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)

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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 Week in Psychedelics - 10.5.18

Cannabis

• California: Governor Signs Legislation Expunging Past Marijuana Convictions (NORML)

• Some cannabis companies turning to temporary foreign worker program ahead of legalization (Financial Post)

• FDA Says Marijuana Ingredient CBD Doesn’t Meet Criteria For Federal Control (Marijuana Moment)

• Courts Are Beginning to Rule Against Employers Who Discriminate Against Medical Marijuana Users (TIME)

• Legalization Doesn’t Increase Problematic Marijuana Use, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• A Complete History of Marijuana, According To Scientists (Marijuana Moment)

• Canopy Withdraws ‘Chronic by Dre’ Marijuana Trademark Filed By Mistake (Marijuana Moment)

• Legalization: Is it Working? (NORML)

• PepsiCo just became the latest beverage company to say it's looking at the fast-growing cannabis market (CNBC)

• A Cannabis Lawyer in Portland Has an Ambitious Plan to Fund More Women in the Industry (Psychedelic Times)

• Where Missouri’s US Senate Candidates Stand On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois sees sharp rise in medical cannabis applications as cancer patient requests 'explode' (Chicago Tribune)

• Uruguay Lawmakers Won’t Apply Strict Tobacco Packaging Rules On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Voters In Seven States Will See These Marijuana Questions On Election Day (Forbes)

• Win Or Lose At The Polls, Medical Marijuana Is Coming To Utah Under New Deal (Marijuana Moment)

• Boston inches forward with recreational marijuana permits (The Boston Globe)

• Marijuana Legalization and Workplace Safety: A Short-Lived Hysteria (NORML)

• Pot group: Michigan set to net $130M a year in new tax revenue (The Detroit News)

• Two pounds of weed for $20: this is Oregon's medical marijuana program (Rooster Magazine)

• This Lab Raised $10 Million To Expand Cannabis And Hemp Cloning Production (Forbes)

• Marketers Are Putting a New Face on Weed as They Navigate Regulations and Battle Stoner Stigma (Adweek)

• How to Combat Cold Symptoms With Cannabis (Reset.me)

• Nancy Pelosi Says Marijuana Reform Depends On Trump (Marijuana Moment)

• Teens aren’t just smoking cannabis, study says — they’re eating and vaping it, too (Fox 13)

• Cities Across Ohio Will Vote On Marijuana Decriminalization In November (Marijuana Moment)

• This New Cannabis Craze Has Made Early Investors Rich (The Motley Fool)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• The Health Benefits of Magic Mushrooms May Push Them to Legalization (Inverse)

• Why Doctors Want to Reclassify Psilocybin, the Drug That Puts the 'Magic' in Mushrooms (Fortune)

• Psilocybin Healed Me From Crippling Depression And Anxiety (Reset.me)

• The Not-So-Trippy Reason Mushrooms Are Psychedelic (Inside Science)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Weird Science: Octopuses Rolling on MDMA Become More Social (Psychedelic Times)

• University criticised for publishing advice on how to prepare MDMA (PinkNews)

• Coroner’s chilling warning after girl, 14, dies of MDMA poisoning from ‘The Punisher’ super-strength ecstasy pill (The Sun)

• Dad shares final picture of son who died after taking ecstasy for the first time (Metro)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• Probation ordered for Tampa man who brought South American spiritual ‘tea’ to airport (Tampa Bay Times)

Dissociatives

• The anti-anxiety effects of ketamine are linked to changes in theta brainwaves (PsyPost)

• Ketamine may be used to ease uncontrollable movements in Parkinson’s patients (WCTV)

• Ketamine drug trial to treat alcoholism at Exeter University is recruiting (Devon Live)

• Ketamine for Acute Pain: Highlights from the New Guidelines (Anesthesiology News)

Opiates/Opioids

• Cost of lifesaving heroin withdrawal drug soars by 700% (The Guardian)

• Punjab CM Amarinder backs Sidhu for legalising opium cultivation (The Economic Times)

• Ancient Mediterranean 'Juglet' Contained Traces of Opium (Live Science)

• The $1 Tool That Might Curb the Overdose Epidemic (The Atlantic)

• How the US Stopped a Possible Solution to the Heroin Epidemic (VICE)

Kratom

• Ohio Banning Sales of Kratom and CBD (Pain News Network)

• NLA 'likely' to pass pot and kratom bill (Bangkok Post)

• What is Kratom High and How to Come Down from High Effects? (Kratom Guides)

Khat

• DNC appeals to govt to ban khat (Dhaka Tribune)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Activists Accuse Bangladesh Government of Killing the Innocent in its Drug War (VICE News)

• Organizer of nude psychedelic parades defends nude psychedelic parades (Rooster Magazine)

• Gov. Brown Vetoes Bill To Open Safe Injection Sites In San Francisco (CBS San Francisco)

• Why is Islamic Art and Architecture So Psychedelic? (Sam Woolfe)

• High Kingdom: Why Animals Take Psychedelic Substances (Kahpi)

• Black Americans Are Being Left Out of Psychedelics Research (Tonic)

• Philippines President Duterte Playfully 'Jokes' About All His Drug War Murders (Reason)

• Exploring Consciousness with Psychedelics (Technology Networks)

• Awe: a putative mechanism underlying the effects of classic psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (Taylor & Francis Online)

• Opening up the future of psychedelic science (The Conversation)

• Ordinary Doses (Real Life)

• Was John Lennon a Better Musician After Taking Psychedelics? (Ultimate Guitar)

• ASU's psychedelic explorers: the Ecstasis Club (The State Press)

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.

Book Review - Essence of World Religions

I was fortunate to receive a free copy of Essence of World Religions during a local all-vegan Thanksgiving Dinner that I attended this year. It piqued my interest because it appeared to be a basic introduction to many of the common world religions, some of which I had never even heard of before. A few of friends that were seated at my table mentioned that they had read the book the previous year and found it to be a good overview of the topic and a valuable resource.

The book was originally published in 1994 as part of the JAINA Education Series program, and the edition I received is the Third Edition, published in November 2004. The preface of the book stresses that it is intended to be an introductory resource, stating "The strength of this book is its simplicity." Because of that, many complex and subtle distinctions between the religions have been left out of the book. The main focus is on providing a basic comparative summary of the following religions:

• Religions of India

1. Hinduism
2. Buddhism
3. Jainism
4. Sikhism

• Religions of the Far-East

1. Confucianism
2. Taoism
3. Shintoism

• Religions of the West

1. Judaism
2. Zoroastrianism
3. Christianity
4. Islam
5. Bahä'i

Each religion's section covers the time it was founded, a description of the founder (if there was one at all), the major scriptures that are consulted, any sects that may exist, the number of current adherents, the ultimate goals and beliefs, identifying symbols, and a list of observed holidays. Some religions have additional sections added that are specific to them.

I found this book to be extremely eye-opening, because there is a lot in common between these religions. Of course, there is a lot of different between them as well, but the book primarily focuses on the similarities. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who is interested in a primer for these religions or spirituality in general.

3/5 stars. 80 pages.