This Week in Psychoactives - 3.8.19

CANNABIS

• Bipartisan Legislation To End Marijuana Prohibition Filed (NORML)

• As of 2019, Legal Cannabis Has Created 211,000 Full-Time Jobs in America (Leafly)

• Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Passes New Mexico Senate (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Hawaii Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Trump Administration Wants More Input On Marijuana Rescheduling (Forbes)

• North Dakota’s First Medical Cannabis Dispensary Is Open for Business (Leafly)

• Elon Musk Could Lose His Pentagon Security Clearance Over Video of Him Smoking Pot (TIME)

• Higher education: Colleges add cannabis to the curriculum (AP News)

• Liberal Hawaii Decides Again Not to Legalize Cannabis (Leafly)

• Cannabis conundrum: California researchers struggling to get their hands on it (The Mercury News)

• Why scientists are using yeast to make marijuana compounds (The Verge)

• Amazon Vet Joins Cannabis Site Leafly As New CEO (Forbes)

• Majority Of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana And Expunging Records, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Hawaii Dispensaries Can Now Serve Out-of-State Cannabis Patients (Leafly)

• Marijuana Use Before Sex Leads To More Satisfying Orgasms, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Regulations Are Choking Out California's Legal Weed Industry (VICE)

• Bernie Sanders Hits Campaign Trail With A Big Focus On Marijuana Reform (Marijuana Moment)

• Beto O’Rourke Rallies Support Around Marijuana Reform Ahead Of Potential 2020 Run (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate John Hickenlooper Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Where Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• How I Use CBD to Treat Endometriosis (Civilized)

• Texas Lawmakers Hold Marijuana Decriminalization Hearing (Marijuana Moment)

• Texas Sheriffs Stand Against Marijuana Policy Reform (The Appeal)

• The DEA Wants Help Differentiating Marijuana From Hemp (Marijuana Moment)

• Facebook May Loosen Marijuana Restrictions, Internal Company Presentation Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Guns or cannabis? Ohio patients must choose. (Cincinnati.com)

• South Africa's Cannabis Policy is Wildly Confusing, Despite "Dagga" Being Part of the Culture for Centuries (Civilized)

• Florida Poised to Repeal State Ban on Smokable Cannabis (Leafly)

• Massachusetts dogs suffering from “cannabis toxicity” now that pot is legal (The Takeout)

• Meghan McCain Says Marijuana Might Have Extended Her Father’s Life (Marijuana Moment)

• Boulder company conducting study on effects of CBD on brain injury (Boulder Daily Camera)

• Where Do The Major North American Sports Leagues Stand On Cannabis? (Yahoo! Sports)

LSD

• Stanford admissions employee charged in LSD stabbing of girlfriend (Los Angeles Times)

• How LSD Makes Us Trip, and Why It Might Be Good for Us (Esquire)

• Taking LSD every morning ‘could be beneficial’, say scientists (Metro)

• Gaspar Noé provokes again, this time with LSD as lubricant, in 'Climax' (The Boston Globe)

• This sailor brought acid aboard his carrier (Navy Times)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• A single dose of psilocybin enhances creative thinking and empathy up to seven days after use, study finds (PsyPost)

• B.C. counsellor wants Health Canada to approve psilocybin to treat death anxiety (Vancouver Sun)

MDMA

• Israeli approves compassionate use of MDMA to treat PTSD patients (420 Intel)

• MDMA is purer, more readily available than ever in New Zealand (Newshub)

• Man died plunging into Amsterdam canal after taking MDMA (Rave Jungle)

• Schoolgirl, 15, collapsed and died on first day of summer holidays after experimenting with ecstasy (The Sun)

DMT

• Scientists Microdosed Rats With DMT, and It Was Both Good and "Concerning" (Inverse)

• The DMT Trip and the Mysteries of Hyperspace Travel (Chacruna)

• Meet the real-life people probing one part of an Alex Jones DMT conspiracy theory (Rooster Magazine)

AYAHUASCA

• Ritualistic ayahuasca users tend to have positive health and psychosocial well-being (PsyPost)

• Six Playful Lessons from a Transgender Journey Through Ayahuasca Integration (Chacruna)

• Shipibo Women Healers on the Challenges and Opportunities of the Ayahuasca Boom (Psymposia)

• What I Learned During 15 Years as an Ayahuasca Scientist (Kahpi)

5-MEO-DMT

• 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety (Taylor and Francis Online)

SALVIA DIVINORUM

• What It’s Like to Smoke Salvia for Science (Motherboard)

NOVEL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES

• 2C-B Is the Drug Taking Over the UK's Clubs (VICE)

• What is party drug 2CP and what are the side-effects after first UK death? (Metro)

• Examining the Tragic Bestival Drug Death of Louella Fletcher-Michie (VICE)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Synthetic cannabinoid use can affect psychological outcomes (Healio)

• Government moves to increase synthetic cannabinoids penalties (Radio New Zealand)

• Spice ‘zombies’ triggering NHS cost crisis (Metro)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Boca Regional Offering Nitrous Oxide Therapy For Patients In Childbirth (Boca Newspaper)

• Why ‘nos’, the nitrous oxide party drug, is no laughing matter (The Times)

KETAMINE

• A ketamine-like drug is the first new antidepressant to get FDA approval in years (Vox)

• Esketamine is not a breakthrough new drug: Why the nasal spray for depression is old news (KevinMD.com)

• How Is Taking Ketamine for Depression Different From Falling Into a K-Hole? (Gizmodo)

• Driver high on ketamine ploughed into woman walking in Kings Heath (Birmingham Live)

PCP

• Bryan police: Man charged after resisting arrest, assaulting officer (Bryan-College Station Eagle)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Maryland to distribute fentanyl test strips to allow users to test drugs (The Baltimore Sun)

• How One Group Is Expanding Access to Overdose-Reversing Drugs Through the Mail  (Tonic)

• French poppy seed bread found to contain dangerous levels of morphine (The Telegraph)

• Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. (The New York Times)

• Investigation: Where Are Naloxone Confiscations Happening the Most? (Filter)

• 'Opium-addicted' parrots terrorize Indian poppy farmers (The Jerusalem Post)

• The Opioid Dilemma: Saving Lives in the Long Run Can Take Lives in the Short Run (The New York Times)

• Naloxone kits will be added to 29 city-owned public buildings (CBC)

• Staten Island nonprofit will include naloxone training in CPR classes (SILive.com)

• Naloxone credited with decrease in overdose reports in Lima region (Lima Ohio)

• Scott Gottlieb was one of the few Trump officials taking on the opioid crisis. Now he’s out. (Vox)

• Fulton commission considering ban on synthetic opioids (MDJOnline.com)

• Report: Man overdosing on heroin crashes into restaurant (News 12 Westchester)

• Saira Khan: Stop doctors creating a nation of addicts (Mirror)

• Charges dropped in historic opium poppy bust in Catawba County (WCNC)

• Why aren’t slots for opioid treatment filled? City tries to turn the tide. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Training Day: Naloxone indications and administration (EMS1.com)

• Naloxone saves lives and experts say it's easier to get than most people think (9News.com)

COCAINE

• Insta-gram: How British cocaine dealers got faster and better (Mixmag)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Local dentists show dangers of meth (KRQE)

ALCOHOL

• Alcohol Reduces Fibromyalgia Pain (Pain News Network)

• Why You Can't Buy Alcohol on Election Days in Some Countries (VinePair)

• Drinking Alcohol Is More Harmful To Young People Than Previously Thought, According To Study (Bustle)

• Push to allow more alcohol in Utah beer hits stumbling block (Standard-Examiner)

• Locals reflect on first year of having Sunday alcohol sales (WTHI-TV)

• Is It More Difficult for Women to Quit Drinking Alcohol? (The Bold Italic)

• More than a dozen Clayton businesses caught selling alcohol to minors (WRAL)

KRATOM

• Kratom recalled after salmonella bacteria found in products sold by Oregon company (Statesman Journal)

• Chester County family sues kratom distributor in death of son (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• US Poison Control Is Being Inundated With Calls About an Opioid-Like Herb (ScienceAlert)

• Two Parents' Kratom Stories: One Nightmare, One Miracle (Westword)

• Monroe County sheriff to ask for banning of Kratom (WCBI)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Psychedelics and Dying Care: A Historical Look at the Relationship between Psychedelics and Palliative Care (Taylor and Francis Online)

• The IRS Targets Drug Policy Reformers (Reason)

• Gwyneth Paltrow thinks psychedelics are the next big wellness trend (Quartz)

• Labour supports trials of consumption rooms to cut drug deaths (The Guardian)

• “Never Give Up”—State Commission Urges Mass. to Move for Supervised Consumption Sites (Filter)

• Leaving The Third Wave: Team Statement (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Reframing Psychedelic Integration into a Continuum with Community (Psychedelic Support)

• Alex Jones Says Secret Government Program Uses Psychedelics To Communicate With Aliens (Marijuana Moment)

• Can We Quantify the Placebo Effect in Psychedelic Medicine? (Psychedelic Support)

• Wavepaths Conversations — Jon Hopkins (Medium)

• Record Number in US Dying From Alcohol, Drugs, Suicide (Newsmax)

• Teens Need the Truth About Drugs (The Wall Street Journal)

• Male drug-related deaths up 98% in Northern Ireland (BBC)

• Yale researchers bolster conversations on psychedelic science (Yale Daily News)

• Could Microdosing Psychedelics Treat Mood Disorders? (The Fix)

• Psychedelic Drugs Heal, Too (Washington Square News)

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On the Monday following each edition of “This Week in Psychoactives,” I post a “Last Week in Psychoactives” video recap to my YouTube channel. After that is done, I retroactively add the video to the corresponding blog post. Here is this week’s video recap:

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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 Psychedelics - 6.22.18

Cannabis

• Canada becomes second country to legalise cannabis use (The Guardian)
• Portugal's parliament legalizes cannabis-based medicines (Reuters)
• Oklahoma voted to legalize medical marijuana (Vox)
• Marijuana legalization is having its best year ever (Vox)
• Poll: Record Percentage Of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana (NORML)
• Texas Republican Party Endorses Marijuana Decriminalization (Forbes)
• Home Office looks at allowing cannabis oil for boy with epilepsy (The Guardian)
• Senate Democratic Leader Introduces Far-Reaching Marijuana Descheduling Bill (NORML)
• New York: State-Commissioned Report Will Recommend Legalizing Marijuana (NORML)
• What Might Medical Cannabis Mean for our Children? (Beckley Foundation)
• Why Are Cannabis Industry Leaders Donating to Anti-Immigration Candidates? (Cannabis Wire)
• Full marijuana legalization up for a vote today in Delaware House (Delaware Online)
• New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to Allow Patients who are Prescribed Opioids to Access the State's Medical Marijuana Program (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Why a Top Conservative Politician Is Calling for Marijuana to Be Legalized in the U.K. (TIME)
• Counting Canada, More Than 100 Million People Live in Places Where Pot Is Legal (Reason)
• Alexander discusses DOH's plans to legalize recreational marijuana (Spectrum News)
• NYPD Will Start Using Summonses, Not Arrests, for Marijuana (The New York Times)
• Legislation To Protect Legal Consumption In Federal Housing Introduced (NORML)
• Massachusetts crafts 'social equity' program to help minorities and drug offenders enter marijuana industry (MassLive)
• Senators Vote To Block Marijuana Banking Amendment (Forbes)
• Pot pros to budtenders: stop telling pregnant ladies to smoke cannabis (Rooster)
• PAX’s ‘Session Control’ helps you control your vape high (Engadget)
• NORML Releases Comprehensive Report Summarizing Local Decriminalization Laws (NORML)
• Sister-in-law of Home Office Minister who banned cannabis oil confesses: I have used it too, so make it legal (Daily Mail)
• Will Marijuana Be Legal in the U.S. Anytime Soon? Canada Law Revives Talk of Weed Legalization Nationwide (Newsweek)
• Denver Contradicts Itself by Targeting Previously Tolerated Cannabis Tour Buses (Reason)
• What is cannabis oil and how does it work? (The Guardian)
• Will Doug Ford change how Ontarians buy legal marijuana? (CityNews Toronto)
• Can cannabis oil really treat epilepsy and what would impact of medicinal reclassification be? (The Independent)
• This New Data Reveals the Scale of the UK's Cannabis Industry (VICE)
• Review needed on medicinal cannabis cases, says May (BBC)
• Cannabis 101: Where Entrepreneurs, Lawyers and Caregivers Go To Learn (Forbes)
• Higher Standards Pop-up Offers Next-Level Cannabis Accessories (Hollywood Reporter)
• Marine veteran gets first look at cannabis products (The Gainesville Sun)

LSD

• Meet the Canadian “Psychedelic Revolutionaries” Who Pioneered LSD Research (MERRY JANE)
• When Timothy Leary Got Artists to Take LSD (Artsy)
• Considering Microdosing LSD for Treatment-Resistant Depression? Read This First (Third Age)
• Johnny Depp Admits He Gets Lines Fed to Him on Set, Believes LSD Would’ve Helped Find Osama bin Laden Faster (Indie Wire)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Psilocybin Mushrooms vs. LSD for Mental Health Issues (Psychedelic Heaven)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Study: Ecstasy could be far less dangerous than past research suggests (Big Think)
• MDMA Being Used in New Trials to Help Beat Alcoholism (Your EDM)
• FDA Moves Closer to Approving Ecstasy (The Beacon)
• Ecstasy-assisted psychotherapy is bringing peace to people with PTSD (Yahoo! News)
• Patrick Coakley died after taking fatal MDMA overdose (Kent Online)
• Student who supplied killer ecstasy to friend says he should not be blamed as taking drugs is university 'culture' (The Telegraph)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• New Study: Ayahuasca Tea Rapidly Helps Patients Overcome Severe Depression (Kahpi)
• Enhancing Your Ayahuasca Experience: Harnessing the Power of Intention and Belief (Kahpi)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Gabon's sacred plant 'Iboga' under threat of extinction (Africanews)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Cartoon Dystopia: 25I-NBOMe and Why You Should Test Your LSD (Psymposia)

Dissociatives

• Minneapolis police asked medical workers to use ketamine on suspects (The Seattle Times)
• First Ketamine Guidelines for Pain Released (WebMD)
• Ketamine a safer option for agitated patients and providers (EMS1.com)
• Can Ketamine Cure Depression? (Psychedelic Heaven)
• PD: Man on PCP did pushups in the middle of the road (CT Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• Facebook redirects would-be opioid buyers to crisis helpline (Engadget)
• How legal drug companies helped revive the heroin trade (The Washington Post)
• Afghanistan is producing more opium than ever before (We Are The Mighty)
• Researchers May Have Underestimated the Number of Opioid Overdose Deaths (TIME)
• Many Doctors Give Morphine to Babies Born With Opioid Addiction. A New Study Suggests There's a Better Way (TIME)
• Opiate addiction and the history of pain and race in the US (The Conversation)
• Purdue Pharma, company behind Oxycontin, just laid off its entire sales team (VICE News)
• Heroin use in Pacific Northwest linked to incurable kidney disease (UW Medicine Newsroom)

Kratom

• The House Just Passed a Bill That Could Make Kratom Illegal (Inverse)
• What Is It Like To Be High On Kratom And What It Feels Like? (Kratom Guides)
• 3 Best Kratom Strains You Should Try If You Suffer From Anxiety (Kratom Guides)
• How Much Does An Ounce Of Kratom Cost? (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• New law gives critically ill people 'Right to Try' psychedelics (Rooster)
• The DEA Is Worried Sick About Touching Contaminated Drug Money (The Daily Beast)
• Alleged Silk Road Mentor Indicted, Extradited to United States (Reason)
• Can People Who Had a Drug Addiction Ever Drink Alcohol? (Tonic)
• New Study Shows Drug War Sends Users to Dark Web (Reason)
• We need to offer safety drugs testing to users across society, not just at festivals and nightclubs (Metro)
• Psychedelics Are Promising, But Many Psychiatrists Don't Want to Use Them (Tonic)
• Congress Wants To Give Jeff Sessions Unprecedented New Drug War Powers (Reason)
• Staten Island Law Enforcement Won’t Stop Fighting the War on Drugs (The Village Voice)
• Psychedelic Drugs Promote Neural Plasticity (Worldhealth.net)
• While we discuss cannabis oil, we should remember that the government is blocking life-saving research into MDMA and magic mushrooms (The Independent)
• Would psychedelics really lead to democratic transformation? (Open Democracy)
• Mental health of a self-selected sample of psychedelic users and self-medication practices with psychedelics (ResearchGate)
• Psychedelics and Male-Perpetrated Violence (The Third Wave)
• Transformational Festivals and the New Psychedelic Revolution: A Conversation with James Oroc (Psychedelic Times)
• A mind-bending psychedelic art temple is coming to Upstate New York (Time Out)
• The Underground World of Psychedelics and the Potential of Plant Medicine (NYU News)
• Psychonautics: A Comic’s Exploration Of Psychedelics (Film Threat)
• The Power and Promise of Psychedelics: Michael Pollan Show Us How to Change Our Minds (AlterNet)
• Drug Checking in Latin America: the Countries Leading the Way (Talking Drugs)
• How underground groups use psychedelic drugs for healing (Futurity)

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 - 6.15.18

Cannabis

• Canadian Senate Signs Off On Historic Cannabis Regulation Measure (NORML)
• President Trump Expresses Support For Bipartisan Marijuana Fix (NORML)
• Expect Fully Legal Weed Within 5 Years, Says Former Top Pharma Lobbyist and Congressman Billy Tauzin (Reason)
• Parisians queue for cannabis after softening of drug laws  (The Telegraph)
• Minneapolis cops halt low-level marijuana stings after racial disparity revealed (StarTribune)
• CBD Could Help People Smoke Fewer Cigarettes (Tonic)
• Oklahomans To Decide In Two Weeks On Providing Medical Marijuana Access (NORML)
• Meet the Cannasexuals: Can your vagina get high? (BBC)
• UN Drug Committee Finds Cannabis an Effective, ‘Relatively Safe Drug’ (Leafly)
• Five Danish political parties support legalisation of cannabis (The Local)
• Senators Include Medical Marijuana Protections In Justice Department Bill (Forbes)
• The Pot Industry Is Overwhelmingly White, and One Congresswoman Wants to Change That (Rolling Stone)
• 7 mayors want pot removed from federal list of illegal drugs (Associated Press)
• House Appropriations Committee Blocks Cannabis Banking Amendment (NORML)
• Subjective Reports Positive for Cannabis in MS, but Caution Urged (Medscape)
• Senate Majority Leader Announces Progress On Hemp Reform Legislation (NORML)
• S.C. Democrats overwhelmingly supported medical marijuana on the ballot Tuesday. Experts weigh in on what that really means. (Charleston City Paper)
• How Will Employers Handle Cannabis In The Workplace? (Civilized)
• Congressional Black Caucus Announces Support for Marijuana Law Reforms (NORML)
• Uruguay struggling to meet demand for legal marijuana (Associated Press)
• Using Marijuana to Treat Opioid Addiction (The Fix)
• Can Legal Cannabis Help Slow the Opioid Drug Epidemic in the U.S.? (TheStreet)
• How Mapping Marijuana DNA Could Change the Future of Pot (Rolling Stone)
• Rules around marijuana marketing irk some in the cannabis industry (CBC)
• Marijuana Cultivation Is Where Cannabis Workers Can Earn The Largest Salaries (Forbes)
• How to Throw a Cannabis Dinner Party (High Times)
• Ask a Stoner: What Are Some Good Psychedelic Strains? (Westword)
• Art Of The Deal: Trump Looks To Trade Cannabis Legalization for Justice Department Nominees (Forbes)
• How The Cannabis Industry Became America's Hotbed Of Invention (Forbes)
• U.S. Markets 'Definitively' Missing Out on Capital by Barring Cannabis Companies (TheStreet)

LSD

• Did An Acid Trip Change Your Life? Scientists Want To Know About It (Futurism)
• LSD And Toxic Lies (The Third Wave)
• '70s Flashback: When Howard Stern Took LSD (CelebStoner)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• LSD and magic mushrooms could heal damaged brain cells in people suffering from depression, study shows (The Independent)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Why is Britain suffering from an ecstasy overdose? (ShortList)
• Cannabis and MDMA use is on the rise among Irish young people (Extra.ie)
• This Piece of Art Is Made Out of 4,000 Ecstasy Pills (VICE)
• Warning as deadly blue ‘Punisher’ and ‘Duracell’ ecstasy pills found at Manchester’s Parklife Festival (The Sun)

Ayahuasca/DMT/5-MeO-DMT

• DMT vs. 5-MeO-DMT (Psychedelic Heaven)
• Ayahuasca Healings Is a One Stop Online Destination for All Information Relating to Ayahuasca (Digital Journal)

Morning Glory Seeds

• UAE legal Q&As: What is the punishment for being caught having taken 'Morning Glory'? (The National)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Warning over potent 'fake MDMA' drug which causes psychosis and keeps users awake for three days (The Telegraph)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine is likely one solution to prevent school massacres, doctors agree (Rooster)
• Ketamine and Psychedelic Drugs Change Structure of Neurons (Neuroscience News)
• Hit-and-run suspect ran over Deep Ellum bartender while smoking PCP, passenger says (Dallas News)

Opiates/Opioids

• One easy, cost-free thing Trump can do to ease the opioid crisis (The Washington Post)
• Lack of evidence casts doubt on police claims of officers overdosing after accidental opioid contact (The Star Vancouver)
• Beyond Books: How Libraries Are the Latest Front in the Opioid Fight (Governing)
• Big Opium's fines could approach Big Tobacco's as lawsuits mount (Rooster)
• Afghanistan is producing a lot more opium than before the US invasion. The US just can't stop it (Business Insider)
• Nan Goldin's Misleading OxyContin Story Feeds the Myth of 'Highly Addictive' Pain Pills (Reason)

Absinthe

• What Can We Learn About Moral Panics from Absinthe? (Patheos)

Kratom

• Kratom Advocates Take Their Fight To Washington As Potential Federal Ban Looms (HuffPost)
• Kratom Could Be Illegal Before It Gets a Chance to Solve the Opioid Crisis (Inverse)
• Can Kratom Be Detected In Urine And Drug Test? (Kratom Guides)
• Photos: US hunger for opioid alternative drives Kratom boom in Indonesia (Hindustan Times)
• 5 Kratom Strains to Help Increase Your Productivity At Work (Kratom Guides)
• Edmonton kratom retailer frustrated by 'aggressive' Health Canada raids (CBC)
• Yellow Maeng da Kratom Review: Origin, Benefits and Side Effects (Kratom Guides)

Kava

• Kava is the ‘anti-caffeine’ (Greenville Journal)
• More Improvements Needed In Kava Sector (Fiji Sun)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity (Cell Reports)
• How Big Pharma Hopes to Make Psychedelics Profitable (The Market Mogul)
• Psychedelic drugs promote neural plasticity in rats and flies (EurekAlert!)
• Men who have used psychedelics are roughly half as likely to commit intimate partner violence (PsyPost)
• E3 Attendees Get High on Digital Psychedelics (GlobeNewsWire)
• Can psychedelics help prevent suicide? (Big Think)
• Group Therapy for Psychedelic Integration (Chacruna)
• Balancing Cultural Traditions and Science in Entheogenic Research: A Conversation with Brad Adams, Ph.D. (Psychedelic Times)
• New Resolution Demands Congress Apologize For Failed Drug War (Marijuana Moment)
• Why Is Everyone Into Microdosing Right Now? (Girlboss)
• This Is Why Xanax Is Blowing Up in America (VICE)
• Trump Should Hurt Sessions by Helping Drug Offenders (Reason)
• Can Psychedelics Induce Flow States? (The Third Wave)
• The Holy Trinity of Music, Religion, and Psychedelics: Interview with Tim Ferson of OM Collective (Psychedelic Times)
• I talked with Adam Strauss about Ketamine for OCD, Trip Sitters, and The Mushroom Cure Los Angeles (Psymposia)
• Why Are Rhode Island Democrats Pushing a Bill That Could Send Some Drug Dealers to Prison For Life? (Medium)
• 1 In 3 Adults In The U.S. Takes Medications Linked To Depression (NPR)
• Drug testers at festivals will tell you if that MDMA you bought is actually sugar (Metro)
• As Mind-Altering Drugs Meet The Mainstream, The D.C. Psychedelic Society Is Bringing The City's 'Trippy People' Together (DCist)
• Agony and Ecstasy: Psychedelics as the next big health remedy? (The Irish Times)
• Psychedelic Drugs Can Cure 'The Most Painful Condition Known to Man' (Andrew Joseph)

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 - Dreamland

The United States of America is in the midst of a widespread opiate epidemic that has devastated hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across the country. The captivating story of exactly how this came to be is expertly told in acclaimed journalist Sam Quinones' fantastic book, Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, which was published in 2015.

In Dreamland, Quinones magnificently blends together two seemingly-independent narratives: the overly generous prescription of pain medications during the 1990s (including Purdue Pharma's ambitious campaign to aggressively market and sell OxyContin) and the unforeseen—and unprecedented—arrival of cheap, consistent, high quality black tar heroin from one small county in Mexico. According to Quinones, these developments joined forces in a dangerous synergy that ultimately resulted in America's modern-day opiate epidemic.

The book opens with a ridiculously thorough timeline that begins with the distillation of morphine in 1804, moves on to the invention of the hypodermic syringe in 1853 (did you know that the inventor's wife was the first to die of injected drug overdose?), glances at the release of OxyContin in 1996, and ends with the FDA's 2014 approval of Targiniq ER, which combined timed-release oxycodone with naloxone. This timeline, which provides plenty of insight into what went on in between those four events, sets the stage for the book's narrative and successfully primes the reader for the information that follows.

And the actual book doesn't disappoint, either—as the dust-jacket blurb states, it introduces "a memorable cast of characters—pharma pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors, and parents, and Quinones shows how these tales fit together." Sure enough, about midway through Dreamland, the reader begins to see the sophisticated web that was woven by several groups of people who were simply following the capitalist dream (operating in their own best interest in an attempt to make as much money as possible), and the once-hidden connections between the people and places involved become as clear as crystal.

When it comes down to it, Dreamland is the best book that I've read so far this year. The story is compelling and unfolds beautifully, in a masterful manner that constantly tempts the reader to read the next chapter. The level of detail that is crammed into each page is truly impressive, but never overwhelming. Simply put—I enjoyed every single word. The topic isn't necessarily the most popular (for the average reader), so I'm not sure that I would recommend this book to someone unless they're already interested in America's opiate epidemic. However, if you are at all intrigued by the topic, then I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you. It will likely take a while to read, because it is packed so densely, but it will be worth your investment of money, time, and energy. And I will keep an eye out for any future books and articles by Quinones, as his writing is an absolute joy to read.

5/5 stars. 385 pages.

Banner image by jplenio, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.3.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Colombia Close to Legalizing Medical Cannabis (Leafly)
• We Spoke with the People Trying To Stop Marijuana Reform (ATTN:)
• "Cannavaping" Could Be an Efficient and Safe Way to Deliver Medical Cannabis (The Science Explorer)
• 2 Rare, Heartwarming Video Clips of Terence McKenna Smoking Cannabis and Taking it Easy (High Existence)
• Cannabis on tribal land a '50/50' gamble for Native Americans in Washington (The Guardian)
• International law allows for the legalization of cannabis (Science Daily)
• I Only Ate Cannabis-Infused Foods for Two Days. Here's What Happened (Willamette Week)
• Cannabis Saved My Life – Depression (Reset.me)
• Why Cannabis-Growing Techniques Differ So Much Between the U.S. and Europe (Leafly)
• Industrial cannabis activists showcase their cause with 'all hemp' luncheon (The Washington Times)
• New York's Cannabis Growers Lobby for More Medical Patients (High Times)
• What happens when you get stoned every day for 20 years (The Independent)
• San Francisco Gym Focuses on Using Cannabis to Enhance Fitness (The Marijuana Times)
• How Does Cannabis Consumption Affect Insomnia? (Leafly)
• State investigates $500,000 in missing medical marijuana oil (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Indoor vs. Outdoor Cannabis Growing: 3 Key Differences (Leafly)

LSD

• Investigating the Urban Legend That LSD Will Make You Think You're Orange Juice (Complex)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Severe Depression Treatment: Magic Mushrooms Found To Be Effective? (Info-Europa)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Science Explains What Molly Does to Your Sex Life (Mic)
• Ecstasy in comeback as new generation discovers dance drug (The Guardian)
• European Partiers Got Smart, Ditched Bad Ecstasy for Pure MDMA (Inverse)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• Exploring the Sacred Power of 5 MeO DMT: Podcast with Dr. Gerardo Sandoval (Psychedelic Times)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Eagles' Debut: Don Henley on How Peyote, the Occult Shaped Hit LP (Rolling Stone)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• A Deadly New Hallucinogen Is Being Peddled On The Street As LSD (Digg)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine could treat chronic pain (SBS)
• Meta-analysis shows ketamine effective against persistent post-surgical pain (Medical Xpress)
• New Mesa clinic offers alternative therapy for pain, depression (East Valley Tribune)
• Man High on PCP Acts Erratically, Stabs Man, San Diego Police Say (Patch)
• Police: Woman on PCP bit teenager, resisted arrest (Bryan-College Station Eagle)

Opiates/Opioids

• FDA OKs first implant treatment for opioid addiction (Engadget)
• Burmese Opium Farmers Protest Eradication (High Times)
• CVS Health will expand access to naloxone in seven more states (American Pharmacists Association)
• CU Boulder study: Narcotic painkillers cause chronic pain (The Denver Post)
• Prince Reportedly Died from a Fentanyl Overdose (ATTN:)
• Taliban instability could fuel opium trade (OODA Loop)
• Heroin being laced with drug 100 times more powerful than morphine (FOX 8)
• Why it's easier to be prescribed an opioid painkiller than the treatment for opioid addiction (Disinformation)
• The One Paragraph That Prompted an Opioid Epidemic (ATTN:)

Kratom

• Kratom, the Herb of Last Resort for Recovering Addicts, Is in Legal Trouble (Gizmodo)
• The Best Type of Kratom for Opiate Withdrawal (Kratom Project)
• How Long Does Kratom Last? (Kratom Revealed)

Khat

• Closure of Somalia miraa market threatens economy, Munya (Citizen Digital)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• New British Law Makes Psychoactive Substances Presumptively Illegal (Reason)
• Combating the War on Drugs Around the World with Harm Reduction Education and Policy (Psychedelic Times)
• Two New Psychedelic Films That Will Open Your Mind To Plant Medicines (Collective Evolution)
• The New and Ancient Psychedelic Revolution: Preparing the Way for the New Story of Humanity (Psychedelic Times)
• TripSit Factsheets now use PsychonautWiki's Subjective Effects Index (TripSit.me)
• Psychedelic Honey from Nepal Proved to be 'Healing' (Nature World News)
• I Took LSD, Coke, and Edibles on the Job to See How They'd Affect My Work (VICE)

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 (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.