administration is going to address the existing drug war, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions evading a firm answer on how the federal government is going to treat state marijuana laws and claiming outrageous things such as his opinion that cannabis is only "slightly less awful" than heroin.

Although marijuana prohibition turned 80 this year, there were still some good things to happen. New Hampshire's decriminalization law took effect. Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey introduced a bill that could legalize cannabis nationwide. Vermont's legislature became the first to approve recreational cannabis, but its Governor later vetoed the bill. A legalization coalition in Michigan obtained 360,000 signatures to place the issue on its 2018 ballot and New York added PTSD as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana.

Even with all the positive movement in the cannabis medicalization and legalization efforts, news came out that more people were arrested in 2016 for pot than for murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery—combined! California also banned the use of drones and self-driving cars for weed delivery. And Maine's Governor vetoed legislation that would've allowed for retail legalization. We still clearly have a long way to go before the laws in America reflect the fact that support for legalization is at an all-time high.

However, a few other countries have already moved in that direction, and others plan to do so in the near future. Ireland legalized medical marijuana, Israel decriminalized recreational cannabis, Canada plans to legalize cannabis in 2018, Uruguay now allows for the sale of recreational cannabis in its pharmacies, France is getting rid of prison terms for cannabis users, Poland legalized medical marijuana, and Mexico announced that it is going to allow cannabis-based foods, drinks, medicines, and cosmetics beginning early next year.

Cannabis research was also pretty fruitful this year, showing that cannabis could help treat Alzheimer's and even reverse the brain's decline in old age, that cannabis use is linked to lower medicaid costs and often substituted for more dangerous prescription medicines, as well as evidence that it can help treat epilepsy in children and reduce migraine frequency. In addition, another study found that cannabis use is not independently linked with IQ decline, it may be helpful for treating schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome, and that Colorado's recreational market may have resulted in reductions in opioid deaths. Finally, cannabis use was also inversely associated with fatty liver disease, alcohol was found to be 10 times more deadly than cannabis on the road, alcohol sales have fallen since cannabis legalization, and a study found that cannabis users have more sex.

In miscellaneous cannabis news, the technicolor International Church of Cannabis opened its doors in Denver, microdosing marijuana became more popular, adolescent cannabis use hit a 15-year low despite legalization, domestic hemp production more than doubled, a Colorado girl is suing Jeff Sessions to legalize medical marijuana nationwide, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin helped the cannabis industry find an alternative to its banking issues. Looking forward to the next year, here are the states that are likely to legalize cannabis in 2018.

LSD

There was also a ton of LSD-related news this year. Norway decriminalized LSD, sentencing people who use LSD to community service instead of jail time. A documentary about two of history's most prolific LSD manufacturers called The Sunshine Makers and a docudrama about the CIA's secret LSD mind control experiments called Wormwood were added to Netflix's catalogue. Shortly after that, one of the chemists featured in The Sunshine Makers, Nicholas Sand, died at 75. An interesting interview with his partner Tim Scully delved into his experience of manufacturing 750,000,000 doses of LSD in order to save the world and another interview asked how 100 therapeutic LSD trips helped Cary Grant prepare for the future. A stash of reel-to-reel recordings called the Sonic Journals, recorded by another big LSD manufacturer by the name of Owlsley Stanley, were released. There was a bunch of coverage of Ayelet Waldman's book about microdosing LSD called A Really Good Day this year.

When it comes to LSD research, it is being studied for depression treatment and some evidence surfaced that shows that it may actually heal the brain. Scientists also figured out why acid trips last so long.

I saw a few articles about a doomsday cult that gave children LSD, which is a pretty interesting (albeit tragic) story. Silicon Valley's microdosing habit, the world's first online LSD microdosing coach, and an article on why it feels like you can communicate with nature while on LSD are also worth a read. I especially enjoyed this article about how ergotism influenced renaissance painting, a fateful hunt for a buried stash of the greatest LSD ever made, and a hilarious video about what it would be like if Mormon missionaries tried LSD for the first time. As you can see, there was a ton of LSD news this year! So much that USA Today even reassured its readers that they're not tripping—LSD really is making a comeback.

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

When it comes to magic mushrooms, the most exciting news is probably that California and Oregon are both considering decriminalizing them for recreational use. Impressively, a study found them to be the safest recreational drug. The potential benefits of psilocybin that were covered this year include the treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, cluster headaches, and a decrease in criminal behavior. A study giving psilocybin mushrooms to religious leaders is being conducted to test the effects of psychedelics on religious experience. And an article about Terence McKenna's Stoned Ape Theory and the obligatory article about how Santa Claus is actually a psychedelic mushroom closed out the year.

MDMA/Ecstasy

There were some extremely exciting things that happened in the MDMA space this year, including the fact that the FDA designated MDMA as a breakthrough therapy for PTSD treatment. Several articles talked about how MDMA could be made legal within the next five years, which may happen even faster now that Dr. Bronner's pledged millions of dollars to MAPS for MDMA research. There was a fantastic article about the promise of MDMA for PTSD in The New York Times and Scientific American took its readers on MDMA's journey from Molly to medicine. There were some articles about the highest levels of MDMA consumption in Australia and Ireland, and a study found that young adults with higher education are the most likely demographic to use MDMA. In addition to PTSD treatment, purported benefits from taking MDMA included the curation of tinnitus, saving relationships, and the treatment of alcohol addiction. Finally, a new MDMA overdose drug was developed, an exhibition of ecstasy artwork was put on display, and a father who lost his two songs to MDMA is now advocating for its legalization

Ayahuasca/DMT

The vine of the soul known as ayahuasca had a decent amount of positive media coverage this year. Two new ayahuasca films—The Last Shaman and Icaros: A Vision—were reviewed by mainstream media. Some research came out showing that ayahuasca and meditation change the brain in similar ways, with ayahuasca even stimulating the birth of new brain cells. However, Ayahuasca tourism has been a bit of a mixed blessing for the Amazon, and it is important to understand that over-popularizing ayahuasca sets bad expectations and could potentially give it a poor reputation. The ayahuasca ceremony is going to be studied a bit closer using the scientific method, which is good because there hasn't been a whole lot of scientific research going on in this realm so far. There has been a fight to allow people to use ayahuasca for religious reasons, and the Santo Daime Church was granted religious exemption to use it in Canada. I enjoyed these articles on the spiritual and therapeutic benefits of icaros songs sung in ayahuasca ceremonies and a breakdown of the various plants commonly used in ayahuasca. In addition, Brazil started giving its prisoners ayahuasca as a part of their rehabilitation process and there is some evidence showing that ayahuasca may be able to help in the treatment of eating disorders.

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

When the media covers peyote, it usually focuses on the fact that peyote was approved for religious use by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. However, this year there were articles about how racist thinking still shapes how we understand peyote drinking, a well-done overview of the cactus, tripping on peyote in Navajo nation, and a short video about peyote's complicated history. And when it comes to san pedro, High Existence had a nice piece on how it is one of the most potent psychedelic plants in the world, Reset.me covered how it can be a healing medicine for modern times, and there was an awesome timelapse of the cactus flower blooming that offers up some beauty for your eyes to feast on.

Iboga/Ibogaine

This substance was talked about pretty often in the media this year. Most articles focused on how iboga can treat drug addiction, including its success rate, but some started to wonder if it could even help solve the opioid epidemic. An interview with an ibogaine aftercare provider talked about the process of recovering from addiction using ibogaine, and Psymposia ran an eight-part series called The Ibogaine Conversation that is definitely worth checking out. When it comes to iboga and ibogaine, the coverage was mostly positive and well-informed this year.

Salvia Divinorum

There wasn't a tremendous amount of coverage related to salvia divinorum this year—it's certainly not one of the substances that is covered all that often nowadays. Most important was the fact that scientists synthesized salvia for its opiate-like painkilling effects. In addition, there was a story about how a 15 year-old got sick from using salvia and one about how experts in Lebanon are concerned about the drug's increasing popularity.

Morning Glory Seeds

There also wasn't a whole lot of coverage on morning glory seeds this year. In fact, there were only a couple of articles that I felt were worth sharing here—an explanation of why morning glory seeds get you high and the news story about how morning glory could potentially be one of the first crops that is grown on Mars.

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

Most of the coverage of psychoactive research chemicals and synthetic cannabinoids was pretty negative, focusing on a couple of NBOMe deaths, the so-called spice epidemic, deaths from unknown substances that were sold as something else, deaths from synthetic cannabinoids in New Zealand, warnings about bath salts, and how much worse synthetic cannabinoids are than actual marijuana is when it comes to leading to harder drugs like heroin and ecstasy. Apparently Hyderabad has become a bit of a hub for manufacturing psychoactive research chemicals, and China was contributing a lot to that effort as well. A man was arrested for selling fake drugs at Bonnaroo and thought he was doing "God's work". During some drug checking, people found that some of their festival-bought drugs contained concrete, of all things. Pentylone was singled out as something that we should keep our eyes on, a German therapist is facing trial for providing banned psychedelics to his patients, and the legend of "zombie drugs" still hasn't died yet.

Dissociatives

Ketamine

There were several articles about the potential benefits of using ketamine, including how it could help alcoholics quit drinking, the ketamine clinics that are showing promise for treatment-resistant depression, the prehospital management of severe asthma, migraine treatment, and healing from PTSD. There is even a handy dosing guide that can be used for ketamine therapy.

PCP

When it comes to PCP, the news coverage is once again almost exclusively negative, including articles on PCP users killing their friends, crashing into ambulances, getting shot and killed by police, setting fire in courthouses, pointing cellphones at drivers passing by like a gun, throwing rocks and running around naked, hitting officers in the face, and stopping rush hour traffic to masturbate. I generally try to keep news articles about simple drug crimes out of my news media roundups, but when it comes to PCP the scenarios are so fascinating that I will often include them. When it comes to psychoactives, PCP seems to consistently get the worst rap of them all. However, there was an article describing how to treat a PCP overdose, a new research project that is going to study PCP's effects on the brain, and some trips down memory lane from when the movie crew for Titanic ate PCP-spiked clam chowder and when David Letterman accidentally smoked marijuana laced with PCP.

Opiates/Opioids

Each year seems to get worse when it comes to opiates and opioids. Heroin and prescription drug use became so bad in 2017 that President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, with the rate of U.S. heroin overdoses quadrupling during the last five years. Even though America is fighting the drug war abroad, Afghanistan still saw its opium production growing at a frantic pace. However, a 14-year trend of rising opioid deaths was reversed in Colorado after recreational cannabis was legalized, safe injection sites in Seattle and Denver are aiming at reducing harms related to opiate use, the overdose reversal naloxone spray Narcan is now stocked by all Walgreens pharmacies, a vaccine was developed that could make the brain immune to opioids, and a study showed that psychedelics could help play a role in tackling the opioid epidemic. In addition, a fish was identified that drugs its enemies with opioids and fentanyl was found in samples of MDMA and cocaine that were drug-checked this year.

Absinthe

The Wall Street Journal probably said it best in its article titled "Absinthe Was Once Banned for Being Evil—Now It's Just Meh". That's because there wasn't a whole lot of interesting coverage of absinthe in 2017. There was an article about five things you should know about absinthe, another about some of the most ridiculous scenes of people tripping on absinthe, and the best absinthe bars in America. But that's about it. Maybe there will be some more coverage about the Green Fairy in 2018?

Kambô

The frog venom medicine known as kambô was featured in the media quite a bit this year, with articles on the complex relationship between migraines and kambô, a guide to increasing fertility and taking kambô during pregnancy, how to stay safe in a ceremony if you have bulimia, how to increase its pain-relieving effects, and the challenges that Western companies face when trying to create synthetic compounds from kambô.

Kratom

Since it was involved in more controversy this year, kratom's coverage in the media is a bit of a mixed bag. Some thought that kratom might be a solution to the opioid epidemic, while energy drink manufacturers, Big Pharma, and the federal government wanted to ban it. Some people claimed that kratom helped them beat insomnia and kratom vending machines popped up in Arizona. There were also some articles that discussed how to avoid overdosing on kratom and whether it is healthy to consume kratom while breastfeeding.

Kava

Kava became quite a deal more popular this year, even getting some positive coverage by The New York Times. Part of that is due to articles showing how kava is a healthier alternative to alcohol or those that focus on its incredible health benefits. In addition, the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries increased their demand on the kava root extract market. Some research came out showing some insight about how kava affects reaction times and urging kava drinkers to not mix the drink with alcohol. When it comes to looking to the future, one article even asked if kava will be the cannabis of 2018. Only time will tell, but what we do know is that 2017 was definitely an interesting year for kava.

Khat

This herbal stimulant is getting more and more attention each year as it increases in popularity around the world. Khat, also known as miraa, was featured as a cheap pick-me-up for truck drivers, listed as a dangerous drug by Kenya's Health Ministry, grew to new levels of consumption as 16 percent of Ethiopians began using it, and some research came out showing how khat can damage one's liver. Considering that khat seemed to be fairly unknown just a few years ago, it's been interesting to watch its coverage pick up steam recently.

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

There were a few predominant themes throughout the year that showed up time and time again in the news. Microdosing continued to be frequently presented as an option for increasing productivity in the workplace. The concept of the psychedelic renaissance was brought up a few times as well. Articles about psychedelic honey also showed up a handful of times, probably because most people haven't heard about it before.

As far as psychedelic research goes, researchers gave religious leaders psychedelics to understand mystical experiences, a study came out showing that psychedelics could reduce criminal behavior, scientists came to some conclusions about what psychedelics really do to your brain, and it turns out that people who have taken psychedelics are more likely to be environmentally friendly. Although it's somewhat bizarre, scientists even went as far as growing human mini-brains in the lab and then dosing them with psychedelics—all for research. Support for psychedelic therapy continued to grow, with a majority of Americans now supporting it, and an anonymous donor known as "Pineapple Fund" donated 60 bitcoin to MAPS to assist its research efforts.

When it comes to individual people in this space, there were a few things that stood out from the rest. The Executive Director of Drug Policy Alliance, Ethan Nadelmann, stepped down from his position after nearly 17 years of work with the organization. Jeff Sessions announced his desire to resurrect the failed D.A.R.E. program. Alleged Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht lost his appeal over his life sentence without parole and has filed a new appeal to the Supreme Court. Finally, the head of the DEA resigned because of his issues with President Trump.

All in all, it's been a very busy year for the psychedelic community. There was a ton to keep up with, and it looks like we're in for even more movement in 2018. Thank you for taking the time to read about this year in psychedelics, and have a great year!

Previous Years in Psychedelics

This Week in Psychedelics - 9.29.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • More people were arrested last year over pot than for murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery – combined (The Washington Post)
  • Trump Extends Cannabis Protections 'Til December As Plans For Study, States Remain Hazy (Forbes)
  • Marijuana Arrest Data Absent From Latest FBI Uniform Crime Report (NORML)
  • Massachusetts High Court: Field Sobriety Tests Are Not Valid Measures For Determining Marijuana-Induced Impairment (NORML)
  • Cannabis as a Spiritual Tool: Interview with Author Stephen Gray (Psychedelic Times)
  • Pot Busts Rose Last Year After Hitting a Two-Decade Low in 2015 (Reason)
  • College Medical Marijuana Policy Leaves Many Students Unable to Legally Consume (NORML)
  • People Are Successfully Replacing Vicodin, Xanax and Ambien With Marijuana (ATTN:)
  • Jeff Sessions Just Made the Head of the DEA Look Like a Pot Head's Hero (Reason)
  • Washington State Releases Update On Legalization Findings—High Hopes Are Rewarded (NORML)
  • 'Hello! Thanks for Visiting Maine. May I Take Your Cannabis Order?' (Leafly)
  • Cannabis-infused drama 'Woodshock' mired in moody death spiral (Los Angeles Times)
  • Bogus Stoned Driving Arrests Highlight Dubious Methods of 'Drug Recognition Experts' (Reason)
  • Cannabis smokers 'incapable of walking' rescued from England's highest mountain (The Telegraph)
  • Philippines Health Committee Passes Medical Cannabis Bill (Leafly)
  • Muchas Gracias: How Spain Brought Cannabis to the Americas and influenced Hispanic Culture (Leafly)
  • Snoop Dogg's venture capital firm is leading an investment in a cannabis tech company (Business Insider)
  • California Cannabis Retail Market Revealed: Big Data Tells All (Forbes)
  • The Wellness Soldier: How War and Cannabis Created a Canadian Force for Good (Leafly)
  • Cannabis dealers in the UK are 'prescribing' weed to treat illnesses (Metro)
  • City Council Considers Cutting Off LA's Cannabis Supply Chain (Leafly)
  • Getting Too Drunk Vs. Getting Too High (ATTN:)
  • Study: McDonald's Is A Big Hit With Cannabis Smokers (Forbes)
  • Wanna Grow Your Own Cannabis? Start With Tin House's New Cannabis Grow Guide (The Potlander)
  • San Jacinto agrees to grant up to 10 more pot business licenses (The Press-Enterprise)
  • By Excluding LGBTQ People, the Growing Cannabis Industry Is Betraying Its Roots (Slate)
  • Cannabis Crunch – Universities Waffle on Marijuana Research; Iceland, Peru Look To Legalize (Psychedelic Times)
  • Stanislaus County could limit marijuana outlets. 'Green fees' also proposed. (The Modesto Bee)

LSD

  • Can an LSD Overdose Kill You? (Big Think)
  • 'Suicide headaches' drive patients to try LSD and magic mushrooms to stop the pain (International Business Times)
  • Coroner no longer naming LSD as only cause of Lightning in a Bottle death (Paso Robles Daily News)
  • How The Natural Hallucinatory Effects of Ergotism Influenced Renaissance Artists Like Hieronymus Bosch (Inquisitr)
  • Hilarious footage captures the antics of Royal Marine commandos who were secretly given LSD and then fell about in fits of laughter when they were given orders (Daily Mail)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

  • Hallucinogenic mushrooms found a new use (The Siver Times)
  • From "Shrooms" to CalExit: California Could Have a Wild 2018 Ballot (IVN News)
  • Berkeley police seize $1 million worth of 'magic' mushrooms (San Mateo Daily Journal)
  • Heidi Klum's Ex Busted for Shrooms at Burning Man (Yes, That's Illegal There) (TMZ)

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • Santa Cruz-based MDMA therapy for PTSD reaches final testing phase (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
  • The Killers talk doing MDMA at a Deadmau5 show (NME)
  • Mystery Artist Chemical X & An "Unnamed Supermodel" Unveil Ecstasy-Filled Artwork (Highsnobiety)
  • Deaths related to cocaine and MDMA more than doubles in Ireland over a five-year period (The Irish Sun)
  • Parents alerted over batch of ecstasy circulating among school kids in Fife as cops detain man (The Scottish Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT

  • Psychedelic brew called ayahuasca shows promise in the treatment of eating disorders (PsyPost)
  • Could psychedelic drug ayahuasca have health benefits? (BBC)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

Dissociatives

  • Ketamine-Induced Glutamatergic Mechanisms of Sleep and Wakefulness (Springer)
  • Efficacy of intravenous tramadol and low-dose ketamine in the prevention of post-spinal anesthesia shivering following cesarean section: a double-blinded, randomized control trial (Dove Medical Press)
  • Man with 'I love ketamine' bumper sticker is pulled over... and busted for ketamine (Metro)

Opiates/Opioids

  • This App Tracks Opioid Overdoses in Real-Time All Over the US (Futurism)
  • No, Simply Touching Fentanyl Can't Kill You (Reason)
  • How British scientists are fighting the US heroin crisis (The Times)
  • Vancouver overdoses taking longer, more naloxone to reverse (News1130)
  • A Chinese Lesbian Warlord Used CIA Funding to Traffic Opium in Myanmar (War Is Boring)
  • Mugshots reveal staggering transformation of heroin addict's face in the space of just two years (Mirror)
  • U of S security officers add naloxone kits to tool belts (CBC News)
  • To prevent OD deaths, Philly to give out naloxone as people leave jail (Newsworks)

Absinthe

  • WATCH: Irish people taste testing absinthe for the first time will make you laugh (Irish Mirror)

Kratom

  • Using Kratom And Other Healing Herbs To Beat Insomnia (Kratom Guides)
  • Exclusive: Hillsborough confirms first ever death by herbal supplement Kratom in the county (WFTS)

Kava

  • We tried kava – the national drink of Fiji that gets people high (Business Insider)

Khat

  • Man arrested at Zurich Airport with two suitcases of East African drug (The Local)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • Dismayed by Trump, Head of Drug Enforcement Administration to Leave (The New York Times)
  • When Drugs Fuck You Up Forever (VICE)
  • How to Win a War on Drugs (The New York Times)
  • Psychedelic Podcasts That Will Stimulate Your Ears and Your Brain (Psychedelic Times)
  • Quantifying Drug Use With Sewage and Cell Phones (Discover Magazine)
  • The Political Correction of Psychedelics. Part 3. Psychedelics as Super-Placebos (RickStrassman.com)
  • 'Robust public funding' needed for psychedelic drug research say researchers (CBC News)
  • What the Scientologists can teach us about drug reform (Psymposia)
  • The visionary conference that is about to happen in Prague (Political Critique)
  • Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. An Interview with Iker Puente on Holotropic Breathwork (Psymposia)
  • Will Psychedelic Therapy Transform Mental Health Care? (NBC News)
  • Jhené Aiko Narrates Her Psychedelic 'Trip' Through Death, Love And Reawakening (NPR)
  • Can Hallucinogens Have You Seeing Dollar Signs? Attend 'The Psychedelics of Money' to Find Out (Bedford + Bowery)
  • Psychedelic Drugs in Biomedicine (Cell Press)
  • Meth-Laced 7Up Reportedly Found in Mexico (Snopes)

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 Psychedelics - 2.3.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • Marijuana Prices Are About to Change (ATTN:)
  • Colorado Report Says Adolescent Marijuana use 'Has Not Changed Since Legalization' (Reason)
  • What Happens to Your Brain If You Start Smoking Weed Before 17 (ATTN:)
  • Where Is The Future For Marijuana Banking Reform? (NORML)
  • Burger King Drive-Thru Workers Arrested After Allegedly Selling Marijuana at the Drive-Thru (TIME)
  • Maine Becomes Eighth State to Eliminate Marijuana Possession Penalties (NORML)
  • California Looks to Build $7 Billion Legal Cannabis Economy (Leafly)
  • Neurobiologist illuminates the under explored potential of cannabis to address opioid addiction (Science Daily)
  • Alaska Rejects Plan to Allow On-Site Consumption at Cannabis Stores (Leafly)
  • Hemp and Pot Restrictions Not Dying Fast Enough (Reason)
  • Understanding Medical vs. Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensaries (Leafly)
  • Cannabis, the hottest new pet supplement (The Signal)
  • What Does Gorsuch Think About Cannabis? Not Much. (Leafly)
  • Will Cannabis Have Appellations Like Wine? (Merry Jane)
  • Cannabis Tax May Not Cure Ailing State Budget (GoodTimes)
  • The Many Ways the Cannabis Industry Lacks Traditional Marketing Expertise (Entrepreneur)
  • Taxes and Red Tape Keep Colorado's Marijuana Black Market Profitable (Reason)
  • Canadian Cannabis Producer to Begin Exports to Chile (Leafly)
  • Fun Cannabis History Facts That Will Impress People (Merry Jane)
  • How Cannabis Ecommerce Challenges Are Driving Web Innovation (The Advocate)

LSD

  • Science Has Finally Discovered Why LSD Trips Last So Long (Maxim)
  • LSD's grip on brain protein could explain drug's long-lasting effects (Science News)
  • LSD Helps Explain How Our Brains Assign Meaning to Experience (Seeker)
  • Russell Brand compares being a dad to LSD trip (Daily Star)
  • How 'micro-dosing' LSD helped a woman to 'improve her mental health and save her marriage' (The Independent)
  • Give us this day our daily dose: Ergot, LSD and the Israelites (Psychedelic Press UK)
  • Denzel Nkemdiche lost passion for football, experimented with LSD at Ole Miss (The Comeback)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • Government-Approved Study of MDMA for PTSD Accepting Applications for Participants Soon (The Joint Blog)
  • Someone Tried To Make A POV Experience Video Of MDMA (Stoney Roads)
  • Three pupils 'collapse after taking ecstasy at prestigious school' (Metro)
  • Teen drug dealer admits selling ecstasy which killed tragic schoolgirl and left two others in hospital (Mirror)

Ayahuasca/DMT

  • 9 Investigates: Local church offering 'legal' ayahuasca (WFTV)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

  • ART SEEN: Artist explores contemporary meaning of peyote and ayahuasca (Vancouver Sun)

Iboga/Ibogaine

  • Recovering From Addiction: Interview with Ibogaine Aftercare Provider Justin Hoffman (Psychedelic Times)
  • New York Times Carries a Full Page Ad about Plant Medicine Ibogaine to Combat the Opiate Epidemic Presented by Social Movement "Your Mind Has Rights" (Satellite Press Releases)
  • The Latest Addiction Treatment is Making Noise – Ibogaine Claims to Offer Addiction Interruption (Military Technologies)
  • Global ibogaine: A lucrative safe-haven for the cannabis industry? (The Leaf)
  • Ibogaine Aftercare and Integration: Interview with Justin Hoffman and Tishara Lee Cousino (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

Dissociatives

  • How Ketamine Could Be Used to Treat Alcoholism (Munchies)
  • Ketamine's Versatility Makes it a Powerful Tool for EMS (JEMS.com)
  • Can Craving for Cocaine Be Blocked in Addicted Individuals? (Psychology Today)
  • Antidepressants Induce Resilience and Reverse Susceptibility (Science Daily)
  • How Ketamine could cure depression (Drug Target Review)
  • Lawyer says client on PCP when he lit fire in Springfield courthouse (MassLive)

Opiates/Opioids

  • Life-saving naloxone prices soar along with its usage (Lancaster Online)
  • Afghanistan: As Taliban Depends More on Heroin Anti-Cultivation Efforts Plummet (Breitbart)
  • Health groups want to increase access to naloxone (The Washington Times)
  • DEA seizes $1.8 million in heroin, fentanyl (Boston Herald)
  • Kroger pharmacies make Naloxone available without a prescription (WHSV)
  • Fix Narcotic Abuse Cycle Before Throwing Naloxone at Every Overdose Patient (JEMS.com)
  • Could THIS stop heroin addictions? Scientists discover electroshock therapy helps to reduce cravings (Daily Mail)

Absinthe

  • When Happy Hour Was "Green Hour" in Paris (Smithsonian)

Kambô

Kratom

Kava

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • Ethan Nadelmann's Farewell Letter to Drug Policy Alliance Staff (Drug Policy Alliance)
  • Rodrigo Duterte Just Put the Philippines' Drug War on Hold (TIME)
  • Senate Judiciary Advances the Nomination of Marijuana Prohibitionist Jeff Sessions to be the Attorney General (NORML)
  • Here's That Time Jeff Sessions Wanted to Execute Drug Dealers (Reason)
  • A Healing Crisis to Make You Whole: Breaking Down the Benefits of Holotropic Breathwork (Psychedelic Times)
  • The truth about 'microdosing', which involves taking tiny amounts of psychedelics like LSD (Business Insider)
  • Bluenosers latest, literal drug trip doc in the works (The Chronicle Herald)
  • Repairs Uncover Cocaine Worth $434K in Airplane's Nose Gear (NBC 6 Miami)
  • Bay Area Patients Find Psychiatric Relief From Psychedelic Therapy (CBS San Francisco)

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.