This Week in Psychedelics - 7.20.18

Cannabis

• Legalizing Marijuana Doesn’t Lead To Higher Youth Use, New Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)
• House Rules Committee Blocks FY19 Marijuana Amendments (NORML)
• Cuomo Administration Report Backs Marijuana Legalization In New York (Marijuana Moment)
• People Really Do Have A Marijuana “Jay-Dar,” New Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)
• Lebanon to consider legalizing cannabis growing (The Jerusalem Post)
• Legalizing Marijuana Helps Police Solve Other Crimes, New Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)
• Anti‐tumoural actions of cannabinoids (British Pharmacological Society)
• Cannabis Illicit Market Shrinking, New DEA, Homeland Security Numbers Suggest (High Times)
• Major Alcohol Association Endorses States’ Rights To Legalize Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
• Police ‘decriminalising cannabis’ as prosecutions fall away (The Guardian)
• Why Congressional Democrats Deleted Their Anti-Marijuana Tweet (Marijuana Moment)
• British public backs legalisation of cannabis so it can be sold like cigarettes and alcohol, poll reveals (The Independent)
• Jury Acquits Marijuana Patient Who Admitted To Breaking Georgia Law (Marijuana Moment)
• Oklahoma: Attorney General Warns Regulators Acted Improperly When Amending Voter-Initiated Marijuana Measure (NORML)
• DoorDash CEO Says Company Not Quite Ready For Marijuana Delivery (Marijuana Moment)
• £3,655 fee for medicinal cannabis deters patients (The Sunday Times)
• County Officials From Across The U.S. Push Feds To Reform Marijuana Laws (Marijuana Moment)
• How Canada legalising recreational marijuana could vault country to forefront of cannabis research (South China Morning Post)
• Arizona Court Rules Cannabis Extracts Not Protected Under Medical Marijuana Act (High Times)
• Sen. Jeff Merkley “Disappointed” That Democrats Blocked His Marijuana Banking Amendment (Marijuana Moment)
• A Guide To Using Cannabis-Infused Tinctures And Topicals During That Time Of The Month (Forbes)
• Cannabis perfume 'set to become the scent of the summer' (The Telegraph)
• How Many Medical Marijuana States Are There? Advocates Disagree On The Number (Marijuana Moment)
• If You're Curious About Cannabis, Try Microdosing (Forbes)
• Republican politicians continue to screw over their own when it relates to marijuana (Rooster)
• Thailand Wants to Have Its (Hash) Cake and Eat It Too (Bloomberg)
• Voters In Key Congressional Districts Support Marijuana Legalization, Poll Says (Marijuana Moment)
• Marijuana Bills Increasingly Focus on Social Justice (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Cannabis Blockchain Solutions Make Sense in Growing Sector (Crypto Disrupt)
• Oregon Plans New Cannabis Harvest Regulations to Combat Illicit Market (High Times)
• Border Patrol Reflects On Feds’ Friendlier Historical Approach To Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
• The Cannabis Branding Battle Ahead (Forbes)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Third Time’s A Charm? Denver Keeps Trying To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms (The Fresh Toast)
• Brain scientists meet to share data on magic mushrooms and other matters (GeekWire)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• A Psychedelic Study In Connecticut Aims to Bridge the Racial Gap in MDMA Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Times)
• Ecstasy For PTSD: ‘It Gave Me My Life Back’ (CBS Denver)
• Young people 'plan to take drugs' at vigil for Shakira Pellow who died after taking MDMA (Cornwall Live)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Australian Grass Got Kangaroos So High on DMT They Couldn't Walk Straight (Inverse)
• Statement on Ayahuasca (Chacruna)
• Man receives 10 years for DMT possession (Daily Chronicle)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Festival goers on molly tested, turns out most of them took bath salts (Rooster)

Dissociatives

• UA Clinical Trial to Repurpose Ketamine for Parkinson’s Patients (The University of Arizona Health Sciences)
• Low-dose ketamine may be an effective alternative to opioids (EurekAlert!)
• Man sues police over ketamine injection (KARE11)
• Keep up ketamine trial, mother pleads (Otago Daily Times)
• Boy, 13, collapsed after masked yobs 'forced him to drink ketamine' (Birmingham Live)

Opiates/Opioids

• Dutch cut overdose deaths by dispensing pure heroin (Cleveland.com)
• 'Potential game-changer:' Town of Cary will screen human waste to measure opioid use (WRAL)
• 'For Me, It's Personal.' CDC Chief Reveals Fentanyl Almost Killed His Son (TIME)
• How Naloxone Could Be Sold Over-The-Counter (Forbes)
• Evolving opioid epidemic poses challenge for public health officials (Politico)

Kratom

• Kratom Effects At Low Doses And High Doses (Kratom Guides)
• FDA cracks down on 'opioid-like' substance kratom (WBMF)

Kava

• Quality standards being developed for Pacific kava (Radio New Zealand)

Khat

• Ambulance driver arrested for transporting khat (Jamaica Observer)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Can a Comedown Kill You? (VICE)
• Caves all the way down: Is psychedelics research closer to theology than to science? (Aeon)
• Senators Honor The DEA On Its 45th Birthday (Even Though They Lost The Drug War) (Marijuana Moment)
• Should We Loosen the Restrictions on Psychedelics? (Scientific American)
• For Babies, Life May Be a Trip (The Wall Street Journal)
• There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug Laws (VICE)
• White House Opposes Legalization Of All Drugs, Press Secretary Says (Marijuana Moment)
• British YouTubers on drugs film themselves taking heroin, LSD and ecstasy for "trip reports" kids as young as 12 watch (Mirror)
• One in three drug tests at HMP Nottingham positive (BBC)
• A Conversation about Intersectionality in the Psychedelic Community (Psymposia)
• Pill testing at festivals has hidden benefits that could reduce drug taking (ABC.net.au)
• The 5 drugs that feel the best, according to scientists (Rooster)
• Why Are Psychedelics Illegal (Medium)
• Sessions' Escalating Drug War Causing Cold Feet Over Safe Injection Centers (Reason)
• MADE Festival to provide drug testing in attempt to prevent deaths in Perry Barr (Birmingham Live)
• Judges Can Require Drug Users On Probation To Remain Drug-Free, Court Rules (WBUR)

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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 2.9.18

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Seattle To Vacate Criminal Convictions For Former Marijuana Offenders (NORML)
• German police association calls for complete legalization of cannabis (The Local)
• The Dirty Secret of California's Cannabis: It's Dirty (Wired)
• Girl, 6, Becomes First Recipient of Medical Marijuana in Texas (TIME)
• How A Cannabis Tech Platform Is About To Make Life A Lot Easier For Marijuana Dispensaries (Forbes)
• The tea costs $60, but the weed is free: Cannabis capitalists exploit loopholes by 'gifting' the drug (Chicago Tribune)
• Portland's First Cannabis Bodega Mixes Weed and Grocery (Willamette Week)
• Despite Tough Talk, Oregon's U.S. Attorney Doesn't Plan to Shut Down the Pot Industry (Reason)
• California's former convicts could get help entering the legal cannabis industry – and get marijuana crimes wiped off their record (Business Insider)
• How Is Oregon Handling Its Cannabis Surplus? (High Times)
• Medical cannabis dispensaries are opening in Texas, but the newly legal oils still aren't easy to procure (The Texas Tribune)
• Cannabis Beer Soon To Be Available  -- In Canada (Forbes)
• Girl Scout Who Sold Cookies Outside Marijuana Dispensary Could Get in Trouble (TIME)
• Study: Cannabis Is Safe And Effective For Elderly Patients (NORML)
• Dow's Big One-Day Drop Doesn't Hurt Cannabis Stocks (Leafly)
• Canadian Cannabis Companies Correct After Capital Raising Crescendo (Forbes)
• Nepal Cannabis Crackdown Targets Temple Hashish (High Times)
• Virginia NORML Considered Instrumental in Passage of Medical Marijuana Expansion Legislation (NORML)
• California's Race to the Top on Cannabis (CityLab)
• House Judiciary Democrats Call For Marijuana Hearing (NORML)
• Cannabis Crunch — Despite Trump Administration, Legalization Still Plows Forward... & All The Other Weed Craziness In January (Psychedelic Times)
• What Are Cannabis Flavonoids and What Do They Do? (Leafly)
• Mendocino Cannabis Company In Showdown With Authorities (High Times)
• Status Report: The Impact Of Adult Use Regulatory Schemes (NORML)
• Renewed War on Marijuana Spurs Congress to Defend Federalism (Reason)
• O Cannabis: How to use marijuana at home without smoking it (Valley Advocate)
• Trust the people and the states on cannabis (The Hill)
• On Building A Consumer Friendly Market In Nevada (NORML)
• ABcann Global Is A Potentially Strong Play In Cannabis (Seeking Alpha)
• Cannabis and Risk for Opiate Misuse (Psychology Today)

LSD

• Tech workers use LSD to help expand creativity (KIRO)
• Naked man high on LSD, covered in cooking oil arrested after getting Tasered twice (New York Daily News)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• How to Prepare a Psilocybin Mushroom Microdose (Psychedelics Daily)
• Do Shrooms Show Up On Drug a Test? (Psychedelics Daily)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Selling MDMA for My Dad Made Us Close, Then Tore Us Apart (VICE)
• Drugs in Berlin: Half of partiers periodically take amphetamines and MDMA (Deutsche Welle)
• MDMA Psychotherapy Trials Showing Promise (7th Space Interactive)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Entrepreneurs Seeking Business Guidance Through Ayahuasca Are Receiving Spiritual Insights Instead (Entrepreneur)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Native church's lawsuit spurs training for airport screeners (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

Morning Glory Seeds

• Can Common Household Plant Seeds Be Used As a Party Drug? (Snopes)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• What Is 4-AcO-DMT? (Psychedelics Daily)
• How To Microdose 4-AcO-DMT? How to Take 4-AcO-DMT Microdose? (Psychedelics Daily)
• MDMA buyers at festivals getting 'seedy', more potent alternative (Newshub)

Dissociatives

• Could ketamine help treat alcohol dependence? (The Guardian)
• Ketamine could help veterans with PTSD, but clinics may be jumping the gun (San Antonio Express-News)
• A-hole in a K-hole: Katie Hopkins' ketamine adventures (The Guardian)
• Ketamine to Treat Suicidal Ideation in Major Depressive Disorder (Psychiatry Advisor)
• Ketamine gaining popularity as a treatment for the severely depressed (CBS News)

Opiates/Opioids

• San Francisco to Open Safe Drug Injection Sites by Summer (Reason)
• Opioid Overdoses and Naloxone: What Everyone Needs to Know (Psychiatric Times)
• Legal Limits on Opioid Prescriptions May Increase the Number of Pills Dispensed (Reason)
• Poppies replacing pot in Mexico's drug fields (Mexico News Daily)
• Homeless. Addicted to Heroin. About to Give Birth. (Mother Jones)
• Jeff Sessions Says Opioid Addiction Starts With Marijuana. Here Are 6 Studies That Say Otherwise (Reason)

Kratom

• Is Herbal Supplement Kratom an Opioid? The FDA Says Yes (TIME)
• Does the Herbal Supplement Kratom Really Contain Opioids? (Live Science)
• Understanding Kratom Strains (Reports Healthcare)
• The Dangers of Taking Kratom (Consumer Reports)

Kava

• Kava, the drink soothing the stress of New York millennials (The New Paper)
• Samoa aims to revive kava exports (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Festival Psychedelic Use and the Archaic Revival: A Conversation with Julian Vayne (Psychedelic Times)
• Showtime Documentary Highlights Drug War's Futility (Reason)
• The hidden side of psychedelics (Felix)
• Recent News and Updates from TripSit (TripSit)
• Silk Road's Founder Is in Jail for Life, but the Dark Web Only Grows (Reason)
• Why Clinicians & Researchers Should Be Interested in The Psychedelic Science Renaissance (Particle)
• A Woman Shaman Defies the Odds, and Starts her Own Healing Center (Reality Sandwich)
• Trump Wants Us 'To Get Really, Really Tough, Really Mean with the Drug Pushers' (Reason)

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 8.25.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• A Cannabis Industry PR Exec Explains Why the Future of Pot is Old People and Office Workers (Reason)
• HUD Secretary Ben Carson Spreads Marijuana Myths (NORML)
• Cannabis Potency: How Does Lab Testing for THC and CBD Work? (Leafly)
• Cannabis congeniality: A handful of bed and breakfasts are just fine with their guests lighting up (The Register-Guard)
• California Is Still Arresting Too Many People of Color for Cannabis (Leafly)
• Denver to Start Licensing First Cannabis Clubs, but Few May Apply (Leafly)
• Trump Comments Spark Boycott of LA Cannabis Expo (Leafly)
• Cannabis conference in Arcata celebrates women industry leaders (KIEM)
• Oakland's Marijuana Equity Permit Program (NORML)
• Gavin Newsom Racking Up Cannabis $$$ in California Governors Race (Leafly)
• Lagunitas Unleashes New IPA Made With Cannabis (Eater)
• Australian States Split on Medical Cannabis (Leafly)
• Medical Marijuana Protections Offered Again, But Will They Receive A Vote? (NORML)
• Hispanic caucus: Criminalization of cannabis rooted in bias (Wisconsin Gazette)
• Clearing the Haze Around Cannabis Delivery Services (Voice of San Diego)
• Does Cannabis Make You Walk Funny? (Leafly)
• Cannabis companies eager to take growing biz to the bank (CBS News)
• The latest cannabis-related news from the pages of the Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times)
• I Became a Pot Felon at 18. I'm Owed More Than an Apology. (Reason)
• 4 Ways to Make Use of Male Cannabis Plants (Leafly)
• Philly-area law firms bullish on cannabis despite grave legal risks (Philly.com)
• A Professional Dominatrix Walks Into a Cannabis Investor Conference... (Leafly)
• Corte Madera prepares moratorium on cannabis business (Marin Independent Journal)

LSD

• No way woman died from LSD overdose at local music fest, experts say—'It's not possible' (The Tribune)
• Microdosing with LSD and its Research Potential (Heffter Research Institute)
• Watch Jamila Woods' new video for "LSD" featuring Chance The Rapper (HUH.)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic mushroom chemical may be a hallucinogenic insect repellent (New Scientist)
• Scientists Unlock Magic Mushrooms' Mysterious Chemical Compound (Smithsonian)
• How Mushrooms Became Magic (The Atlantic)
• Is Psilocybin Is [sic] The World's Safest Recreational Drug? (Collective Evolution)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Police Seize Thousands of Donald Trump-Inspired Ecstasy Tablets (TIME)
• Report: Only 34.7% of Pills Marketed as MDMA Are Pure (Noiseporn)
• Illegal schemes in India offer "rave packages" with MDMA and hashish (Mixmag)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Ayahuasca Stimulates the Birth of New Brain Cells (Beckley Foundation)
• Life Coaching and Death Coaching: Comedian Myq Kaplan on the Benefits of Ayahuasca (Psychedelic Times)
• Assessing the Psychedelic "After-Glow" in Ayahuasca Users: Post-Acute Neurometabolic and Functional Connectivity Changes Are Associated with Enhanced Mindfulness Capacities (Beckley Foundation)
• Can Ayahuasca Alleviate Depression and Poverty? (Indian CountryToday)
• DMT showed me how my ego influenced my emotions (Psymposia)
• It's Time To Reflect On WTF Happened In That 'Rick And Morty' Trip Scene (Movie Pilot)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• How Ibogaine has Saved the Lives of Countless Addicts (The London Economic)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• V Festival organisers warn about 'extremely dangerous' Pentylone drug being sold as MDMA on site... and urge revellers to seek IMMEDIATE help if they think they've taken it (The Sun)
• Family of 20-year-old Amy Vigus who died after taking what she thought was MDMA release heart-breaking video (East Anglian Daily Times)

Dissociatives

• That Time David Letterman Accidentally Smoked Animal Tranquilizer (Cinema Blend)
• Ketamine alone is best sedative for children's emergencies (American Pharmacists Association)
• An old medication used in new ways spells relief for chronic pain and other ailments (WZZM)
• To prevent more needless deaths like Ellie's, we need an open conversation about drugs (Left Foot Forward)
• Ketamine suspected as factor in death of care worker Hannah Bennett in Great Ellingham crash (Norwich Evening News)
• Lufkin PD: Woman who passed out on stranger's back porch was high on PCP (KTRE)

Opiates/Opioids

• The federal government is systematically undercounting heroin users (The Washington Post)
• Golden retriever digs up heroin in Oregon backyard (Albany Times Union)
• Initiative to ban heroin safe-injection sites in King County qualifies for ballot (The Seattle Times)
• New law requires naloxone to be placed in all Maryland schools (WUSA)
• NYC councilman wants naloxone kits in schools to prevent overdoses (EMS1.com)
• How to save a life: Officials push Naloxone trainings into the community (The Baltimore Sun)
• Kaleo Pharmaceuticals Donates Naloxone to Fight Opioid Epidemic (Community Idea Stations)
• How Medicaid Rescued This Man From Opioid Addiction (ATTN:)

Kambô

• Healing with the Frog: Interview with Joe Mattia about IAKP Kambo Training (Psychedelic Times)

Kratom

• Call To Legalise Kratom And Allow Its Use For Medicinal Purposes (Buriram Times)
• Families allowed to grow kratom trees for cultural reasons (The Nation)
• Best Tips on How to Take Kratom (TG Daily)
• The newest energy drink? 'Kratom' (Phuket Gazette)

Kava

• Kava is hardly dangerous drug (Sun Sentinel)
• Kiribati people 'cursed' by kava (Radio New Zealand)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• AI Is Edging Into the Art World in Psychedelic Ways (Smithsonian)
• Feds Bust 'Dark Web' Drug Ring Operating Out Of Altadena Gated Community (CBS Los Angeles)
• People Are Getting High on Drugs for the Eclipse (Newsweek)
• 2001: A Psychedelic Odyssey (Psymposia)
• You've had a life changing experience with psychedelics. Do you tell your kids? (Psymposia)
• How to help young people minimise drug harm (The Age)

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.