This Week in Psychedelics - 7.14.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• DEA Reaffirms Stance That CBD Meets Schedule I Criteria – Reality Says Otherwise (NORML)
• Nevada's Half-Hearted Marijuana Legalization Guarantees a Healthy Black Market (Reason)
• Study: Alcohol Use, But Not Cannabis, Associated With Changes In Brain Structure (NORML)
• Senate Committee Overwhelmingly Passes Veterans Equal Access Amendment (NORML)
• Study: No Increase In Problematic Cannabis Use By Young People Following Changes In Marijuana's Legal Status (NORML)
• Rand Paul Presses Jeff Sessions on Industrial Hemp Policy (Reason)
• Billy Caldwell: Medical cannabis oil named after 11-year-old boy with severe epilepsy (The Independent)
• Could legal cannabis transform provincial New Zealand? (Stuff.co.nz)
• Michigan: Legalization Coalition Effort Reaches Signature Milestone (NORML)
• Carl Sagan Was a Lifelong Cannabis User and Advocate (Merry Jane)
• Three New Marijuana Myth-Busting Studies That the Mainstream Media Isn't Picking up On (AlterNet)
• High-CBD Cannabis Cigarettes Coming to Swiss Supermarkets (Leafly)
• Congressional Cannabis Caucus Ready to 'Bump Heads' With Trump's Anti-Pot Attorney General (AlterNet)
• Infographic: Know Your Rights When Driving With Cannabis (Leafly)
• Register for the 2017 NORML Conference (NORML)
• Hemp-growing: first step to medicinal cannabis in Utah? (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Cannabis: Can low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol help restore memory? (ABC)
• This Women's Weed Network Is Empowering Cannabis Entrepreneurs (LA Weekly)
• Police Destroy Art Installation, Mistaking It for Cannabis Farm (Hyperallergic)
• Feds Authorized Montana Woman's Hemp Farm, but Now They're Killing It (Reason)
• How does cannabis actually affect the human body? (Stuff.co.nz)
• Help, and hope: Could cannabis possibly help fight cancer? (The Denver Post)
• A New Site Selling Luxury Cannabis Cigars Bills Itself as "420 for the 1 Percent"—So We Tried It (The Potlander)
• Video: Lord Jones Throws Cannabis-Infused Sound Bath Events and They're Incredible (Leafly)
• Police Leave Homeowner Hilarious Note After Discovering Marijuana Field (TIME)
• Leafly Staff Picks: Cannabis Strains and Products Perfect for Summer Days (Leafly)
• Fresno needs a cannabis plan, not a ban (Fresno Bee)
• Fancy Truffles Filled With Ganache ... And Cannabis? Yes, Please. (East Bay Express)

LSD

• 'Stranger Things 2' Will Pull From The CIA's Infamous Mind Control Program (UPROXX)
• Carlos Santana Says 'More People Taking LSD' Would Make The World A Better Place (Civilized)
• The Promise of LSD Microdoses and Other Psychedelic "Medicines" (Scientific American)
• WATCH: The British Military Doses Some Marines With LSD (AlterNet)
• Flying higher than Mighty Mouse! Top schools in Hyderabad discover LSD being smuggled in as kids' stickers (Daily Mail)
• LSD & The Search For God At The Ritz (Silicon Valley's Metro)
• LSD: educate, Don't get agitated (The New Indian Express)
• Man Pleads No Contest To LSD-Fueled Assault Of Police Officer (CBS)
• Milwaukee authorities: Man jumped to death after taking LSD (WSAW

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

• Religious leaders get high on magic mushrooms ingredient – for science (The Guardian)
• Shrooms Could Be Legalized Sooner Than You Think (VICE)
• Research Shows Magic Mushrooms Can Offer Real Benefits in Depression Therapy (Science Alert)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Bad Drugs: Ecstasy Often Doesn't Contain Any MDMA, Study Shows (Newsweek)
• Testing Ecstasy pills at concerts and raves could reduce risks for users (The Hub)

Ayahuasca/DMT

• What Went Wrong When a Psychiatrist Self-Medicated With DMT (Inverse)
• Burning Man and Ayahuasca: Interview with Random Rab (Psychedelic Times)
• CONVERSING WITH THE MOTHER VINE: Life, Death and the Living Universe (Dope Magazine)
• Powerful hallucinogen can help drug addicts, PTSD veterans conquer their demons (WTSP)
• 'Icaros: A Vision' is an assured, trippy brew of sound and vision (Los Angeles Times)

Dissociatives

• The Growing Integration of Ketamine into the Major Depressive Disorder Treatment Paradigm and the Implication for Future Fast-Acting Antidepressants: Reflections After the American Psychiatric Association's Annual Meeting (Decision Resources Group)
• Driver of vehicle that struck woman in D.C. was high on PCP, police say (The Washington Post)

Opiates/Opioids

• Capitol Watch: NY Weighs Next Steps in Fight Against Heroin (U.S. News & World Report)
• Meet the Doctor Who Refuses to Stop Prescribing Opioids to Pain Patients (Reason)
• Homeland Security Head to Mexico: US Drug Use Fuels Violence (U.S. News & World Report)
• Let Them Die: A Radical Proposal To Deal With The Opioid Epidemic (Reason)
• A sheriff in an opioid county won't have cops carry a $37.50 dose of life-saving naloxone (Quartz)
• Naloxone: A miracle medication for the opioid epidemic (The Daily Texan)
• Facts about the opioid abuse crisis (WTSP)

Khat

• Miraa chewing culture and the stereotype as a cheap twig for truck drivers (Mediamax)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• Jeff Sessions Wants to Revive D.A.R.E. (Reason)
• The Psychedelic Renaissance owes its life to an open internet (Psymposia)
• It's Time for the U.S. to Decriminalize Drug Use and Possession (Drug Policy Alliance)
• Oregon Decriminalizes Cocaine, Meth, Heroin And More (MintPress News)
• House Advances Bill That Would Expand the DEA's Power to Make Legal Highs Illegal (Reason)
• Senator Schumer Calls On FDA To Regulate 'Snortable Chocolate' (CBS New York)
• It's Not Just Chocolate Powder. You Shouldn't Be Snorting Anything, Doctors Say (TIME)
• Did Police Just Take Down the Biggest Dark Web Drug Market in History? (Reason)
• Trump explains why he wants to be able to 'see through' his border wall (CNBC)
• Hunting Hallucinogenic Honey In The Himalayas (Teton Gravity Research)
• Alameda author's new book examines psychedelic drugs' medical use (East Bay Times)
• WATCH: Microdosing Comes To Silicon Valley: Produces Workplace Productivity (Trill Magazine)
• Illegal drug market is booming, says UN watchdog (The Guardian)
• This 'True Blood' Actor's Death Reveals a Hidden Danger of Addiction We Don't Talk About (ATTN:)

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 - 6.16.17

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

• In Private Letter, Jeff Sessions Asks Congress for Permission to Go After Medical Marijuana (Reason)
• This Bill Would Protect Medical Marijuana Suppliers From Jeff Sessions' Whims (Reason)
• Study: No Increase In Problematic Cannabis Use Following Passage Of Medical Marijuana Laws (NORML)
• UK gets first publicly available dedicated cannabis research facility (The Independent)
• Rand Paul And Al Franken Come Together For Weed (Daily Caller)
• Oregon's Young Cannabis Market Already on Pace With Washington, Colorado (Leafly)
• Deputy AG: Marijuana is federally illegal and has no medical use (NORML)
• Why Don't Many Dispensaries Sell Pre-Ground Cannabis? (Leafly)
• Cannabis expo draws entrepreneurs, as state lawmakers pass marijuana bill (Sun Sentinel)
• Massachusetts Bill Would Double Cannabis Tax, Globe Reports (Leafly)
• California Lawmakers Rush to Set Cannabis Regulations (Leafly)
• Seminole Leader Jim Billie Joins Florida Cannabis Rush (Leafly)
• Three men admit converting nuclear bunker into huge cannabis factory (The Guardian)
• Oregon Researchers Find More College Students Consuming Cannabis Since Legalization (Leafly)
• How to Successfully (and Legally) Advertise Your Cannabis Business in Nevada (Leafly)
• The War On Cannabis Heats Up (Forbes)

LSD

• LSD king Owsley Stanley's 'Sonic Journals' surface after 50 years (SFGate)
• LSD or REST? How Float Tanks Mimic the Therapeutic Effects on Psychedelics (Psychedelic Times)
• LSD could help treat depression and anxiety (Metro)
• Scientists once gave dolphins LSD in attempt to communicate with them (The Independent)
• O'Shea Jackson Jr. Will Throw His Own LSD-laced No-Hitter as Dock Ellis in a New Biopic (Okayplayer)
• LSD 'Microdosing' Is Trending In Silicon Valley – But Can It Actually Make You More Creative? (IFLScience)
• Cary Grant was one of the first to benefit from LSD therapy (Quartz)
• John Lennon's First Acid Trip – Animated (Disinfo)
• Oakland Man Convicted Of Murdering Best Friend During LSD Camping Trip (CBS)

MDMA/Ecstasy

• Why Dr. Bronner's Soap is Paying Millions on MDMA Research (Inverse)

Iboga/Ibogaine

• Ibogaine Can Reduce Opioid Use, But May Be Fatal For Some (The Fix)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

• Man selling fake drugs at Bonnaroo doing 'God's work' (Newshub)
• Young British woman dies in Paris 'after taking notorious N-bomb drug' (The Local)

Dissociatives

• Should ketamine be used to treat depression? (Tribune-Review)
• Depression with ECT Therapy Does Not Benefit From Ketamine (Psychiatry Advisor)
• Man On PCP Evaded Officers Before Getting Naked Outside Hartford Store, Police Say (Hartford Courant)
• Woman found dead outside home after using PCP, police say (WFMZ)
• Man picked up in park after allegedly smoking PCP (Fairfield Citizen)

Opiates/Opioids

• Heroin Vaccine Could Turn Body's Defenses Against the Drug (Live Science)
• With opioid epidemic raging, calls grow for cheaper access to heroin overdose-reversing drug (Los Angeles Times)
• The FDA Wants This Opioid Drug Pulled From the Market (TIME)
• The DEA's Opium War with the Taliban (Motherboard)
• Five Things To Know About Heroin's Curious Chemical History (Forbes)
• Maryland removes restrictions on sale of naloxone at pharmacies (Capital Gazette)
• The Increasing Cost of the Heroin Epidemic (WebMD)
• More fentanyl being found in MDMA, crystal meth in Victoria (Saanich News)
• Who caused the opium war? British merchants of Canton, argues new book by Singapore academic (South China Morning Post)
• How heroin moves from Mexico's drug cartels to U.S. street corners (Hamilton Journal-News)
• Massive Poppy Bust: Why Home-Grown Opium Is Rare (Live Science)

Kratom

• Will New Laws Punish Pain Patients? (Pain News Network)
• The drug addictions devastating Thai villages (BBC)

Kava

• Is Kava A Healthier Alternative To Alcohol? (Garden Collage)

Khat

• Kenya takes the fight for lost UK miraa market to United Nations (Business Daily)
• Airline passenger caught with khat and forged residence permit (Times of Malta)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

• The DEA's Warrantless Cash Grab (Reason)
• Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs (TIME)
• 'Changing Our Minds' explores psychedelic drugs and spiritual healing (Religion News Service)
• U.S. Customs Seizes Combination Locked Travel Bags as Drug Paraphernalia (Reason)
• Ontario man says he was tortured, given hallucinogenic drugs at mental-health centre (Global News)
• Drugs are Big Business in Bali (Bali Discovery Tours)

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.