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obsessive compulsive disorder

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)

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this month’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 Year in Psychedelics - 2021

Before we get into this recap of the biggest psychedelic news stories from 2021, I’d like to address the fact that this blog post is coming out a month late. Normally I strive to publish my yearly recaps on New Year’s Eve, but things have been really hectic on my end lately and I’ve been barely keeping up with putting out the weekly link roundups, much less creating monthly and yearly recaps or other types of content.

So I apologize for not getting this out into the world sooner. I’ve started to realize that I bit off way more than I can chew over the last year and fell behind on things here at Think Wilder. Here’s hoping 2022 will be a little more focused so I can meet my deadlines and get my work out in a timely manner for y’all to enjoy!

Just like last month’s recap, there is no video recap of this year’s psychedelic news recap up on YouTube. I’ll have another update about some changes coming to my YouTube channel that should hopefully be out later this week on my channel, so make sure you subscribe there if you’d like to be informed about things on that front.

Moving on to the main show, there was a ton of huge news in 2021. Without further ado, let’s jump into the news.

Policy

Wins

Nine U.S. cities decriminalized psychedelics:

When it comes to cannabis policies there were several successes at the state level, even though attempts to change things at the federal level were unsuccessful. Four states legalized weed:

In addition, Alabama legalized medical marijuana and New Jersey and Louisiana decriminalized cannabis.

Taking things a bit further, Baltimore, MD and Scotland decriminalized the use of all drugs.

The governors of Connecticut and Texas signed legislation that will enable the states to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. And New Zealand legalized drug checking, becoming the world’s first country to do so.

Industry

One of the biggest stories in the psychedelic industry involved the fight over patenting various aspects involving psychedelics. The one that probably stirred up the most discontent was when COMPASS Pathways submitted a patent application that attempted to claim the right to common, preexisting psychedelic therapy techniques. This prompted a discussion about patents in psychedelia, with many people wondering if companies should own the future of the field. COMPASS Pathways has five U.S. patents and a total of ten worldwide, so they are quickly claiming rights to a lot of intellectual property in the space. But not without a fight—last month a non-profit known as Freedom to Operate submitted a new legal filing that argues against COMPASS Pathways’ patent on its form of synthetic psilocybin based on the idea that it is not a novel invention. The results from this case will set a precedent for not just COMPASS Pathways but for other psychedelic companies as well.

Psychedelic companies started making waves on the stock markets around the world, with five companies joining the Nasdaq (Mindmed, atai Life Sciences, Field Trip Health, Enveric Biosciences, and Bright Minds Biosciences) and Cybin joining the New York Stock Exchange.

Psychedelic companies secured a historic amount of funding, estimated at a cool $2 billion.

A few other interesting stories in the realm of psychedelic industry from 2021:

Research

Published Studies

Several studies came out:

Future Studies

Looking ahead:

  • A study looking to treat tobacco addiction with psilocybin will receive federal funding

  • The NIH granted Yale nearly $200k to fund the studying of psilocybin for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder

  • The Australian government earmarked $15 million for psychedelic research

  • The DEA has proposed a dramatic increase in the production of cannabis and psychedelics for research in 2022

Research Centers

A record-breaking number of psychedelic research centers were announced or opened:

In addition to these new psychedelic research centers, Harvard Law School’s Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation will contribute to the effort to create evidence-based laws and policies involving psychedelics.

Harm Reduction

The FDA and CDC issued warnings to consumers about potential risks involving delta-8 THC, a relatively new psychoactive cannabinoid that has grown in popularity due to its widespread legality but remains essentially unregulated at this time. Apparently there has been a significant increase in reported adverse health effects from people using this drug.

However, before you go ahead and toss any of these products you may already own out of the window, it may be helpful to know that it’s not like people are getting poisoned. In fact, it’s far more likely that they are unintentionally getting high after using delta-8 THC because of misunderstandings, bad labeling, and a lack of experience.

The Fireside Project has been helping people process psychedelic experiences via its free peer support phone line since it launched last April, but the organization took things to the next level by releasing a psychedelic peer support app. Now psychonauts in need of support can find help on either the phone or via chat, which may be helpful for people who prefer one form of communication over another.

Drug checking is an essential practice for any responsible psychonaut, and new technologies are coming out that will ensure more innovative and accurate results than ever before. The popular harm reduction organization known as DanceSafe released a new ketamine test kit (called the Morris reagent) that was engineered to identify the difference between ketamine and common analogues like DCK and 2FDCK. And a startup called Miraculix took things one step further by creating rapid at-home test kits that can assess the potency of various psychoactive drugs, including MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin.

Harm reductionists have yet another tool that can be used to help psychonauts use drugs as safely as possible; a new app called Pill-iD lets users scan pills to see what they contain.

However, it’s not a perfect option because rather than find out what’s actually inside a pill, the app instead uses machine learning to cross-check the user’s image against a large database of scanned pills to provide details about what drug is actually contained within, the risk level from taking it, and any potential side effects.

So while it’s not advisable to rely solely on this new app to find out what’s inside your pill, it could help inform naïve users that there is a possibility they might have bought an adulterated drug. As I’ve tried to hammer home over and over again, it’s always advisable to use a reagent test kit to further rule out the possibility that your pills contain unwanted drugs and to properly weigh your substances before you take them.

Miscellaneous

What a year! Tons of new psychedelic research studies, a streak of drug policy reform wins, the growing psychedelic industry, and several important developments in psychedelic culture… last year was certainly a lot to take in.

Now that you’ve read my recap of the biggest psychedelic news from 2021, I’d like to recommend the following highlights from other publications that you might enjoy:

And lastly, I will leave you with the links to the annual psychedelic news recaps I’ve published over the last six years. I hope you have a wonderful 2022 and make sure you subscribe to my monthly newsletter to keep up-to-date with all the latest psychedelic news.

Previous Years in Psychedelics

That’s all for this year’s update. Remember to always test and weigh your drugs and until next time—keep thinking wilder.

Think Wilder is reader-supported. If you enjoyed this year’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.

This Week in Psychedelics - 10.30.20

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Cannabis

  • New Zealand Marijuana Legalization Trails In Early Referendum Results, But More Votes To Be Counted (Marijuana Moment)

  • New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Bill Providing Medical Marijuana Patient Insurance Benefits (Marijuana Moment)

  • Study: Seniors Report Using Cannabis Products to Mitigate Symptoms Associated with Older Age (NORML)

  • Mississippi Supreme Court Won’t Consider Challenge To Medical Marijuana Measure Until After Election (Marijuana Moment)

  • South Dakota: Oglala Sioux Enacts Ordinance Legalizing Marijuana Use on Tribal Lands (NORML)

  • New Jersey Marijuana Sales Could Start Just Weeks After Election Day Under Key Senator’s Plan (Marijuana Moment)

  • Study suggests that cannabis can reduce OCD symptoms by half in short term (Hindustan Times)

  • Idaho Activists Submit 2022 Medical Marijuana Initiative Following 2020 Complications (Marijuana Moment)

  • Schools And NCAA Could Ban Marijuana Sponsorships Under Bill To Let Student Athletes Monetize Their Success (Marijuana Moment)

  • Virginia NORML Calls for Legalization to Protect Marijuana Consumers from Potentially Tainted Products (NORML)

  • South Dakota Voters Back Marijuana Legalization And Medical Cannabis Ballot Measures, Poll Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • The Music Never Stops With Jerry Garcia’s Just-Launched Cannabis Collection (Forbes)

LSD

  • Killer High: Exploring the Phenomenon of LSD-Fuelled Murder (VICE)

  • The psychedelics revolution has arrived in New Zealand (The Spinoff)

Magic Mushrooms

  • Covid Can't Kill Mushrooms: The coronavirus has infected, but not killed, the movement to bring magic mushrooms to the masses (Rooster Magazine)

  • Expanding On Psilocybin Research, John Hopkins Hoping To Hear From More Users (CBS Baltimore)

MDMA

  • ‘Sorted’ for Es? Women and Ecstasy in 1990s Britain (Chacruna)

DMT

  • SLU professor is authority on drug that landed him in jail (WWNY-TV)

Ayahuasca

  • Ayahuasca Ceremonies and Tourism Return to Costa Rica (The Costa Rica Star)

  • Studies lift the veil on psychedelic brew ayahuasca, its mental health benefits and potential to treat depression and trauma (South China Morning Post)

  • Documentary looks at mystery medicine, Ayahuasca (The Leaf Online)

Mescaline

  • What Is Mescaline? A Guide to this Cactus-Derived Psychedelic (DoubleBlind)

Synthetic Cannabinoids

  • Synthetic cannabinoids linked to increased hospitalizations and deaths in older adults with COPD (Marijuana Business Daily)

  • Synthetic Cannabis Could Disrupt The Marijuana Industry In A Big Way (Green Entrepreneur)

Ketamine

  • Wearable Ketamine Delivery Device Developed As Alternative to Opioid-Based Pain Management (Lucid News)

  • Ketamine Helps People Dislike Themselves Less (Psychedelic Science Review)

  • Pharmather Files for FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Ketamine in Neuropathic Pain (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • Can Dissociative Side Effect of “Floating” Predict Response to Ketamine in MDD? (Psychiatry Advisor)

Miscellaneous

  • No Drugs Should Be Criminalized. It’s Time to Abolish the DEA. (Truthout)

  • ‘Drug Free USA Forever’ Stamps Launched By DEA, Postal Service And Miss America (Marijuana Moment)

  • Inside the ‘Psychedelic Exceptionalism’ Debate: Should All Drugs be Legal, or Just Pot and Psychedelics? (DoubleBlind)

  • Psilocybin Group Therapy Improves Demoralization for AIDS Survivors (Chacruna)

  • Children and Psychedelics: Re-examining Cultural Paradigms (Psychedelics Today)

  • International study finds 79% of individuals who microdose with psychedelics report improvements in their mental health (PsyPost)

  • Ketamine Meditation, Jungle Tripping and Modern-Day Shamans: Meet a ‘Psychedelic Concierge’ (VICE)

  • The Role of Psychedelic Plant Medicines in Addiction Treatment (The Fix)

  • A Collective Call for Accountability in Plant Medicine Experiences (Chacruna)

  • Who owns psychedelics: patents and state therapeutic access laws (New Amsterdam Psychedelic Law)

  • Field Trip Health Ltd. Provides Update on FT-104, Its Next Generation Psychedelic Molecule in Development (Psilocybin Alpha)

  • What do Santo Daime and Raves Have in, Common? The Answer Might Move You (Chacruna)

  • Journey Colab bags $3M from 'moonshot' fund to push new development model for psychedelic treatments (Fierce Biotech)

  • Where Witchcraft Meets Plant Medicine (DoubleBlind)

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 catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.

This Week in Psychoactives - 7.12.19

ThisWeekInPsychoactives.jpeg

CANNABIS

  • Hawaii has decriminalized marijuana (Vox)

  • Congressional Committee Discusses How to Legalize Cannabis (Leafly)

  • Youth Cannabis Use Drops 8% in Legal States, Study Finds (Leafly)

  • In states where marijuana is legal, licensed dispensaries are pushing out drug dealers (MarketWatch)

  • New research indicates that cannabinoids could be efficacious pain management options (PsyPost)

  • Marijuana Gives Men And Women More Sexual Desire And Better Orgasms, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • Congress Votes To Allow Home Loans For Veterans Working In Marijuana Industry (Forbes)

  • Israeli college to offer degree specializing in medical cannabis (The Jerusalem Post)

  • Cannabis cake gift eaten by unwitting Warrington nurse (BBC)

  • Over Half of CBD Products Sold in UK Are Inaccurately Labeled, New Study Finds (MERRY JANE)

  • New Evidence on Pot During Pregnancy (The Atlantic)

  • Too high? ‘Parachute’ down with a new pill created by Michigan scientist (mlive.com)

  • Illegal cannabis seeds may be used to make legal medicinal cannabis products (New Zealand Herald)

  • Tulsi Gabbard Files Bill To Study Hemp’s Uses For Just About Everything (Marijuana Moment)

  • FDA Issues CBD Warnings, But No New Regulations – Yet (MERRY JANE)

  • Can cannabis treat anxiety? It's complicated (The Guardian)

  • Most Addiction Specialists Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

  • West Virginia Is Years Away From Medical Cannabis, Officials Say (Leafly)

  • Colorado grows annual cannabis sales to $1 billion as other states struggle (CNBC)

  • Pete Buttigieg’s Racial Justice Plan Would Legalize Marijuana And Decriminalize Drug Possession (Marijuana Moment)

  • A beloved cafeteria worker nicked his finger on a knife – and got fired for using marijuana at home (The Boston Globe)

  • Illegal cannabis getting even cheaper, as legal gets costlier, StatsCan says (CBC)

  • AOC And Kamala Harris File Bill Protecting Drug Offenders From Losing Public Housing (Marijuana Moment)

  • Cannabis: Misinformation about CBD can be life-threatening (The Conversation)

  • You Can Legally Smoke Weed Naked on the Patio of a Southeast Portland Sex Club (Willamette Week)

  • People in states where marijuana is legal are eating more salty snacks and ice cream (MarketWatch)

  • Jay-Z joins cannabis company Caliva as chief brand strategist (CNN)

  • How Psychedelic Surf Smugglers Invented Dabs (With Help From the CIA?) (Leafly)

LSD

  • A Guy Allegedly Took LSD, Stabbed People With A Pencil And Lawn Light, And Hit Two Women With A Truck (BuzzFeed News)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

MDMA

  • STUDY: Use of MDMA & Similar Drugs May Increase Risk of Valvular Heart Disease (YourEDM)

  • Sydney teen swallowed MDMA pills 'to avoid detection' at a music festival (news.com.au)

  • 'The drug of the moment': five per cent of year 10 students have tried ecstasy (The Sydney Morning Herald)

  • Music festival MDMA overdose patient waited an hour for an ambulance (7NEWS.com.au)

  • Haunting texts reveal how young woman was scared to take MDMA which killed her at a Sydney music festival (New Zealand Herald)

  • Family devastated after schoolgirl, 16, dies after ‘taking ecstasy’ at party (Metro)

  • MDMA can make 'mild mannered people' aggressive, inquest hears (The Sydney Morning Herald)

  • Teen took up to nine MDMA capsules before dying at festival, inquest hears (ABC News)

AYAHUASCA

IBOGA

  • Opinion: Miami University must reverse unjust decision to terminate professors (Cincinnati.com)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

  • Study: Seizures, coma more common with synthetic cannabinoids than cannabis (AAP News)

KETAMINE

  • How the approval of esketamine has helped shift the perception of ketamine and other psychedelics (Tahoe Daily Tribune)

  • The Woodlands gets first ketamine infusion center to treat depression (Chron)

OPIOIDS

  • Teens abusing painkillers are more likely to later use heroin (Medical Xpress)

  • Generic Naloxone Approved for Opioid Overdose (Physician's Weekly)

  • Naloxone Dispensing Found Higher at Facilities with Opioid Workflow (Pharmacy Times)

  • The Global Opioid Supply Chain Begins in Tasmania (Pacific Standard)

  • With opium prices down, Mexican poppy planters are packing their bags (The Hustle)

  • Minnesota’s largest naloxone distributor won’t get grant funds (INFORUM)

  • If Cops Don't Die From Incidental Fentanyl Exposure, a Drug Treatment Specialist Warns, They 'Could Become Addicted to It Instantly' (Reason)

  • Portsmouth doctor reprimanded for treatment of chronic pain patient (New Hampshire Union Leader)

  • To fight opioid epidemic, treat drug use with compassion, not judgment (USA Today)

COCAINE

  • People are giving their greyhounds cocaine to make them run faster (GQ)

  • Teen violin prodigy dies of apparent drug overdose in London mansion (New York Post)

CAFFEINE

  • Scientists create ‘molecular coffee' that doesn't require beans (Fox 35 Orlando)

  • Caffeine powder in protein shake led to man's death, family says (Fox News)

  • Research shows that drinking Matcha tea can reduce anxiety (Medical Xpress)

  • World’s Coffee Growers Seek to Set Minimum Price to Help Poor Farmers (The Wall Street Journal)

  • One teaspoon of legal, popular but deadly caffeine powder is like drinking 60 cans of Red Bull (news.com.au)

TOBACCO

  • Netflix Promises to Reduce Depictions of Tobacco in Future Projects (Teen Vogue)

  • Children from deprived areas exposed to six times more tobacco retailing (Medical Xpress)

  • Will e-cigarettes usher in a new tobacco epidemic? Some researchers say yes. (Houston Chronicle)

  • Hennepin County Votes To Raise Tobacco Age To 21 In More Communities (WCCO)

  • Livermore votes to ban the sale of flavored tobacco, e-cigarettes (KGO)

  • Big tobacco shifting to smokeless as smoking becomes ‘less and less’ popular (Fox Business)

  • Maine Law To Prevent Tobacco Use, Streamline Tobacco Taxes (Maine Public)

BENZODIAZEPINES

  • B.C. harm-reduction sites, doctors struggling with new type of overdose (Vancouver Sun)

  • Psychedelic Healing & Benzodiazepines: Are Chill Pills Cool to Combine? (Spirit Pharmacist)

ALCOHOL

NOOTROPICS

  • These Clinically-Proven Nootropics Are Specially Formulated to Improve Cognition and Focus (Futurism)

  • Nootropics is the Fyre Festival of the Supplement Industry (Equities)

  • What’s Phenibut and When Should You Consider Using It? (Prague Post)

KRATOM

  • Kratom Linked to Serious Side Effects and Deaths in New Study (Gizmodo)

  • As some states ban kratom, Michigan considers regulating it (Detroit Metro Times)

  • Local doctor, CDC warn of potential dangers of kratom (WAVY.com)

  • Kratom supporters respond to recent FDA warning (WMBF)

KAVA

  • Kava for Anxiety- Separating Fact from Fiction (MedShadow)

KHAT

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Psychedelics Take the TED Talk Stage for the First Time (Filter)

  • Amnesty International Is Calling for a U.N. Probe Into the Philippine Drug War (TIME)

  • Why Malaysia’s New Proposal Could Change Southeast Asia’s Drugs Debate (The Diplomat)

  • New law allows NC drug dealers to be charged with murder (WTVD)

  • Psychedelic mental health treatment expected to be approved in Australia within five years (The Guardian)

  • Philadelphia supervised injection site plan gets backing from attorneys general in 7 states (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

  • U.S. Prosecutors Say Drug Lord El Chapo Should Get Life in Prison (TIME)

  • Testing festival goers’ pills isn’t the only way to reduce overdoses. Here’s what else works (The Conversation)

  • Social Factors Are an Essential—And Changeable—Element of Addiction (Filter)

  • I hate drugs, but teenagers are dying while we maintain a supposed moral veneer (The Guardian)

  • Florida Sheriff Deputy Arrested After Planting Drugs on Innocent People (Reason)

  • A man I found guilty of dealing drugs died in prison. I wish I could take that verdict back. (The Washington Post)

  • How Can Harm Reduction Do Better for Transgender People? (Filter)

  • Minister hopes drug deaths record will be 'wake-up call' (BBC)

  • How Psychiatry and Hallucinogenic Drugs Meet in Painting (Hyperallergic)

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.

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:

This Week in Psychedelics - 6.5.15

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

As an avid Reality Sandwich reader since 2007, I looked forward to each new edition of Neşe Devenot's “This Week in Psychedelics” column. Every week, she would post links to news articles from the mass media that referenced psychedelics and other similar psychoactive substances.

Each week's collection of links attempted to be as unbiased as possible, demonstrating how various forms of mass media represent psychedelic culture and psychoactive substance use. This always included articles that shed psychedelics in a positive light as well as articles that demonized their use (including many articles that are factually incorrect and/or misguided representations of psychedelics).

As far as I can tell, Devenot gave up "This Week in Psychedelics" two years ago. There have been a couple of attempts at a revitalization of the column on Reality Sandwich by other contributors, but it hasn't stuck. My goal is to bring the column back—first on Think Wilder, and then perhaps on Reality Sandwich as well. I hope you find the following links helpful, eye-opening, enjoyable, and/or infuriating:

  • 250 hits of LSD found inside car in Middlefield Township (Cleveland.com)

  • LSD: Speaking to volunteer users of the drug as trials get underway to see if it cures depression and addiction (The Independent)

  • Are psychedelics a fluidity and fluency to cognition? (The Statesman)

  • 'At Long Last A$AP Rocky' a psychedelic trip through grief (LA Times)

  • Ketamine offered to patients with depression in take-home, DIY packs by controversial clinic (ABC News Australia)

  • Silk Road founder gets life for creating online drug site (Fox News)

  • Chemical engineer jailed for sending postcards laced with LSD-style drugs to prisoners (Mirror.co.uk)

  • Global Drug Survey: what made you stop taking drugs? (The Guardian)

  • This LSD could save your life (The Daily Beast)

  • Sleaford Mods: 'My first festival, I took LSD by the Pyramid stage and stared at the sky' (The Guardian)

  • LSD to be trialled as a potential anti-depressant in the UK (Metro.co.uk)

  • Psychedelic Videos Capture Coral in Motion (Yes, Coral) (Wired)

  • New research makes a case for psychedelic drugs offering profound spiritual experiences (The United Church Observer)

  • Police Helicopters and a Shit Load of Ketamine: The Illegal Free Party Scene that Roamed the Home Counties (Noisey)

  • Police in Massachusetts City allow addicts to turn in drugs without arrest if they seek treatment (US News)

  • WSU researchers see link between hunter-gather cannabis use, fewer parasites (EurekAlert!)

  • Experts Unearth 2,400 Year-Old Solid Gold Bongs in Southern Russia (Tech Times)

  • One More Link in Drug Supply Chain Nabbed (New Indian Express)

  • Juvenile charged with murder in drug death, another charged with distribution at school (Chatham Star Tribune)

  • First ever Psychedelic Action! comes to Brixton's Windrush Square, Sat 6th June (Brixton Buzz)

  • Soaring Aloft: Psych Fest 2015 (Premier Guitar)

  • Can Ecstasy Replace Xanax? (The Daily Beast)

  • Why Pot Smokers are Skinnier (The Atlantic)

  • LSD's Medical Comeback Story (Care2)

  • British Government Plans to Illegalize All Unapproved Psychoactive Substances (Mad in America)

  • House Tells the Feds to Respect Medical Marijuana Laws (Again) (Reason)

  • Psilocybin And LSD - The Only Effective Treatment Known For Cluster Headaches (Reset.me)

  • America's Quality Pot Is Changing the Drug War (Bloomberg)

  • Psilocybin Mushrooms Ease Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Reset.me)

  • Bans On Psychedelics Make No Sense (Reset.me)

  • LSD kingpin Arif Shaikh sent to judicial custody (The Times of India)

  • The Drug Dare: Campaign urges people to upload drug-taking videos to YouTube to highlight "positive experiences" (Mirror.co.uk)

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.