This Week in Psychedelics - 3.18.22

Cannabis

• Israeli Town of Tira Founds First Medical Cannabis Cafe (High Times)

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

• Delaware House Shoots Down Recreational Legalization Bill (High Times)

• New VA Veteran Suicide Program Won’t Allow Cannabis as Treatment (High Times)

• Mike Tyson's cannabis brand is making ear-shaped weed gummies (NBC News)

• Marijuana Legalization Hasn’t Led To More Youth Use, Report From Alcohol And Tobacco Industry-Backed Group Says (Marijuana Moment)

• Oklahoma Thieves Impersonate Cops and Raid Several Pot Farms (High Times)

• Alabama Bill Would Force Women Who Want Medical Marijuana To Show Negative Pregnancy Tests (Marijuana Moment)

• Montana Supreme Court OKs Temporary Rules For Cannabis Expungement (High Times)

• New Orleans City Council Urges End To Marijuana Testing For Government Employees (Marijuana Moment)

• Georgia Lawmakers Consider Separate Medical Cannabis Production Bills (High Times)

• Some Mississippi Cities Move To Ban Medical Marijuana Businesses (Marijuana Moment)

• European Commission Sets Standards for Hemp Food (High Times)

• Jones Soda Company Announces Cannabis-Infused Product Line (High Times)

LSD

• Montreal researchers find that, like Prozac, LSD may be useful for anxiety treatment (CTV News)

• Novamind to Host MindMed Phase IIb Trial for LSD and Anxiety (BioSpace)

Magic Mushrooms

• California Activists Drop 2022 Psilocybin Legalization Ballot Initiative After Falling Short Of Signature Requirement (Marijuana Moment)

• Little evidence on how psilocybin therapy interacts with existing psychiatric treatments, review finds (OHSU News)

• California Psychedelics Investors Are Closely Monitoring Oregon’s Psilocybin Market (Willamette Week)

• Washington State Legislature Approves $200,000 In Psilocybin Research Funding In Budget (Marijuana Moment)

• Novamind announces phase 2 trial examining psilocybin for MDD (Healio)

• Psilocybin Is The Most Studied Psychedelic (Green Market Report)

MDMA

• MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD could save the health care system millions of dollars, study suggests (PsyPost)

• Dose-ranging study provides insight into MDMA’s effects on memory, addiction, and depression (PsyPost)

Ayahuasca

• Federal judge dismisses ayahuasca church’s request for overturn of DEA decision (WFTV)

• Study will investigate ayahuasca to overcome prolonged grief (Ruetir)

• Controversy Over Injustice Against Ayahuasca Traditional Knowledge Rebounds (Chacruna)

Ketamine

• A Ketamine Clinic Treads the Line Between Health Care and a ‘Spa Day for Your Brain’ (The New York Times)

Miscellaneous

• Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Bill To Fund Psilocybin And MDMA Therapy (Marijuana Moment)

• Students Launch Bid to Decriminalize All Drugs in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Filter)

• New Research Explores Whether Therapeutic Psychedelics Can Fix ‘Biophobia’ (Forbes)

• Keywords from hallucinogenic experiences can help find parts of the brain affected by drugs (The Verge)

• Feds Reveal Which Industries Drug Test Workers The Most And Least In New Report (Marijuana Moment)

• MDMA use drops due to COVID lockdowns, other drugs rise -EU report (Reuters)

• What do psychedelic drugs do to our brains? AI could help us find out (MIT Technology Review)

• How Can We Apply Harm Reduction to HPPD? (Psychedelics Today)

• Colorado Activists Pick One Of Several Psychedelics Reform Initiatives To Pursue For November Ballot (Marijuana Moment)

• London should pilot drug checking and consumption rooms, says report (London Evening Standard)

• Current Psychedelic Therapies Use Flawed Models of the Mind – It’s Time for Relational Therapy (Healing Maps)

• Mind Cure Health Halts All Psychedelic Business Activity (Psychedelic Spotlight)

• Are drug wars protection rackets? (Drug WarRant)

• Microdosing Is On The Rise But Is It Healthy? (The Dales Report)

• Terence McKenna’s Anarchic Psychedelic Religion (JSTOR Daily)

• Coming of Age in the Psychedelic Sixties (Chacruna)

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

This Week in Psychedelics - 8.11.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Bill To Exclude Hemp From The Controlled Substances Act (NORML)
• NFL Owners Agree To Consider Letting Players Use Medical Marijuana (Reason)
• Study: History Of Marijuana Use Associated With Decreased In-Hospital Mortality In Trauma Patients (NORML)
• Poll: Nearly Six In Ten Voters Say Legalizing Marijuana "Makes Societies Better" (NORML)
• First dispensary approved to begin sales of medical cannabis for Hawaii patients (KHON2)
• After 2015 legalization, Texans may be able to buy medical cannabis oil by January (The Texas Tribune)
• More Evidence That Jeff Sessions' Cannabis Crackdown May Never Materialize (Reason)
• Study Shows that Heavy Pot Smokers Are In Fact Outrageously Chill (Disinfo)
• State Lawmaker's Group Urges Feds to Deschedule Cannabis (Leafly)
• Rastafarian pot farm shootout sparks religious-use debate (Religion News Service)
• Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome: How to Ease the Symptoms (Leafly)
• Poll: Americans' Support For Marijuana Law Reform At All Time High (NORML)
• Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis: Forever Feared, Not Yet Found (Leafly)
• Cannabis Shows Great Promise in Treating Cancer—Let's Not Wreck It With Hyperbole (Leafly)
• Is cannabis too lucrative to be illegal? (CBS)
• Sessions Attacks Washington's Cannabis Laws in Letter to Governor (Leafly)
• The Justice Department Is Asking Legal Marijuana States to Do the Impossible (Reason)
• Massachusetts Governor Names Five to Cannabis Advisory Board (Leafly)
• Nevada Regulators Could Scrap Home Cannabis Delivery (Leafly)
• California's Toxic Pot Problem (ATTN:)
• The Ultimate Cannabis Road Trip Through California (Leafly)
• Las Vegas Welcomes Marijuana Buyers but Not Marijuana Consumers (Reason)
• Company Plans to Turn Desert Town Into Cannabis Paradise (Leafly)
• 10 Best Cannabis Hair And Skin Products For Women (Green Rush Daily)

LSD

• Microdosing LSD Is Safer Than Taking Antidepressants, Says Neurobiologist (Inverse)
• The Plan to Prove Microdosing Makes You Smarter (Inverse)
• Can Someone Really Die From An 'LSD Overdose'? (DanceSafe)
• LSD could help with depression and anxiety (Pharmacy News)
• How Silicon Valley rediscovered LSD (Financial Times)
• Turn On, Tune In, Drop By The Office (The Economist)
• REPORT: Lightning in a Bottle Death Ruled Accidental Overdose by LSD Toxicity (YourEDM)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Oregon's Psilocybin Society Drafts Framework For Legal Mushroom Therapy (Psychedelic Times)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Pentylone: What is it, why should we care and how can Multi Agency Safety Testing help? (Volteface)
• MAPS to Accept Altcoins for Research on MDMA Psychedelic Medicine (Bitcoin News)
• French EasyJet pilot convicted for flying 'while suffering the after-effects of ecstasy' (The Telegraph)
• Fired Up: Why Are Ecstasy-Related Deaths Rising In The UK? (Volteface)
• How MDMA Could Affect Romantic Relationships, A PhD Candidate Weighs In (Collective Evolution)
• Tastes Like Tesla: How Tesla Ecstasy Pills Became The Hot Way To Get High (Forbes)
• Lubbock Sheriff's Office warns about 'extra strong' IKEA-stamped ecstasy (Amarillo Globe-News)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• First Time Ayahuasca Drinkers: A Primer (Eagle Condor Alliance)
• Is The Use Of Ayahuasca Helping To Raise Our Global Environmental Consciousness? (Collective Evolution)
• How An Ayahuasca Trip Changed Me For The Better (Refinery29)
• John Simpson to get high in the jungle again: BBC journalist to take hallucinogenic drug for a second time while filming documentary in the Amazon (Daily Mail)
• Experts warn of dangers 'trippy' tea as popularity rises in NL (DutchNews.nl)

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

• Clash of Liberties (Sojourners)

Salvia Divinorum

• Neuropathic and inflammatory antinociceptive effects and electrocortical changes produced by Salvia divinorum in rats (PubMed)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Health officials issue warnings of using 'bath salts' and 'cloud nine' (Observer-Tribune)
• 'LSD Dipped In Spice' Warning To Wrexham Drug Users – Guardian Features Wrexham (Wrexham)

Dissociatives

• Ketamine Use in Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: Does it Help? (Medical News Bulletin)
• Ketamine Could Be the Answer to Treatment-Resistant Depression (Vital Updates)
• Man charged in fatal crash tells police he smoked PCP, court documents say (The Washington Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• President Trump Just Declared a National Emergency Over the Opioid Epidemic (TIME)
• An Underground Safe Haven for Drug Users Has Been Operating in the U.S. for Years (TIME)
• Trump Wants to Arrest His Way Out of the Opioid Overdose Crisis (Reason)
• Researchers Highlight the Government's Complicity in Heroin Deaths (Reason)
• No ID? For the homeless on heroin, treatment can be elusive (The Morning Call)
• Calgary EDM Festival Chasing Summer Criticized for Banning Naloxone Kits (Exclaim!)
• Where Your Doctor Went To School Could Change How They Prescribe Opioids (ATTN:)
• In North Carolina, "heroin is more accessible and cheaper than alcohol" (Salon)
• Dying From an Opioid Overdose Is More Common Than You Think (TIME)
• Naloxone should be the last resort for opioid overdoses (Toronto Star)

Kava

• In praise of kava (The Spinoff)
• Herbal Remedies And Natural Solutions For ADHD (Health Thoroughfare)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• What China's Growing Role in Illegal Drug Production Tells Us About the Future of the Drug War (Reason)
• What a Shaman Sees in a Mental Hospital (Educate Inspire Change)
• Psychedelic Book Suggestions: Classics & Beyond (Psychedelic Times)
• THE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELICS: Are LSD and Mushrooms The New Prozac? (Dope Magazine)
• Nootropic Effects of Psychedelic and Addictive Substances (Brain Blogger)
• Psychedelic drugs saved my life, So why aren't they prescribed? (Wired)
• Man trying to bring psychedelic religion to Nova Scotia (The Chronicle Herald)
• 'Ego-dissolving' psychedelic drugs could assist with mental health (EurekAlert!)
• The latest piece on psychedelic science in the New York Times is dead wrong (Psymposia)
• These foods can make you test positive for drugs (BBC)
• Psychedelic Press journal Volume XXI is now available (Psychedelic Press UK)
• Tripping For Knowledge: The Psychedelic Epidemiologist (3:AM Magazine)

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 Psychedelics - 5.19.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• Israel Decriminalizes Pot Possession (Reason)
• Social Consumption of Marijuana off to a Slow Start in Colorado (NORML)
• One million hours of police time a year 'wasted enforcing cannabis prohibition' (The Independent)
• Iowa Expands Medical Marijuana Access; Looks to Strike Deal With Minnesota for Quicker Access (Reason)
• PayPal Executive Ditches Mainstream Life For The Cannabis Industry (Forbes)
• New Jersey Looks Towards Recreational Marijuana Legalization (Psychedelic Times)
• Study: Racial Disparity in Marijuana Arrest Rates Increasing (NORML)
• Portland backs cannabis lounge bill, envisions 'craft' tourism boost (Portland Business Journal)
• Rick Doblin of MAPS Talks Medical Cannabis Trials and a Possible Legalization Timeline (Leafly)
• Cannabis Experts on Medical Marijuana in Arkansas (ArkansasMatters.com)
• Study: Inhaled Cannabis Controls Tics In Patients With Tourette's Syndrome (NORML)
• Why Cannabis Reform Crashed in Texas (Leafly)
• 5 Things to Know Before Using Medical Cannabis for Your Pets (Leafly)
• Cannabis yoga retreat now allowed in California (Blasting News)
• Florida Halts Sales of New Cannabis Product (Leafly)
• California's Cannabis Rules Are Here, Reminding That Legalization Was Never Going To Be Easy (East Bay Express)
• 10-year-old boy overdoses on cannabis-infused sour candy (KTRK-TV)
• Cannabis Flower Crowns: The Perfect DIY Smokeable Accessory (Leafly)
• Recipe: Cannabis-Infused Simple Syrup (Leafly)
• Lib Dems pledge to legalise cannabis so it can be sold in high street shops (The Telegraph)

LSD

• Designers on acid: the tripping Californians who paved the way to our touchscreen world (The Guardian)
• Nicholas Sand, Chemist Who Sought to Bring LSD to the World, Dies at 75 (The New York Times)
• 'Everyone should try this': Cary Grant's relationship with controversial LSD therapy doctor and the '100 acid trips that changed his life' are explored in new documentary to be screened at Cannes (Daily Mail)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Magic Mushrooms Are Shaping the Future of Psychiatric Treatment (Inverse)
• Clinical review: Psilocybin therapy could be significantly better than current psychiatric treatments (PsyPost)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Can This Drug Cure MDMA Overdoses? (Everfest)
• A neuroscientist explains why we need ecstasy and ketamine in place of Prozac and Xanax (Raw Story)
• Could new, natural MDMA change the rave scene? (Techno Moves)
• MDMA Moves One Step Closer to Phase 3 Clinical Trial (Reason)
• Could MDMA cure PTSD? Scientists believe ecstasy could be the key to helping war veterans battling mental health issues (Daily Mail)
• Medical examiner: Ecstasy, pre-existing condition killed University of Iowa student Sean Wu (The Gazette)
• Robert Spencer Apparently "Spiked" With Ecstasy While In Iceland (The Reykjavík Grapevine)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• The Medicine is the Teacher: A Conversation with Dennis McKenna about Ayahuasca, Shamanism, and Psychotherapy (Psychedelic Times)
• Ayahuasca: A Cautionary Tale For Tourists Eager To Try This Shamanic Brew (Collective Evolution)
• What is ayahuasca, the shaman's brew? (Mother Nature Network)
• 'The Last Shaman' follows a young man's Peruvian journey in search of mental health (Los Angeles Times)
• James Freeman's journey to find cure for depression (News.com.au)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• The Hallucinogenic Tree That Cures Addiction in One Dose (Inverse)
• Psychedelic Drug Banned In The U.S. May Help Battle Addiction (CBS San Francisco Bay Area)
• Diego Novella experienced eight-hour 'dream-like state' after taking ibogaine (The Citizen)

Morning Glory Seeds

• These Radiation-Proof Flower Seeds Could Help Spark Life on Exoplanets (Science Alert)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Sources: Times Square driver was apparently high on synthetic marijuana (K2) at time of pedestrian crash (WABC-TV)

Dissociatives

• FDA Data Support Ketamine as Depression Therapy (MedPage Today)
• Remembering When the 'Titanic' Crew Ate PCP-Spiked Clam Chowder (VICE)
• New Jersey Minivan Driver Stops Rush Hour Traffic To Masturbate While On PCP (Jalopnik)
• Dude has a hilarious reaction to a strong painkiller (Mashable)

Opiates/Opioids

• Heroin epidemic pushing up hepatitis C infections in US (WBRC)
• What You Need to Know About 'Gray Death' (ATTN:)
• Inside Myanmar's Surprisingly Harsh Heroin Rehab Centers (VICE)
• Pet Rat In Vancouver Overdoses On Heroin, Saved By Narcan (NPR)
• An Experiment Helps Heroin Users Test Their Street Drugs For Fentanyl (KUNC)
• Seattle heroin injection site plan faces new problems from voters (KVI)
• The Best and Worst States For Naloxone Access (The Fix)
• The US and Mexico may be teaming up to fight heroin, but the enemy is tougher than it appears (Stamford Advocate)
• The way we talk about opioid addiction hasn't really changed (Macleans)
• The Scary Reason Some Are Calling This Drug a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' (ATTN:)
• Party drugs increasingly being laced with fentanyl (CTV News)
• Heroin Deaths Spike as Pills Harder to Find (NBC6 Miami)
• Why Jeff Sessions' Memo Won't Fix the Opioid Epidemic (ATTN:)

Kratom

• Police worried about herbal product that can be used to achieve opiate-like high (CTV News)
• WKRN Nashville Kratom Scare Story Sourced From Scientology Propaganda (Inquisitr)
• Man Arrested For Selling Herb Some Opioid Addicts Call A Lifesaver (Vocativ)

Khat

• Man charged after illegal khat, tobacco seized at Edmonton business (CBC News)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Jeff Sessions Re-Escalates the Drug War By Ordering Prosecutors to Seek Maximum Sentences (Reason)
• Georgia PD: Our Drug Recognition Experts Are More Accurate Than Drug Tests (Reason)
• Trained "Drug Recognition Expert" Cop Wrongly Arrested Innocent Woman for Weed (ATTN:)
• These Women Are Fighting Sexism in Psychedelic Research (VICE)
• More Workers Are Testing Positive for Drugs Than in the Last 12 Years (TIME)
• What if the Other Part of Immersive VR is Psychedelic Drugs? (Edgy Labs)
• Sex workers who use psychedelic drugs have lower suicide risk, study finds (The Globe and Mail)
• The Legendary Psychedelic Symposium Returns at ESPD50: Interview with Dennis McKenna (Psychedelic Times)
• President Donald Trump and Colombia's President Just Clashed on Drug Policy (ATTN:)
• Could psychedelics become an accepted treatment for mental health problems? (The Telegraph)
• Neural changes after taking psychedelic drugs may reflect "heightened consciousness" (The British Psychological Society)
• Kids Urged to Watch Our for Sugary Candies That Have Been Laced with Drugs (TIME)
• Rand Paul: Sessions Misled Me on Drug Sentencing (Reason)
• Psychedelics in The Lab and Clinic – Making Up For Lost Time (Neuroscience News)
• California Senate Passes Bill Easing Up on Some Drug Sentencing (Reason)
• Chris Christie Has Zero Credibility on Drug Policy (NORML)

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.