This Week in Psychedelics - 12.10.21

Cannabis

• New Study Determines Correlation Between Cannabis and Sleep (High Times)

• Marijuana banking legislation stripped from federal defense spending bill (Marijuana Business Daily)

• San Francisco delays cannabis tax so that dispensaries can compete with illegal dealers (Boing Boing)

• Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court Approves Cannabis Legalization Bill (High Times)

• World’s largest THC-infused brownie weighs in at 850 pounds (Leafly)

• CBD Products Commonly Flagged by FDA for Making Unsubstantiated Claims About Treating COVID-19 (NORML)

• Luxembourg Publishes Details on Domestic Recreational Cannabis Plan (High Times)

• Montana Lawmakers Reject Marijuana Rules, Weeks Ahead Of Legal Sales Launch (Marijuana Moment)

• Allowing Legal Marijuana Dispensaries Boosts Employment Rates In Colorado Counties, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Missouri Police Couldn’t Use Marijuana Odor To Justify Searches Under New Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Ohio GOP Lawmakers File New Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Indiana GOP Lawmaker Plans Medical Marijuana Bill As Democrats Push Full Recreational Legalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Virginia Lawmakers Tout Benefits Of Psychedelics As Activists Prepare Push For Statewide Reform (Marijuana Moment)

• Producing Cannabis Biomass Without Growing A Cannabis Plant: How One Company Is Doing It (Forbes)

• Hemp Sourced Lignin for Grid Backup Batteries (Drug WarRant)

Magic Mushrooms

• COMPASS Pathways announces further positive results from groundbreaking phase IIb trial of investigational COMP360 psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psilocybe allenii: The Bay Area Shroom No One Can Recognize (DoubleBlind)

• Psyched Wellness Presents AME-1 to Health Canada in Pre-Submission Meeting (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Psirenity Announces Exclusive Licence Agreement for Psilocybin (PR Newswire)

MDMA

• Did the Cult From 'Wild Wild Country' Introduce MDMA to Ibiza? (VICE)

• Can MDMA Increase Women’s Sexual Desire? (DoubleBlind)

DMT

• Algernon Pharmaceuticals Completes Manufacturing of Psychedelic Drug DMT Appoints UK Stroke Experts for Phase 2 (Yahoo!)

Ayahuasca

• Instagram decision to remove ayahuasca post overturned by Meta Oversight Board (The Verge)

• Chacruna Institute Publishes New Book on Ayahuasca Healing and Science (Chacruna)

Peyote

• The Ancient Tradition Of The Peyote Ceremony (Benzinga)

Iboga

• U.S. Government Will Test Ibogaine Derivative As An Addiction Treatment (Forbes)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• BetterLife Obtains Positive TD-0148A Data in Preclinical Models of Depression (GlobeNewswire)

• Psilera Confirms PSIL-002, A New DMT Derivative, is Well-Tolerated and Non-Hallucinogenic from In Vivo Behavioral Studies (Psilocybin Alpha)

Ketamine

• Evidence Inconclusive for Ketamine as Bipolar Depression Treatment (Psychiatry Advisor)

Miscellaneous

• Middle-class drug users could lose UK passports under Boris Johnson’s plans (The Guardian)

• Toronto Asks Feds to Decriminalize All Drugs (Truffle Report)

• United Nations Panel Rejects International Kratom Ban (Marijuana Moment)

• New Zealand to ban smoking for next generation in bid to outlaw habit by 2025 (The Guardian)

• The Future is Research: UK Government Publishes 10-Year Drug Strategy - Drug Science Responds (Drug Science)

• Horizons 2021: Creating the future of psychedelics (The Psychedelic Renaissance)

• Report finds Instagram makes it easy for teens to find drugs online (Engadget)

• ‘Magic' Mushrooms, Ecstasy, Other Psychedelics Could Become Legal in California (NBC San Diego)

• The Wild World of 19th Century Psychedelics (Psychedelics Today)

• People Changed the Ways They Use Drugs During the Pandemic (Filter)

• You Can Make ‘Bad Trips’ Good with Storytelling, Psychedelics Study Shows (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Study suggests psychedelics promote positive mental health through increased spirituality and emotion regulation (PsyPost)

• Editor’s Choice Award 2021-Best Study on Psychedelics and Pharmacology (Psychedelic Science Review)

• 40 under 40 Outstanding BIPOC leaders in Drug Policy (DoubleBlind)

• Taking Microdosing with a Pinch of Salt (Lucid News)

• Delix Therapeutics Partners with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to Advance Research on Non-Hallucinogenic Therapies to Treat Substance Use Disorders (Yahoo!)

• Nue Life announces donations to Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and Ketamine Research Foundation (PR Newswire)

• Editor’s Choice Award 2021-Best Study on Psychedelics and Nature (Psychedelic Science Review)

• atai Life Sciences launches TryptageniX to further expand atai’s robust intellectual property portfolio and strengthen atai’s supply chain (Psilocybin Alpha)

• Shaman Claus: The Shamanic Christmas Origins (Reality Sandwich)

• Doseology Prepares for Growth Phase in Psychedelic-Focused Mental Health Market, Completes Dealer's License Application (Yahoo!)

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

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

This Week in Psychoactives - 12.20.19

CANNABIS

• Marijuana’s Ten Biggest Victories Of 2019 (Forbes)

• Illinois cannabis dispensaries open New Year’s Day for adult-use sales (Leafly)

• New Jersey: Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Bill into Law (NORML)

• Italy legalizes 'cannabis light' (The Local)

• Opioid Prescriptions Down In States With Legal Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• New Jersey Lawmakers Pass Marijuana Referendum to Send to Voters in 2020 (TIME)

• Kids Aren't Buying Weed From Legal Pot Shops, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Majority Of Americans Support Marijuana Legalization, Two More New Polls Show (Marijuana Moment)

• State recalls cannabis vape cartridges tainted with deadly vitamin E acetate (Detroit Metro Times)

• Survey shows boom in marijuana vaping among school kids (WHDH)

• Regular Cannabis Use Linked to Changes in Heart Structure, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• EPA Approves Pesticides For Hemp In Time For 2020 Growing Season (Marijuana Moment)

• Zenabis recalls mislabeled CBD gelcaps that actually contained THC (Leafly)

• Millions of Americans are driving under the influence of marijuana, CDC says (CNN)

• Atlanta Will Seal Records for Minor Weed Offenses by February (MERRY JANE)

• Oklahoma Activists Take First Step To Put Marijuana Legalization On State’s 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Indiana resists legalization, but it’ll be a hot issue in 2020 state elections (Leafly)

• Medical Marijuana Legalization Measure Officially Qualifies For South Dakota 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Elizabeth Warren Files Marijuana Bills For Veterans And Immigrants (Marijuana Moment)

• Patients rally in Ecuador for legal use of medical cannabis (San Francisco Chronicle)

LSD

• Microdosing LSD for Alzheimer’s proves safe in early human trial (New Atlas)

• Paul McCartney Disturbing Teen Drug Claim Revealed (Alternative Nation)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Andrew Yang Says He’s ‘Very Open’ To Legalizing Magic Mushrooms (The Inquisitr)

• 'Magic mushroom' ingredient could be used to treat depression, study says (CNN)

• E. coli Could Produce a Popular Psychedelic for Therapeutic Use (Scientific American)

• Psilocybin: Four Important Takeaways from a Clinical Trial (Psychology Today)

• 5 Fast Facts About Magic Mushroom Compounds (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• MDMA Is Inches Away From Getting FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)

• Why MDMA must be reclassified as a Schedule 2 drug (Health Europa)

• MDMA-assisted couples therapy: How a psychedelic is enhancing intimacy and healing PTSD (The Conversation)

5-MEO-DMT

• Psychedelic drug 5-MeO-DMT induces rapid changes in inflammatory markers (PsyPost)

• Psychedelic Toad Makes People More Accepting and Less Depressed, Study Shows (MERRY JANE)

• Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze: The Impact of Climate Change, Development, and Psychonauts on the Sonoran Desert Toad (Psychedelics Today)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• More than a dozen children collapse after vaping fake cannabis oil laced with ‘spice’ (The Independent)

• DEA approves synthetic marijuana for big pharma company against legalization (Stock Daily Dish)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Doctors issue warning after 'whippits' misuse lands B.C. woman in hospital (CTV News)

KETAMINE

• Ketamine-like drug for depression gets UK licence (The Guardian)

• In 2019, a ketamine-based antidepressant raised hopes and concerns (ScienceNews)

OPIOIDS

• We have a solution for the opioid epidemic. It’s dramatically underused. (Vox)

• Purdue's Payments to the Sackler Family Grew Amid Scrutiny Over the Opioid Epidemic, Court Filing Shows (TIME)

• Naloxone Dispensing Sees Major Increase In Last Two Years (Indiana Public Media)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• A New Drug Scourge: Deaths Involving Meth Are Rising Fast (The New York Times)

CAFFEINE

• New insights into anti-obesity mechanisms of caffeine (New Atlas)

NICOTINE

• Congress Approves Raising Age to 21 for E-Cigarette and Tobacco Sales (The New York Times)

• Vaping Damages Your Lungs, But Is Still Safer Than Smoking, a Long-Term Study Suggests (TIME)

• WHO launches new report on global tobacco use trends (World Health Organization)

• Instagram bans influencers from getting paid to promote vaping and guns (CNBC)

• Plan to ban tobacco sales to anyone under 21 will hit the military too (Military Times)

• Addictive nicotine in Juul nearly identical to a Marlboro: study (Reuters)

• US permits sale of cigarettes with 95% less nicotine (The Seattle Times)

• Why is Texas throwing high schoolers in jail just for vaping? (Washington Examiner)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• Benzodiazepine Overdose Rates Increasing in Teens (MD Magazine)

• Problem Drinking Linked to Higher Benzo Use (Sleep Review)

• Are benzodiazepines the new opioids? (Medical Xpress)

ALCOHOL

• Two standard alcoholic drinks a day no longer safe, health officials say (The Guardian)

• The sale of alcohol at the University of South Carolina athletic events has been approved (ABC News 4)

• My Friends Serve Underage Kids Alcohol. Should I Speak Up? (The New York Times)

NOOTROPICS

• People Tell Us About Using ‘Smart Drugs’ to Max out Their Productivity (VICE)

KRATOM

• Justice minister says he’ll speed up kratom decriminalisation (The Thaiger)

• Five uses of mitragyna speciosa (The Leaf Online)

• Kratom for Chronic Pain? (WholeFoods Magazine)

KANNA

• Kanna: The Soothing Succulent of the San People (World of Lucid Dreaming)

KAVA

• Kava and anxiety: What science says about the popular plant supplement (Inverse)

• Increased Import Of Kava For Personal Consumption Allowed Into Australia (Fiji Sun)

• Welcome to Kava Culture: A Spreading Alternative to Reduce Anxiety (Filter)

DATURA

• Vet on call: Watch out for datura plant, an animal killer (Daily Nation)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Drug Prohibition Makes Illegal Drugs Cheaper and More Lethal, New Report Finds (MERRY JANE)

• On Drug Decriminalization in the United States (Playboy)

• The Vaping-Related Lung Disease Outbreak May Be Coming to an End (TIME)

• More Americans Facing Murder Charges in Drug Deaths (Truthdig)

• Call for pill tests as more than 50% of music festivalgoers say they take drugs (The Guardian)

• How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment (The Appeal)

• Why Chronic Microdosing Might Break Your Heart (Chacruna)

• “The state only detains, beats and kills us”: Testimonies from women who use drugs in Mexico (Talking Drugs)

• How to Trip Sit (DoubleBlind)

• Why Doctors Are Turning to Psychedelics to Treat Depression and Addiction (Men's Journal)

• Could Micro-Dosing Psychedelics Lift Depression? (Psychology Today)

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

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychoactives - 11.15.19

Cannabis

• CDC Identifies Vitamin E Oil Additive as a “Very Strong Culprit of Concern” in Vaping-Related Lung Injuries (NORML)

• First cannabis-based medicines approved for use on NHS (The Guardian)

• The Media Is Spinning the Latest Weed and Birth Defects Study All Wrong (MERRY JANE)

• Michigan Teen Receives Double Lung Transplant After 'Enormous' Damage From Vaping (TIME)

• Ohio bans vitamin E acetate from medical marijuana vapes after CDC links it to lung illnesses (Cincinnati Enquirer)

• Pew Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans Say “Marijuana Should Be Made Legal” (NORML)

• Bernie Sanders Wants To Legalize Medical Marijuana For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• Apple Removing Vaping-Related Apps From App Store Today Amid Public Health Concerns (MacRumors)

• From ‘Veronica Mars’ to toxic vapes: The rise and fall of Honey Cut (Leafly)

• You Can Get A Master's In Medical Cannabis In Maryland (NPR)

• Mass Lifts Ban on Medical Cannabis Flower Vapes, But Oil Carts Still Restricted (MERRY JANE)

• Marijuana Prohibition Is Delaying Federal Response To Vaping Crisis, CDC Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Surprise! Michigan adult-use cannabis sales begin Dec. 1 (Leafly)

• Young Americans Are Smoking More Weed and Less Tobacco, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Millions of Brits using street cannabis to treat chronic health conditions (Health Europa)

• How Vietnam veterans expanded America’s cannabis strains (Leafly)

• Cannabis Is the Most Effective Treatment for Endometriosis, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Neil Young says his US citizenship application is being held up because he uses marijuana (CNN)

• Illegal Pot Grows Are Poisoning Animals and the Environment in National Parks (MERRY JANE)

• Where Presidential Candidate Deval Patrick Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• What’s Lost When Psychedelic Mushrooms Become Synthetic Psilocybin (DoubleBlind)

• Taking a Deep Look at Psilocybin for Depression Research (Psychedelics Today)

• Explorer’s Guide: Microdosing Magic Psilocybin Truffles (Maps of the Mind)

MDMA

• DJ fell from cliff in Cornwall and died while on MDMA (Cornwall Live)

• ‘Beautiful’ girl, 15, died after taking MDMA that cost just £2.50 (The Sun)

• A Guide to Taking Ecstasy as Safely as Possible (VICE)

Ayahuasca

• Ayahuasca, Depression and Me (Chacruna)

5-MeO-DMT

• Meet 5-MeO-DMT, the 'powerful' psychedelic that improves depression in one hour (Big Think)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Project CBD releases special report on synthetic cannabinoids and vaping-related lung injuries (Project CBD)

• ‘Synthetic Marijuana’ Is A Dangerous Misnomer That People Need To Stop Using (The Fresh Toast)

Nitrous Oxide

• Amazon and eBay 'must block illicit nitrous oxide sales' (BBC)

Ketamine

• Why ketamine is so good against depression (ZME Science)

Opioids

• New fingerprinting technology will reveal whether someone has recently used heroin – even if they have washed their hands afterwards (Daily Mail)

• At-home naloxone kits have reversed over 50K opioid overdoses in B.C.: health authority (Global News)

• Vancouver pilots new fentanyl-patch program to combat opioid crisis (The Globe and Mail)

• Mass. Has The First Jail In The Country That's Also A Licensed Methadone Treatment Provider (WBUR)

• Bill Would Require Ohio Pharmacists Be Educated About Naloxone Law (Statehouse News Bureau)

• Pa. is treating more opioid overdoses as homicides. Defense lawyers are learning to fight back. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Bill would let Florida schools keep, administer OD antidote naloxone (WPTV)

• Narcan carries heavy costs (The Salem News)

Cocaine

• A Pack of Feral Hogs Sniffed Out a Cocaine Stash in Italy (Rolling Stone)

• Startling number of senior citizens abusing cocaine in the UK (New York Post)

Methamphetamine

• Why Meth Is Making a Big Comeback (VICE)

• Meth Has Many Medical Benefits. Stigma Holds Them Back. (Filter)

• Her baby was stillborn because of meth, police say. Now she’s charged with murder (Los Angeles Times)

Caffeine

• This influencer is trying to make coffee vaping sexy (New York Post)

• What to know about caffeine withdrawal headaches (Medical News Today)

• What are the health benefits of yerba maté tea? (Medical News Today)

Tobacco

• The Vaping Industry Is Furious at President Trump — Could it Cost Him the Election? (Rolling Stone)

• Pending Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes in Massachusetts Authorizes Forfeiture of Vapers' Cars (Reason)

• Vaping May Be Worse for Heart Health Than Tobacco Cigarettes, New Study Finds (TIME)

• New York will raise the age to purchase tobacco starting Wednesday (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

• House votes to ban flavored tobacco, heavily tax vaping products (Boston Herald)

• Cardiologists warn vaping is so dangerous and addictive it should be banned (Sky News)

• With vape curbs pending, White House questions FDA tobacco role (Chicago Tribune)

• More vapers are making their own juice, but not without risks (CNN)

• What The U.S.-China Trade War Has Meant For North Carolina Tobacco Farmers (WUNC)

• Minnesota was winning the war on teen tobacco use. Then vaping became popular. (TwinCities.com)

Alcohol

• Denver Wants to Test Out Public Drinking Zones in 2020 (MERRY JANE)

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: The 'heartbreaking' reality (BBC)

Kratom

• Kratom products may cause liver injury, new analysis led by Philadelphia physician finds (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• DEA Kratom Ban Update 2019 (Kratom Guides)

• Inside Plan to Bring Kratom Consumer Protection Act to Colorado (Westword)

• Hundreds told Clearwater not to ban kratom. Officials were baffled. (Tampa Bay Times)

• Kratom may be effective, but not entirely safe to treat alcohol use disorder (News-Medical.net)

• Kratom And Your Blood Pressure (Kratom Guides)

• Kratom Tea for Improved Sleep (My MMA News)

• Kratom Packaging – Right Kind Of Packaging For Kratom (Kratom Guides)

• Can You Buy Kratom In San Diego? (Kratom Guides)

Khat

• Experts Now Warn Chewing Khat Increases Chronic Liver Disease Risk (Newswire)

Miscellaneous

• Paul Stamets Announces the Launch of First-Ever Microdosing App (The Third Wave)

• Santa Cruz Will Consider Decriminalizing Psychedelics This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are the newest dark alleyways dealers use to sell drugs (Rooster Magazine)

• Psychedelics as Anti-Inflammatory Agents (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Festival-goers in Victoria could be subject to pill testing in 2020 under new bill (The New Daily)

• Study: How Punitive Policies Harm Pregnant Drug Users (Filter)

• Cincinnati-area high school announces mandatory drug tests for all students beginning in 2020 (WIS TV)

• Postal Service Unveils ‘Drug Free USA Forever’ Stamp Commemorating 1980s Anti-Drug Program (Marijuana Moment)

• The Drug Policy Reform Movement Debates Its Next Moves (Filter)

• The Sydney students synthesising psychedelics for health research (The University of Sydney)

• CSSDP to provide free drug-testing kits to students (The McGill Tribune)

• Drug policies used to criminalise the LGBTQIA+ community in Uganda (Talking Drugs)

• How psychedelics could reduce existential distress for end-of-life patients (The Varsity)

• What is Psychedelic Microdosing? (News-Medical.net)

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

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychoactives - 9.13.19

CANNABIS

• Three Companies Subpoenaed in Weed Vape Illness Investigation (Rolling Stone)

• British vapers are safe, claim health experts after deaths in US (The Guardian)

• U.S. Pot Industry Faces Antitrust Overhang: Cannabis Weekly (Bloomberg)

• Overregulation Drives Illegal Marijuana Market In Legal States, Study Suggests (Marijuana Moment)

• These Cops Are Seizing Cash from People Who Smell Like Weed Before They Fly to California (VICE)

• New Mexico Will Now Allow Out of State Residents to Get Medical Marijuana Cards (MERRY JANE)

• Canadian Company Planning to Introduce Odourless Cannabis (Leafly)

• Harmful Stereotypes About Marijuana Consumers Persist In The Media, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• DEA Wants 3.2 Million Grams Of Marijuana Legally Grown In 2020 (Forbes)

• Tim Hortons’ WiFi Blocks Legal Cannabis Websites (Leafly)

• Cannabis smoking may lower diabetes risk in obese individuals: study (Speciality Medical Dialogues)

• Joe Biden Says Marijuana Should Remain Illegal As A Misdemeanor At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• Legal Marijuana Is A ‘Positive Amenity’ For New Colorado Residents, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Mark Sanford Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief' (NPR)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Motion to prevent sale of magic mushrooms defeated by Vancouver council (CBC)

• Could Magic Mushrooms Soon Be Used for Therapy in Denver? (5280)

MDMA

• King's College London needs volunteers for a new MDMA study (Mixmag)

DMT

• DMT: The Biosynthesis Debate (Psychedelic Science Review)

AYAHUASCA

• Watch the Vibrations of Ayahuasca Songs Projected on Water (DoubleBlind)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• Chilling map shows which synthetic drugs are killing Kiwis around New Zealand (Newshub)

KETAMINE

• Tripping My Way Toward Wellness One Ketamine Infusion at a Time (The Bold Italic)

OPIOIDS

• Data Touted by OxyContin Maker to Fight Lawsuits Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story (ProPublica)

• ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Denying a Federal Prisoner Buprenorphine (Filter)

• Taliban's Opium Fields Blocking Chinese Conquest of Afghanistan (Breitbart)

• These Newborn Babies Cry for Drugs, Not Milk (The New York Times)

COCAINE

• Cocaine burned massive hole in man's throat before untimely death: report (Fox News)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Meth in the Miami Valley: Users are violent, paranoid, psychotic (Dayton Daily News)

CAFFEINE

• Drinking tea improves brain health, study suggests (ScienceDaily)

TOBACCO

• Trump Announces Disastrous Plan to Ban Flavored Vapes Across the US (Filter)

• FDA criticizes Juul for telling students its e-cigs are ‘totally safe’ (Engadget)

• Denver Pushing to Raise Tobacco Purchasing Age, License Retail Stores (Westword)

• Utah representative pushes to ban e-cigarette products, claiming study found illegal drugs in e-liquids (Fox 13 Now)

• Bloomberg Takes on Vaping After Giving $1 Billion to Fight Tobacco (The New York Times)

ALCOHOL

• Only a fraction of the costs of excessive drinking are paid for by alcohol taxes (Medical Xpress)

• Doctor Warns Alcohol Is The Most Dangerous Substance To Unborn Babies (WCCO)

KRATOM

• Can You Vaporize Kratom? Is It Safe To Vape? (Kratom Guides)

• Tons of Kratom Being Sold in Colorado (Westword)

• Most Common Street Names For Kratom (Kratom Guides)

KHAT

• Judge rules Somali man detained for stimulant can stay in US (SFGate)

DATURA

• Killer Hallucinogenic Weed Blooming in Upper West Side Median Strip: Report (NBC New York)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Oregon Voters Could See Measure To Decriminalize All Drugs On 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Researchers Find Unexpected White Blood Cells in Patients With Mysterious Vaping Illness (VICE)

• Berkeley City Council To Vote On Decriminalizing Psychedelics (Marijuana Moment)

• Why some South American indigenous tribes give their dogs psychedelic drugs (The Outline)

• Google puts drug addiction recovery info front and center (Engadget)

• Emotional breakthroughs during psychedelic experiences linked to future increases in mental well-being (PsyPost)

• NSW Health backs plan for early warning system on drugs (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• New law gives NZ police discretion not to prosecute drug users, but to offer addiction support instead (The Conversation)

• The HPPD Debate: Is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder Real? (MERRY JANE)

• REPORT: 1/4 Of Youth Have Seen Drugs For Sale On Snapchat & Instagram (Your EDM)

• DARPA wants benefits of psychedelics but without hallucinations (The Sociable)

• Too many hooked on prescription drugs - health chiefs (BBC)

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

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.

This Week in Psychoactives - 7.26.19

CANNABIS

• Scientists unlock the secrets of marijuana’s pain-relief potential, study says (Miami Herald)

• Study Explores How Different Marijuana Extracts Kill Types Of Cancer Cells (Marijuana Moment)

• Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing On Cannabis Banking (NORML)

• Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Give Marijuana Businesses Access To Insurance Coverage (Marijuana Moment)

• Miami Cops Can No Longer Use Just “Weed Odor” as Excuse to Search Cars (MERRY JANE)

• Marijuana Compound CBD Shows Promise For Treating Cocaine And Meth Addiction, Study Suggests (Marijuana Moment)

• Top Congressional Chairman And Presidential Candidate File Marijuana Legalization Bills (Forbes)

• Federal Officials Give Hemp Legalization Update At Senate Hearing (Marijuana Moment)

• How legal weed companies are starting to address driving while high (Fast Company)

• Michigan Cuts Cannabis Fees in 19 Cities Impacted by Drug War (Leafly)

• Presidential Candidate Proposes Medical Marijuana Waivers For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

• California seizes $30 million in black market cannabis from illegal pot shops (Los Angeles Times)

• Record number of states considered marijuana legalization in 2019 (The Hill)

• New York City Council Passes Two Marijuana Reform Resolutions (Marijuana Moment)

• Former Drug Warrior Biden Unveils Cannabis Decriminalization Plan (Leafly)

• Enslaved on a British cannabis farm: ‘The plants were more valuable than my life’ (The Guardian)

• Marijuana Legalization More Popular Than Free College And $15 Minimum Wage, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• UK hemp farm could lose £200,000 in crop destruction (BBC)

• Why marijuana’s illegal classification is based on politics, not science (The GrowthOp)

• Entrance to illegal pot dispensary blocked again as cat-and-mouse game continues (The Toronto Star)

• Pot-smoking teen caused Maui brushfire, police say (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

• FDA (Again) Rejects Petition To Further Restrict Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Mystery Solved: Icelandic Horses Probably Ate Cannabis (The Reykjavík Grapevine)

• It’s Getting Harder to Fire People for Using Pot (Bloomberg)

• Were Vikings Growing Cannabis in Newfoundland 1,000 Years Ago? (Leafly)

• Young Americans Are More Likely To Smoke Marijuana Than Cigarettes, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Testing CBD: Defenders test finds huge unreported range in THC levels (WCNC)

• Here's How Much Legal Marijuana Canada Has Sold Since Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis (Yahoo! Finance)

• UFC teams with Aurora Cannabis on CBD study in fighters (CNN)

• Hundreds Of Pet Owners Tell FDA That CBD Is Helping Their Furry Companions (Marijuana Moment)

• Did Indigenous Canadians use Cannabis Before Europeans Arrived? (Leafly)

• The Real Difference Between Smoking and Eating Marijuana (The Atlantic)

• Medical marijuana or your guns: Missourians may have to choose (KSHB)

• The New, Cool Term For Cannabis? It's Still Up For Grabs. (Green Entrepreneur)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Psilocybin Initiative Leader Starting National Decriminalization Group (Westword)

• Both CBD and Psilocybin show potential in fighting alcohol use disorder (Regina Leader-Post)

MDMA

• 3-year-old fights for her life after mistaking ecstasy for candy in Ibiza (New York Post)

• Girls hospitalised after taking MDMA at Victorian school camp (Geelong Advertiser)

AYAHUASCA

• Ayahuasca and Dreaming (Chacruna)

• A Clinical Psychologist’s First Experience with Ayahuasca (Chacruna)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Silicon Valley Is Spending Millions Trying to Synthesize THC From Yeast (VICE)

• Alabama Corrections K-9 dies after allergic reaction inside prison (Montgomery Advertiser)

KETAMINE

• Mindfulness-Based Prevention Outcomes for Cocaine Dependence Improved by Ketamine Injection (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Spring Center of Hope discusses possible effects of ketamine on mood (Chron)

PCP

• PCP Is ‘No Worse’ Than Other Drugs When Used Properly, Says Hamilton Morris (Inquisitr)

OPIOIDS

• Summit County concert promotes free app to connect naloxone carriers to people overdosing (Cleveland.com)

• The biggest civil trial in U.S. history will start with these Ohio counties (The Washington Post)

• Five drug companies stop making fentanyl for Canadian market (The London Free Press)

• Former narcotics officer sues sheriff’s office following fentanyl exposure (WREG)

• An editorial board of user-activists takes on the opioid crisis (Columbia Journalism Review)

COCAINE

• Internal Probe Reveals SEAL Team 10 Operators’ Cocaine Use (The Daily Beast)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Police Admit They Were Totally Just Joking About Those 'Meth-Gators' (TIME)

• Rising Meth-Involved Deaths of Major Concern Amid Estimated 2018 Overdose Fall (Filter)

CAFFEINE

• Too much caffeine during pregnancy may damage baby's liver (EurekAlert!)

• The latest on caffeine limits (Medical Xpress)

• Is Caffeine Fueling Your Anxieties? (HealthDay)

• Young Man Dies from an Accidental Caffeine Overdose, Coroner Rules (Legal Reader)

TOBACCO

• Daily E-Cigarette Use Can Help Smokers Quit, According to One of the Most Comprehensive Studies Yet (TIME)

• Nicotine Testing for High Schoolers Is a Drug War-Style Disaster (Filter)

• Facebook, Instagram is age-restricting alcohol, tobacco content (WITN)

• FDA targets teens with e-cigarette prevention ads (Engadget)

ALCOHOL

• Costa Rica: Tainted alcohol death toll rises to 20; 41 people affected overall (USA Today)

• Leaked draft of the National Alcohol Strategy shows why Australia can't stop drinking (Australia Broadcasting Corporation)

• Is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding? (Medical Xpress)

• Why Some People Have A Higher Alcohol Tolerance Than Others (HuffPost)

• Pabst Blue Ribbon Seeks Buzz With Hard Coffee (NPR)

• Playboy model’s skin left rotting from alcohol addiction (New York Post)

KAMBÔ

• Kambo: A Powerful Amazonian Frog Secretion That Offers Healing! (MenaFN)

KRATOM

• Kratom for excessive weight loss (The Bona Venture)

• Can you use Kratom for Performance-Enhancing? (Chart Attack)

• Nebraska Regional Poison Center warns of dangers of using Kratom (KPTM)

KHAT

• The Role of Khat in Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis (Small Wars Journal)

• Kenyan khat farmers receive a lifeline as they start exporting the potent twigs to Israel joining rival Ethiopia (Business Insider)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Psychedelics Decriminalization Moves Forward In Cities Around The U.S. (Marijuana Moment)

• More people try drugs for the first time in the summer, study says (CNN)

• President Duterte’s War on Drugs Is a Pretense (The New York Times)

• Mark Kleiman, who changed the way we think about crime and drugs, has died at 68 (Vox)

• Football, basketball and drug testing: Texas school district to randomly test extracurricular students (USA Today)

• Military police called in to help tackle county lines drug dealers at train stations (Mirror)

• Vancouver’s overdose task force calls for safer supply of drugs (The Globe and Mail)

• India Persecutes Leading Legal Advocate for People Who Use Drugs (Filter)

• When Drug Addiction Is Criminalized We All Lose (The National Interest)

• Ethical and Sustainable Access to Entheogenic Plants (Chacruna)

• Will Oakland Lead the Psychedelic Revolution? (The Bold Italic)

• The complex forces at work behind drug deaths at music festivals (The New Daily)

• Psychonaut Hamilton Morris on Drugs After Prohibition (Reason)

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

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.