This Week in Psychoactives - 2.28.20

Cannabis

• Marijuana use is rising sharply among seniors over 65, study says, and there are serious risks (CNN)

• Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Officially Passes Vermont House Of Representatives (Marijuana Moment)

• Mexican Senate Committees Meeting This Week To Finalize Marijuana Legalization Plan (Marijuana Moment)

• Luxembourg’s government reportedly weighs plan to legalize recreational marijuana (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Presidential Candidates Clash Over Marijuana Legalization At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis for pain: Does medicating with marijuana increase abuse risk? (Leafly)

• Israel's Prime Minister To Explore Marijuana Legalization (Reason)

• Moldy, Yeasty Legal Weed Products Prompt Health Advisory in Nevada (MERRY JANE)

• Elizabeth Warren Has A New Plan For Legalizing Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Labor unions flex their muscle in fight with California cannabis industry (Los Angeles Times)

• Cannabis excellence: LSSU launches new chemistry facility (The Mining Journal)

• More Than 80% of Denver Teens Don’t Smoke Weed, New Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Henderson marijuana dispensary hosts cannabis-based blood drive (KTNV)

• Ohio Marijuana Legalization Measure To Be Filed For November Ballot This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Weed Is Better at Preventing Cavities Than Most Toothpaste Brands, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• Mississippi Lawmakers Attempt To ‘Kill’ Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative With New Strategy (Marijuana Moment)

• Capitol Confidential: THC bill would kill Arizona’s medical marijuana system (Leafly)

LSD

• This Is What Happens When You Take 550 Doses of LSD At Once (VICE)

• Microdosed LSD: Finally A Breakthrough For Alzheimer’s Disease? (Forbes)

Magic Mushrooms

• Could CBD and Psilocybin Treat Brain Injuries? This University Plans to Find Out (MERRY JANE)

MDMA

• Israel Makes A Big Move Toward The Acceptance Of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy For PTSD (Forbes)

• Belgian woman dies after taking sip of MDMA-laced wine (The Guardian)

Novel Psychoactive Substances

• The Unintended Consequences of Prohibitionist Policies - Mephedrone (Drug Science)

Ketamine

• Lawsuit: Ketamine clinic caused psychosis (Albuquerque Journal)

Opioids

• In 2019 speech, Bloomberg mocked Brooklyn father and son who died from heroin as ‘not a good family’ (NY Daily News)

• Inside the Middlesbrough clinic where heroin users get a 'last chance' (BBC)

• Teaching Children How to Reverse an Overdose (The New York Times)

• Mother of dead heroin addict to Chicago Police Department: ‘Enforce the law’ (Chicago Sun-Times)

• What happens when naloxone expires (KUSA)

• Enhancing Rates Of Opioid Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution In Emergency Departments (Health Affairs)

Cocaine

• The World's Biggest Legal Coca Industry Might Get Shut Down (VICE)

• Why the FDA Approval Process Is Under Scrutiny Following Approval of ‘Numbrino’, a Cocaine-Based Nasal Spray (Grit Daily)

• U.S. drug deaths dipped in 2018, but cocaine and meth overdoses rose (Science News)

Methamphetamine

• Meth Still a Missouri Problem, but Now It Comes From Mexico (The New York Times)

• DEA labels North Texas a 'meth hub' after spike in drug seizures (WFAA)

Nicotine

• Inside the Philip Morris campaign to 'normalize' a tobacco device (Reuters)

• New Juul patent application hints at AI-powered vape to help users quit nicotine (The Verge)

• House tobacco bill revives talk of nicotine limits (Politico)

• A New Bill Would Ban The Sale of All Flavored Nicotine Products (Colorado Public Radio)

• Governor Cuomo pushing ban of flavored nicotine vaping products, restricting ads aimed at youth (INFORMNNY)

Benzodiazepines

• Understanding the link between nicotine use and misuse of 'benzos' (EurekAlert!)

Alcohol

• 27,000 Mass. drunken-driving convictions may be tossed out due to faulty breathalyzer machines, lawyer says (The Boston Globe)

• Alcohol-Linked Deaths Soaring in U.S., Women Hit Hardest (U.S. News and World Report)

• Chicago Approves Earlier Start for Sunday Alcohol Sales (Eater)

GHB

• New report shows illicit drug GHB deaths could be prevented (Medical Xpress)

• Call for 'date rape' drug GHB to be reclassified (BBC)

Kratom

• Kratom at Risk in Colorado Without Legislation, Activists Say (Westword)

• Drug Tests Show Kratom Use Doubled in U.S. (Pain News Network)

Kava

• Utah's Attorney General hosts a kava ceremony in the Capitol (Fox 13 Now)

Miscellaneous

• Supervised-injection site in Philadelphia gets final green light from federal judge (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• South Philadelphia to become site of nation’s first supervised-injection facility next week, organizers say (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• DEA agent accused of conspiring with cartel (Associated Press)

• Europe’s psychedelic science renaissance has started (Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research)

• Beyond Mushrooms: The Mysterious, Magical World of African Plant Medicine (DoubleBlind)

• Should Breakthrough Psychedelic Research Make Us Question Our Assumptions About Mental Illness? (Psychedelics Today)

• End-to-end solution in psychedelic therapies establishes Numinus as leader in emerging space (Investing News)

• Scotland's drug death crisis in six charts (BBC)

• Psychedelics May Aid in Deprogramming Addiction (Psychedelic Science Review)

• They Fell In Love Helping Drug Users. But Fear Kept Him From Helping Himself (NPR)

• Podcast Host Joe Rogan Is Steadily Documenting A Psychedelic Record Of The 21st Century (Forbes)

• Vans Adds Psychedelic Tie-Dye To Their Iconic Checkerboard Print (Sneaker News)

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.

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This Week in Psychoactives - 2.21.20

Cannabis

• Leafly investigation: Vape lung injuries date back to 2007 (Leafly)

• New Hampshire House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Study Claims Americans See Marijuana as the “Safest” Party Drug (EDMTunes)

• Mike Bloomberg Attacks Marijuana Legalization In Controversial Resurfaced Recording (Marijuana Moment)

• Everyone Scared of Legal Weed Was Freaking Out Over Nothing: Report (VICE)

• Kentucky House Approves Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Marijuana Money Funds Cleaner Highways And Anti-Bullying Programs (Marijuana Moment)

• There's a New Synthetic Weed Drug Coming That's Basically Marinol Chewing Gum (MERRY JANE)

• Medical Marijuana Patients With ADHD Use Fewer Prescription Drugs, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Utah marijuana bill clarifies that private employers don’t need to allow its use (Deseret News)

• NFL Would End Marijuana Suspensions In Deal Approved By Team Owners (Forbes)

• Marijuana May Have Caused 12-Hour Erection, Doctors Say (Marijuana Moment)

• Pregnant Women with Anxiety or Depression More Likely to Smoke Weed, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Flying high: Are cannabis drone deliveries the future or merely fantasy? (Leafly)

• Mike Bloomberg Calls For Marijuana Decriminalization And Expungements In New Plan (Marijuana Moment)

• The cannabis industry's next big threat: Hacks and fraud (CNN)

• New Arizona Bill Attempting to Limit Medical Marijuana to 2% THC (Arizona Marijuana)

• Hemp Is For Horses? New Study Examines CBD’s Calming And Painkilling Effects In Animals (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• Mushroom Advocates Eyeing Boulder As Next Decriminalization Target (Westword)

• Man Magically Regains His Sense of Smell Using Psilocybin Mushrooms (DoubleBlind)

• DC mom leads effort to decriminalize magic mushrooms after treating postpartum depression (WJLA)

• Can A Legal Magic Mushroom Industry Avoid the Pitfalls of Recreational Weed? (East Bay Express)

• Therapists Are Fighting for Psilocybin Mushroom Legalization in Canada (Euro Weekly News)

DMT

• DMT and the Psychedelic Underground in Mainland China—An Insider’s Story (Kahpi)

Ketamine

• Use of ketamine among partygoers could be underreported (UPI)

• Ketamine Could Be Useful Alternative for Pain Relief, Sedation in ICU (MD Magazine)

• Ketamine use can prevent postanesthetic shivering without severe side effects (Medical Dialogues)

Opioids

• Insurance companies can’t penalize people with prescriptions for life-saving opioid overdose medication, state says (The Denver Post)

• Opioid vending machine opens in Vancouver (The Guardian)

• Johns Hopkins Will Test Epidiolex to See If It Can Help with Opioid Withdrawal (MERRY JANE)

• Naloxone Administration to Be Used as “Probable Cause” for Drug Charges in Indiana (Filter)

• Progress Slows In Massachusetts: Death Rates Flat In Opioid Crisis (WBUR)

• Police Scotland officers set to trial drug overdose spray (BBC)

• U.S. states reject $18 billion proposal to settle opioid lawsuits, discussions ongoing: sources (Reuters)

Methamphetamine

• Meth is back and flooding the streets of Ohio and Kentucky, and it's uglier than ever (Cincinnati.com)

Caffeine

• From khat to coffee: revitalising an age-old Yemeni crop (The Guardian)

• How natural caffeine compares to synthetic caffeine, according to health experts (MSN)

Nicotine

• Journal Retracts Study That Falsely Associated E-Cigarettes With Heart Attacks (Filter)

• Could tobacco cure coronavirus? Don’t laugh. (Politico)

• The great vape debate: are e-cigarettes saving smokers or creating new addicts? (The Guardian)

• Study Researches Whether Nicotine Patch Can Help People With Memory Loss (NBC4 Washington)

• Governor Cuomo Launches Campaign to Ban Flavored Nicotine Vaping Products and Restrict Vaping Ads Aimed at Youth (NY.gov)

• Why One of the World’s Largest Tobacco Companies Is Struggling (The Wall Street Journal)

• Teen vaping is bad. Nicotine makes it worse, says researcher (Science)

• Foods That Flush Nicotine Out of Your Body (Thrive Global)

Alcohol

• Higher alcohol taxes to fund NHS would benefit poor – study (The Guardian)

• Beer goggles: the truth about alcohol and romantic judgment (The Guardian)

• A Utah bill could prevent offenders from buying alcohol at state stores (The Salt Lake Tribune)

GHB

• New report shows illicit drug GHB deaths could be prevented (UNSW Newsroom)

Kratom

• Missouri House passes bill requiring more kratom regulation (KSDK)

• Michigan debates future of kratom, an herbal remedy linked to 9 state deaths (Bridge Michigan)

• Oregon House Moves to Ban Underage Sales Of Kratom, A Botanical Used For Pain Or Fun (The Lund Report)

• Popular Kratom Vendor Shows How Kratom Is Manufactured (Benzinga)

• Reports of Kratom Causing Acne: Is That True? (Kratom Guides)

Miscellaneous

• Ballot Language Approved For Washington, D.C. Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• A quarter of street drugs are fake and dangerous to users (The Guardian)

• Drug use will change significantly in the 2020s – here’s how (Dazed)

• #ThankYouPlantMedicine Creates Wave of Gratitude for Ayahuasca, LSD, and Mushrooms (The Third Wave)

• Business gets ready to trip: How psychedelic drugs may revolutionize mental health care (Fortune)

• Virtual Reality Can Replicate Mystical Psychedelic Experiences, Study Says (MERRY JANE)

• The influence of drugs on murder rates is being overstated (TalkingDrugs)

• Psychedelic drugs have lost their cool. Blame Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop (The Guardian)

• Rampaging Vikings were fuelled by hallucinogenic herbal tea that made them feel less pain and become 'highly aggressive' say scientists (Daily Mail)

• First Psychedelics-Centered PR Agency Launches In Toronto (Benzinga)

• Psychedelics for systems change: could drugs help us save the planet? (openDemocracy)

• The Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group: driving reform in the UK (Health Europa)

• Study shows Dublin hospital has third highest number of drug-related medical emergencies (Irish Examiner)

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 - 1.31.20

Cannabis

• New Mexico Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Illinois Is Already Getting a Weed Lounge, Just Weeks After Legalizing (MERRY JANE)

• Berkeley Council Votes To Allow Cannabis Consumption In Lounges (CBS San Francisco)

• First Alaska retail pot shops get approval for on-site consumption (Anchorage Daily News)

• Local Australian Marijuana Legalization Law Takes Effect This Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Cleveland City Council approves eliminating fines, jail time and criminal records for low level marijuana possession (Cleveland.com)

• Key Virginia Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Bill, While Broader Legalization Study Advances (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis Helps Protect HIV Patients’ Brains From Deteriorating, Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

• President Trump: Marijuana Makes You “Lose IQ Points” (NORML)

• Abnormal imaging findings key to EVALI diagnosis in vapers (Medical Xpress)

• Find That CBG and CGC Can Kill Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells (MERRY JANE)

• Missouri Activists Launch Signature Drive To Put Marijuana Legalization On 2020 Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• Cannabis vaping devices reimbursement approval for Canadian veterans (Health Europa)

• American Cannabis Stocks Are Working Their Way To Wall Street (Forbes)

• Legalization may mean more cannabis and less alcohol in colleges (Medical News Today)

• U.S. Military Reiterates That CBD Is Off Limits To Service Members (Marijuana Moment)

• Across Utah more students are reporting using marijuana (KUTV)

• Weed-Sniffing K-9s in New York Are Getting Hounded into Early Retirement (MERRY JANE)

• Pennsylvania: Marijuana possession arrests decline statewide (NORML)

Magic Mushrooms

• Andrew Yang Wants To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms For Military Veterans (Marijuana Moment)

Iboga

• 'I cannot claim to have prevailed': Miami University professor reinstated after iboga tree suspension (Cincinnati.com)

• Special Forces: How Ibogaine is Helping Former Special Operations Soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

• Chicago Shop Owner Gets Prison Sentence For Selling K2 Laced With Rat Poison (High Times)

• Synthetic cannabinoids on the rise in Toledo, costing taxpayers thousands for EMS (WNWO)

Opioids

• Tom Steyer Calls For Marijuana Legalization And Opioid Decriminalization (Marijuana Moment)

• Could a Naloxone Implant Have a Major Impact on the Overdose Crisis? (Filter)

• Federal Crackdown On Fentanyl Analogues Repeats the Mistakes of the Drug War, Advocates Say (The Appeal)

Caffeine

• Everyone is making coffee wrong, study suggests (Fox News)

Nicotine

• WHO Report: Tobacco Use is Declining Worldwide (Vaping Post)

• International Experts Slam World Health Organization’s Deceptive Vaping Release (Filter)

• Wisconsin can’t enforce tobacco age at 21 because of state law, causing confusion at stores (WQOW)

• Study: Teens with ADHD Face Increased Risk for Nicotine Addiction (ADDitude)

Kratom

• Reasons why kratom is getting more popular in the past decade (Augusta Free Press)

Miscellaneous

• Santa Cruz City Council Approves Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• Goop on psychedelics isn’t bad, it’s just boring (WIRED)

• Psychedelic drugs may reduce depression and anxiety by increasing psychological flexibility (PsyPost)

• Heroin and cocaine can be injected safely in UK's first 'mock drugs room' (Sky News)

• Oakland Activists Unveil Plan To Legalize Sale Of Psychedelics This Year (Marijuana Moment)

• Music festivals responsible for minuscule percentage of drug deaths (The Age)

• Are Investors Ready To Change Their Minds About Psychedelic Drugs? (Forbes)

• Drug deaths summit to take place in Glasgow (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 - 1.24.20

Cannabis

• Cannabis compound could be weapon in fight against superbugs (The Guardian)

• Mexican Lawmakers Plan To Pass Amended Marijuana Legalization Bill Before End Of April (Marijuana Moment)

• No, A Study Didn’t Say Cannabis Impairs Driving Once You’re Sober (Forbes)

• Joe Biden Again Says No To Marijuana Legalization Without More Studies (Marijuana Moment)

• Four-in-ten U.S. drug arrests in 2018 were for marijuana offenses – mostly possession (Pew Research Center)

• Michigan recalls 9,380 marijuana vaping products over vitamin E acetate concerns (MLive)

• Cannabis store burglaries on the rise in Denver (Marijuana Business Daily)

• Virginia Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Medical Marijuana Could Improve Sleep Quality for Chronic Pain Patients (MD Magazine)

• Yet Another Study Finds That Weed Helps with Endometriosis (MERRY JANE)

• Study: Cannabidiol may not ease sleep problems, especially for regular users (FOX40)

• Proposed 10% THC Limit in Washington Could Wreck Its Entire Weed Industry (MERRY JANE)

Magic Mushrooms

• Company Gets Trademark For The Word ‘Psilocybin,’ Frustrating Decriminalization Advocates (Marijuana Moment)

• Neuroscience study uncovers psilocybin-induced changes in brain connectivity (PsyPost)

• An American Psilocybin Marketplace Might Look Like This (PRØHBTD)

MDMA

• The FDA Just Expanded Access to MDMA as a Therapy for PTSD (VICE)

• Will MDMA Beat Cannabis to Gaining FDA Approval? (DoubleBlind)

• Gwyneth Paltrow reveals husband Brad Falchuk helped her through an 'emotional' MDMA trip in Mexico (Daily Mail)

Ayahuasca

• Drinking Ayahuasca Can Increase Mindfulness And Cognitive Flexibility For At Least 24 Hours (IFLScience)

• The Dangers of the Ayahuasca Tourism Boom (Kahpi)

Peyote

• Matthew McConaughey Reveals He Once Took Peyote In A Cage With A Mountain Lion (ET Canada)

Iboga

• A Hallucinogenic Root Is Pitched to Davos Set as Treatment for Opioid Addiction (Bloomberg)

Opioids

• Pharmaceutical Company Founder Gets 5 1/2 Years for Pushing Opioid (TIME)

• Just 2% of patients who need anti-opioid drug naloxone get it (UPI)

• People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them (Reason)

• Why Harsher Fentanyl Penalties Will Exacerbate the Overdose Crisis (Filter)

Nicotine

• Nebraska only enforcing "Tobacco 19" amidst federal "Tobacco 21 Act" (KHGI)

• Vaping is still at least 95% lower risk than smoking - debunking a feeble and empty critique (The Counterfactual)

• Nebraska bill would move tobacco, nicotine use age to 21 (NTV)

• Bill raising Florida's legal tobacco age passes senate committee (WCTV)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines might be a 'hidden element' of the US' overdose epidemic -- and doctor visits for prescriptions are increasing (CNN)

Alcohol

• Fewer Americans Are Binge Drinking, But Those Who Are, Are Drinking More (TIME)

Kratom

• Release the Kratom: Inside America's Hottest New Drug Culture (WIRED)

• Kratom set to be legalised in parts of the country (Bangkok Post)

• Benchmark for Kratom manufacturing and products in the US (News Anyway)

Khat

• The wild ride of East Africa's favorite stimulant (Washington Post)

Miscellaneous

• Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Legalizing Drugs (Forbes)

• New Vermont Bill Would Decriminalize Psychedelics And Kratom (Marijuana Moment)

• Psychedelics Can Be Used to Treat PTSD, Finds Yet Another Clinical Trial (VICE)

• Psychedelic Drugs Like LSD and Magic Mushrooms Linked to Transformative Experiences, Feeling Connected With Others (Newsweek)

• Idaho Senator Files Bill To Decriminalize Drug Possession (Marijuana Moment)

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 - 1.10.20

Cannabis

• Scientists Discover Two New Cannabinoids (VICE)

• Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine (Reuters)

• Most employers in Nevada can no longer utilize pre-employment drug tests for marijuana (KSNV)

• Federal Marijuana Reform Will Get Another Congressional Hearing Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• South Dakota: Adult-Use Marijuana Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Specialists warn about risks of cannabis edibles (Medical News Today)

• Don't Panic — Weed Edibles Are Just as Safe as We Thought, Actually (MERRY JANE)

• CBD for Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) (One World Herald)

• Marijuana Will Be Legalized in New York, Cuomo Vows (The New York Times)

• Nova Scotia is nearly out of edibles and other 2.0 products (Leafly)

• Illinois Dispensaries Ran Out of Weed During First Week of Legal Sales (Reason)

• More Than Half of Cannabis Tourists Bring Weed Home, New Survey Finds (MERRY JANE)

• Legal Pot Takes a Bite out of Beer Consumption in Canada (Bloomberg)

• Federal Reserve Bank Examines Marijuana Industry’s Growth (Marijuana Moment)

• Mississippi: Medical Cannabis Initiative Certified for 2020 Ballot (NORML)

• Survey: 26% of young people have driven high or ridden with a high driver (Leafly)

• Legalizing Medical Marijuana Makes People Have More Sex, Study Shows (Marijuana Moment)

Magic Mushrooms

• California’s Mushroom Decrim Campaign Cleared to Begin Voter Signature Drive (Filter)

• Shroom-Therapy Startup Edges Toward FDA Approval (Bloomberg)

• Dave Chappelle And Aziz Ansari Took Magic Mushrooms To Celebrate Comedy Award (Marijuana Moment)

• Will Shroom Dispensaries Become a Thing Anytime Soon? (DoubleBlind)

MDMA

• Use of ‘gateway drug’ MDMA on the rise among young Japanese (The Asahi Shimbun)

Ketamine

• Trump touted a new antidepressant as a solution for veterans. Only 15 have been treated (STAT)

Opioids

• Fentanyl deaths on the rise as drug is added to heroin, warns report (The Guardian)

• Black Americans Were Prescribed Opioids Less Frequently Because Of Racial Bias, New Analysis Shows (WBUR)

• Nasal spray found to be quickest, easiest way to deliver antidote naloxone for opioid overdose (News-Medical.net)

• What We Can Learn From a Tiny Baltic Country's Two-Decade Fentanyl Crisis (VICE)

Methamphetamine

• The rise in meth and cocaine overdoses, explained (Vox)

Caffeine

• Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests (CNN)

Nicotine

• What if a Vaping Tax Encouraged Cigarette Smoking? (The New York Times)

• Juul Hits Deliver More Nicotine Than Cigarettes, Study Finds (Rolling Stone)

• Can 18-Year-Olds Still Buy Tobacco Legally in Arizona? AG Suggests Yes (Phoenix New Times)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines: Another Prescription Drug Problem (The Fix)

Alcohol

• U.S. Alcohol-Related Deaths Have Doubled, Study Says (NPR)

• 'Sober curiosity': Dry January a wellspring for booze-free beverages (The Washington Times)

• The real reason midlife women should give up booze: PROFESSOR DAVID NUTT reveals how alcohol increases risk of breast cancer, bad skin and hot flushes (Daily Mail)

GHB

• GHB: The drug used as a 'rapist's weapon of choice' (BBC)

• Britain’s “Most Prolific” Rapist Spurs Misguided GHB Crackdown (Filter)

Kratom

• Kratom, usually made use of as a replacement for many opioids, is currently prohibited in France (OBN)

Miscellaneous

• Medical University of South Carolina To Launch New Psychedelic Research Center (High Times)

• Transforming psychedelics into mainstream medicines (STAT)

• More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared amid drug war, officials say (The Washington Post)

• The 'psychedelics coach' with drug-fuelled career advice (BBC)

• People are seeing ‘Cats’ while high out of their minds. These are their stories. (The Washington Post)

• This D.C. Group Wants To Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms And Some Psychedelic Plants (WAMU)

• Philly’s supervised injection site backers say they won’t delay opening while Justice Dept. appeals (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Addiction Treatment Facilities Fall Badly Short, Shows Federal Study (Filter)

• People Visiting Safe Injection Sites Are Less Likely To Die Compared To Other Drug Consumers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee Backs Decriminalizing Drugs (Marijuana Moment)

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.