This Week in Psychoactives - 12.27.19

Cannabis

• “Impermissible Levels of Lead” Found in Massachusetts' Legal Weed Vapes (MERRY JANE)

• Travelers caught with weed in Chicago airports won’t be busted, police say (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Federal CBD Regulations Are Finally Coming (MERRY JANE)

• Peoria airport to allow recreational marijuana (CIProud)

• Legal Marijuana Shops Refuse Sales To Underage Customers, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana On The 2020 Ballot: These States Could Vote (Forbes)

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

• Trump Says He Can Ignore Medical Marijuana Protections Passed By Congress (Forbes)

• Alabama Legislature’s Study Commission Recommends Medical Marijuana Be Legalized (Marijuana Moment)

• Hemp cleans toxic soil and produces clean CBD flower, study finds (Leafly)

• Legalizing Cannabis Has Unexpected Impact on Food and Farming in Humboldt (KQED)

• Three-Fourths Of New Mexico Voters Support Marijuana Legalization, State-Funded Poll Shows (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Study reveals what happens to the brain on LSD (Inverse)

Magic Mushrooms

• Denver's psilocybin mushroom policy review panel set to launch in January (9News.com)

• Activists Take Next Step In Campaign To Legalize Psychedelic Mushrooms In California (Marijuana Moment)

• Paul Stamets Tells Joe Rogan About the Future of Psilocybin Research (Psychedelic Science Review)

MDMA

• More Patients Could Have Access to MDMA Therapy—Before the FDA Approves It (DoubleBlind)

• How — and why — to legalize ecstasy (AlterNet)

Ayahuasca

• Initial Trial of Ayahuasca for Depression Shows Promising Results (Mad in America)

• More Evidence About Ayahuasca ‘Death Cult’ Emerges With Arrest of Lawyer Paul Sulla in Hawaii (Frank Report)

Iboga

• For opioid addicts, African psychedelic ibogaine is last-resort detox drug. Research shows it works, but a legal grey area surrounds its use by clinics (South China Morning Post)

Opioids

• Risk Factors for Opioid Overdose Similar for Teens and Adults (PsychCentral)

• The opioid crisis shows why racism in health care is always harmful, never ‘protective’ (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Methamphetamine

• Meth boom adds to Afghanistan's opium and heroin woes (Breitbart)

Nicotine

• Federal Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Products Officially Raised to 21 (TIME)

Benzodiazepines

• Benzodiazepines May Influence Suicide Risk in Anxiety Disorders Depending on Duration of Use (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Benzodiazepines linked to overdose deaths among those treated for opioid dependency (The Pharmaceutical Journal)

• More U.S. Teens Are Overdosing on Valium, Xanax (U.S. News and World Report)

Alcohol

• THC vs Alcohol Impaired Driving (DrugScience)

• Ad stating alcohol is a drug blocked as ‘too political’ (Irish Examiner)

• UNC researchers may have discovered why some casual drinkers develop an alcohol use disorder (WRAL Tech Wire)

Nootropics

• The 5 Most Science-Backed Nootropics for Energy (Psychology Today)

Miscellaneous

• Baba Ram Dass, Proponent of LSD Turned New Age Guru, Dies at 88 (The New York Times)

• Say Hello to World’s First Psychedelic Microdosing Study Mobile App (Psychedelic Science Review)

• Ireland's first supervised drug injection centre gets approved (The Irish Post)

• The future of psychedelic science: What the next decade holds (New Atlas)

• A New Way To Quit? Psychedelic Therapy Offers Promise For Smoking Cessation (NPR)

• Portland Activists Begin Gathering Signatures For Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• What Makes A Good Psychedelic Guide? (Maps of the Mind)

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 - 10.18.19

CANNABIS

• Study finds endocannabinoid system regulates sperm development (Leafly)

• Canada Sold $1.1 Billion of Legal Weed in the First Year of Adult-Use Sales (MERRY JANE)

• Mexican Senate Committees Will Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bill Next Week (Marijuana Moment)

• Heavy Metal Poisoning May Be Causing the Vaping Illness Epidemic, Lab Suggests (MERRY JANE)

• How mainstream media botched the vape lung story (Leafly)

• New California Law Legalizes Medical Marijuana Use at K-12 Public Schools (MERRY JANE)

• Two More Studies Show Patients Are Replacing Prescription Painkillers With Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Colorado Issues a Massive Statewide Recall for Moldy Weed (MERRY JANE)

• Grading cannabis strength ‘will improve mental health of users’ (The Guardian)

• Parkinson's patients to receive cannabis oil in 'pioneering' trial to test drug's effectiveness (iNews)

• Weed Edibles Are Finally Legal in Canada, But They’re Still Not for Sale (MERRY JANE)

• Cannabis extract may work as a treatment for cannabis addiction (New Scientist)

• Thailand Plans Inaugural “World Ganja Festival” for 2020 (MERRY JANE)

• CBD or THC? Common Drug Test Can't Tell the Difference (The New York Times)

• Recreational Marijuana Would Create More Than 100,000 Jobs in Florida, Study Says (Miami New Times)

• UK Government Approves the Country's First Legit Weed Grow for Medical Research (MERRY JANE)

• Presidential Candidate Wants To Let Americans Legalize Marijuana Through National Referendum (Marijuana Moment)

LSD

• Kacey Musgraves reveals she penned two songs while tripping and praises LSD for 'opening your mind' (Daily Mail)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• Scientists Want to Try Using Shrooms to Revive People in Vegetative States (VICE)

• DEA Tracks Down Alleged Denver Mushroom Dealer Using News Articles (Westword)

• Magic mushrooms are a powerful way to treat depression, addiction, and anxiety (GOOD Magazine)

• How Magic Mushrooms Can Help Smokers Kick The Habit (NPR)

• Psilocybin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know (Heavy.com)

MDMA

• When ecstasy was dealt openly on the Dublin rave scene (The Irish Times)

DMT

• Scientists Solve the Crystal Structure of the Fumarate Salts of DMT and Psilocin (Psychedelic Science Review)

AYAHUASCA

• Taking Ayahuasca When You’re a Senior Citizen (The New York Times)

• Is Ayahuasca Made in the Laboratory or with Foreign Plants Just as Good? Enter Pharmahuasca. (Kahpi)

• The Commodification of Ayahuasca: How Can we do Better? (Chacruna)

• What's all the buzz about? Montreal woman seeks to demystify ayahuasca (Montreal Gazette)

5-MEO-DMT

• Psychedelic Toad Venom Is the New Trendy Hallucinogen (Addiction Center)

MESCALINE

• Unveiling mescaline’s history: A conversation with Mike Jay (The Daily Californian)

PEYOTE

• Peyote Harvesting Guidelines (Chacruna)

KETAMINE

• Why You Need to be Careful About the Ketamine Clinic You Choose (DoubleBlind)

• Openness to Experience Predicts Response to Ketamine Treatment (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Ketamine use on the rise among festival-goers: NDARC survey (The New Daily)

• Ketamine and Future Depression Treatments (Psychiatry Advisor)

OPIOIDS

• Combat troops at higher risk for opioid, heroin addiction, study says (Military Times)

• The Opioid Crisis Cost the US Over $600 Billion in Just 4 Years (MERRY JANE)

• Mindfulness May Benefit People on Methadone (Futurity)

• The Democratic candidates are calling for locking up opioid executives (Vox)

• Narcan, a life-saving anti-overdose drug, is now sold online in Tennessee (The Tennessean)

• The US could learn from how Italy tackled its own opioid problem (Quartz)

• Philadelphia high school students receive training on how to administer Naloxone (6ABC)

COCAINE

• Revealed: How much cocaine Londoners are taking every day (Sky News)

• The treatment of cocaine use disorder (Science Advances)

• Man Who Was Sentenced to 15 Years for Cocaine Released After it Turned Out to Be Powdered Milk (People)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• While millions are spent to fight the opioid epidemic, a meth crisis quietly grows in Wisconsin (MinnPost)

CAFFEINE

• Study: Caffeine use may increase risk of miscarriage (KWWL)

• Is mixing caffeine and alcohol bad? (Mic)

• Could coffee byproducts fight inflammation? (Medical News Today)

TOBACCO

• Judge puts Michigan’s ban on flavored nicotine vaping on hold (Detroit Metro Times)

• Ohio “Tobacco 21” law goes into effect today (WHIO)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• Lil Peep’s Mom Alleges His Manager Pressured Him to Abuse Xanax; They Deny It (Vulture)

ALCOHOL

• National focus on overdose prevention should include alcohol too, study suggests (Medical Xpress)

• Alcohol industry 'puts pregnant women at risk', researchers say (The Guardian)

KRATOM

• What is kratom? The popular herbal supplement has caught flak from the FDA (NBC News)

• Kratom In Indiana – The Legality, Effort, & Recent Update (Kratom Guides)

KAVA

• Why Australia is turning to psychoactive drink kava to make friends in the Pacific (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Fijians to have double allowance of Kava to Australia (FBC News)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Scotland’s Ruling Party Unanimously Backs Drug Decriminalization Measure (Marijuana Moment)

• '60 Minutes' segment explores psychedelics research at Johns Hopkins (The Hub)

• Two Presidential Candidates Voice Support For Drug Decriminalization At Democratic Debate (Marijuana Moment)

• How Psychedelic Exceptionalism Harms Drug Users (Filter)

• Building the Infrastructure for Legal Psychedelic Therapy: Interview with Ronan Levy of Field Trip Psychedelics (Psychedelic Times)

• People of Color Making a Difference in Psychedelic Healing (Chacruna)

• Investors hope psychedelics are the new cannabis. Are they high? (The Economist)

• Portugal Mayor Supports Recriminalizing Public Drug Use (Filter)

• Stop teaching drug abstinence: Just say no to the era of ‘just say no’ (New York Daily News)

• How psychedelic drugs treat mental illness differently than traditional medicine (Mic)

• 10 Calls to Action: Toward an LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychedelic Therapy (Chacruna)

• My Years in the Florida Shuffle of Drug Addiction (The New Yorker)

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 - 4.19.19

CANNABIS

• Study Finds Marijuana Motivates People To Exercise, Smashing Lazy Stoner Stereotype (Marijuana Moment)

• Report: Adult Use Legalization Associated With Increased Home Values (NORML)

• Dogs Treated With Cannabis Oil Experience Less Frequent Seizures, Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• In the age of legal marijuana, many employers drop ‘zero tolerance’ drug tests (Los Angeles Times)

• Georgia: Governor Signs Law Licensing Low-THC Oil Production (NORML)

• Another Federal Agency Wants You To Stop Calling About A Marijuana-Related Job (Marijuana Moment)

• Where the war on weed still rages (The Washington Post)

• Missouri Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Bill In Committee (Marijuana Moment)

• Alabama Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Marijuana Decriminalization In Committee Vote (Marijuana Moment)

• Marijuana legalization is very popular (Vox)

• Alabama Police Ruined a Couple’s Lives Over $50 of Weed. Now the Charges Against Them Have Been Dropped (Reason)

• Unlicensed LA Dispensary Sold Pesticide-Tainted Cannabis, City Says (Leafly)

• Illinois: Cook County State’s Attorney To Expunge Thousands Of Low-Level Cannabis Convictions (NORML)

• Why Carl's Jr. is testing out a CBD burger (CNN)

• Joe Biden Applauds Anti-Marijuana Speech At Opioid Forum (Marijuana Moment)

• How Cannabis Prohibition Is Harming Veterans With PTSD (Forbes)

• Mitch McConnell Touts Hemp Legalization Achievement In Reelection Campaign Ad (Marijuana Moment)

• Doctors Have a Cannabis Problem, and It’s Harming Patients (Leafly)

• Mental illness implications of cannabis use must not be ignored (CALmatters)

• People Could Use Marijuana In Public Housing Under New Congressional Bill (Marijuana Moment)

• Roadside drug-testing flaws exposed in local court case (Echonetdaily)

• How to Be an Ethical Weed Consumer (Lifehacker)

• Can Cannabis Help You Get off Xanax? (Civilized)

• Where Presidential Candidate Eric Swalwell Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Don't expect your doctor to prescribe CBD, says physicians' college (CBC)

• Meet the ‘Bliss Molecule’ Anandamide, a Cannabinoid Your Body Produces (Leafly)

LSD

• Study: Microdosing LSD for 1 month was followed by improved mood, productivity (Big Think)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• The First Vote To Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms Is Happening Right Now (Marijuana Moment)

• What is Denver Initiative 301: Psilocybin mushroom decriminalization (The Denver Post)

MDMA

• Professor in western Japan allegedly made students produce MDMA (The Mainichi)

• The Push To Legalise MDMA In Australia (10 daily)

• MDMA Study Shows Promise In Fighting Brain Disease (EDMTunes)

• Psychedelic renaissance: could MDMA help with PTSD, depression and anxiety? (The Guardian)

• Teen who died at Kelowna festival last summer was given MDA instead of MDMA (Vancouver Sun)

• “I Think I Can Leave Afghanistan in the Past”: Interview with a Military Psychologist about MDMA Therapy for PTSD (Psychedelic Times)

• Liverpool teenager dies after suspected MDMA overdose (Milbank Monitor)

• Mum of schoolboy, 13, who died in park ‘after taking homemade ecstasy pill’ makes Facebook plea for help finding dealer ‘who sold my son these drugs’ (The Sun)

AYAHUASCA

• Do Ayahuasca Shamans See Microbial Worlds in Their Visions? (Kahpi)

• Eleven Otherworldly Visionary and Ayahuasca Artists You Probably Don’t Know (Kahpi)

• How Ayahuasca Taught Me Gratitude And Pulled My Life Together (Reset.me)

• Ayahuasca Spirits Are Special Because They Are Not Real (Kahpi)

5-MEO-DMT

• A single inhalation of vapor from dried toad secretion containing 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) in a naturalistic setting is related to sustained enhancement of satisfaction with life, mindfulness-related capacities, and a decrement of psychopathological symptoms (Springer)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• New York launches new effort to fight synthetic cannabinoids (WNYT)

• The Study of “Synthetic Cannabinoids” Condemns Punitive Marijuana Laws (Filter)

• Flood of synthetic cannabinoids threatens to undermine CBD market, experts say (NutraIngredients-USA)

• Why Synthetic CBD Is (Probably) the Future of Cannabis Pharma  (Green Entrepreneur)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Laughing Gas to Be Used as Antidepressant in Australian Medical Trial (VICE)

KETAMINE

• J&J’s new ketamine-like depression drug Spravato off to ‘very, very strong start,’ company says (CNBC)

• Researchers Are Unraveling How Ketamine Works as an Antidepressant in the Brain (Discover Magazine)

• What Is Ketamine And Should It Be Used For Addiction? (Psychology Today)

PCP

• Lakewood man was high on PCP when he attacked man with ax before escaping police custody, police say (News 5 Cleveland)

• Six Onondaga County deputies treated for possible exposure to PCP (WSTM)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• Exclusive: DHS is considering classifying fentanyl as a 'weapon of mass destruction' (Task and Purpose)

• Andrew Yang’s plan to take on opioids: decriminalize heroin and fentanyl (Vox)

• Life-saving opioid addiction treatments get a negative slant (Columbia Journalism Review)

• "Narcansas" app developed to combat the opioid crisis (KATV)

• Maine Pursues Plan To Stock Schools With Naloxone And Expand Drug Prevention Efforts (Maine Public)

• New York Heroin Use Figures Higher Than US Average (Tech Times)

• One Doctor’s Answer to Drug Deaths: Opioid Vending Machines (WIRED)

• Vermont State Police issue update on trooper who experienced serious medical event (Vermont Biz)

• 60 People Charged For Roles in Illegal Prescription Opioid Crackdown (TIME)

• The DEA announces new strategy to fight against opioid and heroin abuse (WGNO)

• Southern States Slowly Embracing Harm Reduction to Curb Opioid Epidemic (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

• HUHS Rejects Student Proposal to Make Naloxone Publicly Available on Campus (Harvard Crimson)

• Indivior Case: Don’t Throw Out the Buprenorphine With the Bathwater (Filter)

• Saving lives with Naloxone shouldn’t cost you life insurance (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

COCAINE

• Study: US Cocaine Interdiction Efforts Just Spread More Cocaine Around (Observer)

CAFFEINE

• Switzerland to reconsider emergency coffee stockpiles, says it’s not 'vital' for survival (Fox News)

• Does Caffeine Help A Headache Or Not? Here's What Experts Say. (HuffPost)

• Caffeine content of different types of coffee (Medical News Today)

TOBACCO

• FDA threatens to fine Walmart, Kroger and convenience store chains for selling tobacco to minors (CNBC)

• Sacramento city council bans flavored tobacco products (KCRA)

• American Cancer Society opposes Iowa bill to raise tobacco use age (WQAD)

• The Percentage of Americans Who Understand That Vaping Is Less Dangerous Than Smoking Continues to Fall (Reason)

• In Approaching Nicotine, Let’s Learn From Past Harm Reduction Victories (Filter)

• House Dems unveil legislation aimed at curbing youth tobacco use (The Hill)

• Snowmass Village set to raise tobacco age limit (Aspen Daily News)

• Mitch McConnell Wants to Raise Tobacco Purchasing Age From 18 to 21, Including for Vaping Devices (TIME)

• How Changing Tobacco Laws Can Save Thousands Of Lives, Billions Of Tax Dollars (Forbes)

• Ohio could raise tobacco, e-cigarette and vape purchase age to 21: Five things to know (Cincinnati Enquirer)

ALCOHOL

• Heavy drinkers consuming more than half of all alcohol (Medical Xpress)

• Child and Adolescent Anxiety May Be Associated With Later Alcohol Use (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Can you drink alcohol with antibiotics? (Medical News Today)

• 10% of 8th graders in U.S drank alcohol in the past 30 days (WICS)

NOOTROPICS

• This Powerful Nootropic Is the Perfect Start to Your Morning (and Afternoon, And…) (Inverse)

• Are Silicon Valley’s brain-boosting 'smart drinks' as clever as they seem? (The Telegraph)

KRATOM

• Opioid Users Call Kratom a Godsend. The F.D.A. Says It’s a Menace. (The New York Times)

• Kratom is all the rage, but this natural supplement can be dangerous (Popular Science)

KAVA

• Abuse of Kava at workplaces an issue: Minister (FBC News)

• CBD Vs. Kava Kava: Two More Natural Remedies Compared (Ministry of Hemp)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Silk Road 2 founder sentenced five years after the site was shut down (Engadget)

• An algorithm is attempting to block drug deals at UK WiFi kiosks (Engadget)

• Chemsex: a dangerous shortcut to intimacy (The Independent)

• Can the Psychedelic Movement Learn from the Movement for End of Life Liberty? (Chacruna)

• Locking Up Drug “Dealers” to Save Users Doesn’t Make Anyone Safer (Truthout)

• Why block the promise of a psychedelic renaissance? (openDemocracy)

• Proposal for decriminalizing drugs could be tabled for debate in Saeima (LSM.lv)

• Our Irrational Cruelty to Pregnant or Parenting People Who Use Drugs (Filter)

• Hallucinogenic Healing: Could Psychedelics Cure Toxic Masculinity? (Playboy)

• Dark Web Drug Seller Sinmed Goes Down—Thanks to ATM Withdrawals (WIRED)

• Don’t Have a Bad Trip with the Police: Know your Rights with Police and Psychedelics (Chacruna)

• What Is Psychedelic Integration? (Maps Of The Mind)

• My Life in Two Parts of Texas Illustrates Our One War on Drugs (Filter)

• Needle exchange program pioneered in Miami-Dade may soon grow to other Florida counties (Miami Herald)

• Plant medicines in indigenous cultures (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Why We’re Starting the Conversation Around Queerness and Psychedelics (Chacruna)

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.

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

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The Deadly Worst Case Scenario for America’s Xanax Obsession

Maia Szalavitz, writing for VICE:

Prescriptions go up. Overdoses skyrocket. People start to freak out. In response, US government officials and physicians clamp down on the medical supply of the drug in question. But that seems to only make things worse: An illegal substance – many times more powerful than those commonly given to patients – hits the streets as the death toll stubbornly continues to climb.

If this sounds like the story of the American opioid crisis, culminating in recent years with the proliferation of super-deadly fentanyl, that’s because it is. But it’s also the story of the Scottish response to an eerily similar problem with the anti-anxiety medications known as benzodiazepines (a.k.a. benzos), which include Xanax (alprazolam), Valium (diazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam), among others.

Americans like benzos, too.

Cutting back on prescriptions only exacerbates the problem.

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Post Permalink

This Week in Psychoactives - 2.15.19

CANNABIS

• Senator Files '420' Marijuana Bill To Legalize It Federally (Forbes)

• Mexican Senate Report Lays Out Marijuana Legalization Considerations (Marijuana Moment)

• New Mexico Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill At Committee Hearing (Marijuana Moment)

• Oregon has more legal cannabis than the state can consume in six years (Quartz)

• States With Legal Medical Marijuana Have Lower Teen Use Rates, Large-Scale Study Finds (Marijuana Moment)

• Why CBD Works Better With a Little THC (Even If You Don’t Want to Get High) (Leafly)

• Study Shows How Marijuana Component CBD Can Help People With Substance Use Disorders (Marijuana Moment)

• Veterans Medical Marijuana Access Legislation Introduced In House and Senate (NORML)

• European Parliament Approves Medical Marijuana Resolution (Marijuana Moment)

• Bill to Provide Greater Access for Virginia Medical Cannabis Patients Succeeds (NORML)

• Missouri Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Expungement Bill For Medical Cannabis Patients (Marijuana Moment)

• Kamala Harris Got So High Smoking Weed in College She Thought She Was Listening To Snoop Dogg and Tupac (Reason)

• Where Presidential Candidate Amy Klobuchar Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)

• Michigan’s First Cannabis Lounge Is the Chill Alternative to Bars (Leafly)

• Marijuana possession bill reintroduced in state Senate (Winston-Salem Journal)

• Maury Povich Smoked A Marijuana Strain Named After His Wife, Journalist Connie Chung (Marijuana Moment)

• Dan Bilzerian's Weed Company Is Keeping Sexist Cannabis Ads Alive (VICE)

• If you support marijuana legalization, you should support safe injection sites (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Here's How New Mothers are Using CBD to Combat Baby Brain (Civilized)

• Aurora Cannabis earnings show big growth in pot sales, but worrisome profit trend (MarketWatch)

LSD

• The Man who Mapped LSD (OUPblog)

• Microdoses of LSD change how you perceive time (Big Think)

• Amanda Feilding: ‘LSD can get deep down and reset the brain – like shaking up a snow globe’ (The Guardian)

MAGIC MUSHROOMS

• $1m kicked into campaign for magic mushroom therapy (The Sydney Morning Herald)

• Push to legalize psychedelic mushrooms gains traction in Eugene (KEZI)

• Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Are Having a Moment. Here's What It's All About. (Cheddar)

• Magic Mushrooms Show Promising Results for Treating PTSD and Depression (San Diego Entertainer Magazine)

MDMA

• MDMA Users May Have a Social Advantage Over People Who Use Other Drugs (Inverse)

• Israel's Health Ministry Approves Compassionate Use of MDMA to Treat PTSD (Haaretz)

• MDMA Expanded Access is almost here. What’s it all about? (Psymposia)

• Use of Ecstasy spreading in Cebu: PDEA 7 (Sun.Star)

• Police issue a warning for yellow octopus ecstasy pills (Mixmag)

• Daniel Eades, 19, took MDMA at Halo and Wetherspoon (Bournemouth Echo)

• Young dad dies after taking ecstasy on New Year's Eve (Derbyshire Live)

AYAHUASCA

• The First Indigenous Ayahuasca Conference (Yubaka Hayrá) in Acre Demonstrates Political, Cultural and Spiritual Resistance (Chacruna)

• Ayahuasca Shows Huge Potential As a Treatment For Severe Depression (Reset.me)

• What Ayahuasca is Trying to Teach Us: An Interview with Dennis McKenna (Reality Sandwich)

• Mindful Eating as a support for Ayahuasca Dieta (Tam Integration)

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS

• Severe bleeding associated with use of tainted synthetic cannabinoids (AAP News)

• Colorectal cancer: Scientists halt growth with cannabinoid compounds (Medical News Today)

• Children as young as THREE are treated in hospital after taking Spice as Britain's synthetic drug crisis deepens (Daily Mail)

NITROUS OXIDE

• Laughing gas now an option for women giving birth (Everything Lubbock)

• Residents 'disgusted' after piles of 'hippy crack' canisters dumped outside Cambridge home (Cambridgeshire Live)

• Everything you need to know about nangs, the worrying craze growing amongst Aussie teens. (Mamamia)

KETAMINE

• Taking Ketamine Can Feel a Lot Like a Near-Death Experience (Tonic)

• F.D.A. Panel Recommends New Depression Treatment (The New York Times)

• Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles Commemorates Five Years of Patient Success Stories (New Kerala)

PCP

• Man who killed USA Today reporter in PCP-fueled crash sentenced to six years in prison (The Washington Post)

OPIATES/OPIOIDS

• When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease (The New York Times)

• Mapping the Opioid Epidemic (New America)

• Overdose remedy naloxone now carried by all Ventura police officers (Ventura County Star)

• Mass. Issues Guidelines After Boston Nurse Was Denied Life Insurance For Carrying Naloxone (WBUR)

• Even in best-case scenario, opioid overdose deaths will keep rising until 2022 (Los Angeles Times)

• Opioid-Related Deaths Decreasing in Iowa, Report Shows (WHO-TV)

• Veterinarian sentenced to 6 years for stitching heroin into puppies and turning them into drug mules (INSIDER)

• Why the Rural Opioid Crisis Is Different From the Urban One (CityLab)

• Opium cultivation business squeezed by market shift towards meth (Myanmar Times)

• Vet saves Victoria puppy with naloxone injection (Maple Ridge News)

• Offer: help solve the opioid crisis, have your student loans forgiven (Rooster Magazine)

• Indy coffee shop is the newest place to offer life-saving drug naloxone (Fox 59)

• Coroner: No carfentanil spike locally, but OD deaths are up (Dayton Daily News)

• 'Church Of Safe Injection' Offers Needles, Naloxone To Prevent Opioid Overdoses (NPR)

• It's too late to save my son's life, but this drug can save others (The Sacramento Bee)

• Houston Cop Involved in Deadly Drug Raid Relieved of Duty Due to 'Ongoing Questions' (Reason)

• Naloxone training could help save numerous lives (KVAL)

METHAMPHETAMINE

• Crystal Meth Is North Korea's Trendiest Lunar New Year's Gift (The New York Times)

• Officials: Iowa sees higher-quality meth, increased drug use (The Daily Nonpareil)

BENZODIAZEPINES

• The Deadly Worst Case Scenario for America's Xanax Obsession (VICE)

ALCOHOL

• Beer before wine, you'll feel fine? Not according to a new study (CTV News)

• More than 100 dead after drinking bootleg alcohol in India (Reuters)

• Man 'under influence of alcohol' allegedly beats stepdaughter to death (Jakarta Post)

• How heavy drinking might boost your appetite for alcohol (Health24)

• Alcohol Problems Grow as Booze Gets a Bigger Kick (WebMD)

• Alcohol’s effects on the brain (The Ithacan)

• Plan to raise alcohol limits in beer at Utah stores approved (Cache Valley Daily)

• Report says Utah has lowest alcohol consumption per capita in country (KUTV 2News)

• Thousands sign petition to stop ban of alcohol on some Michigan rivers (WXYZ)

• I Stopped Drinking For 30 Days — & My Skin Got So Much Better (Refinery29)

• Giving up alcohol made our lives better — and turned us into terrible guests (The Washington Post)

ABSINTHE

• Does absinthe really make drinkers hallucinate? (Fox News)

NOOTROPICS

• Brain‑Enhancing 'Smart Drugs' Promise a Boost in Creativity, Memory (The Swaddle)

• Seven Mental and Athletic Performance Benefits of Nootropics (Youth Health Magazine)

• Noopept: one of the most potent brain boosters on the market (London Post)

KRATOM

• Kratom Is A Drug, But Indonesia Really Wants It To Remain An Unlicensed Supplement (Science 2.0)

• The FDA is wrong about kratom (The Washington Post)

• Regulations Are On Hold as Kratom Debate Rages (WebMD)

• Kratom No Longer Allowed In Columbus (WCBI)

• What Is Kratom & Why Is It Being Used For Opiate Self-Detox? (Psychology Today)

• Miracle treatment or dangerous drug? (The Star Online)

MISCELLANEOUS

• El Chapo, the Notorious Drug Kingpin, Has Been Found Guilty in His U.S. Trial (TIME)

• 'Kitty Flipping' and the Psychonaut Obsession with Mixing Drugs (VICE)

• FDA explores using blockchain to track drug supplies (Engadget)

• How Brexit Will Shape Britain's Drug Supply (VICE)

• GOP Iowa lawmaker proposes decriminalizing psychedelic drugs for medical use (The Hill)

• Sri Lanka hiring hangmen, inspired by Philippines' war on drugs (Reuters)

• Will El Chapo's conviction change anything in the drug trade? (The Guardian)

• Victoria city councillors call on B.C. to provide safe-inhalation sites for drugs (Times Colonist)

• Tennessee bill would charge pregnant women using drugs if baby born addicted (KMPH)

• Students Turn To Study Drugs And Alcohol To Cope With Campus Life (Forbes)

• Is there something divine about gender and psychedelics? (The Psychedelic Scientist)

• Microdosing Hallucinogens Has Positive Effects—but Not What You Might Suspect (Pacific Standard)

• Riverstyx: A Small Family Foundation That Funds Psychedelic Research and Other Fringe Causes (Inside Philanthropy)

• Sex On Drugs (PSU Vanguard)

• The case for drug decriminalization in Baltimore (The Baltimore Sun)

• Japan managed to win its war on drugs, why can’t we? (The Spectator)

• Trip Sitters and Conscious Bachelorette: Interview with Chi of Truffles Therapy (Psychedelic Times)

• Psychedelics Live Up to Early Promise (Discover Magazine)

• How 'Russian Doll' flirts with psychedelic therapy (The Outline)

• Becoming an Entheogen (Medium)

• Psychedelic Meditation (The Third Wave)

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

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

Image by Psychedelic Astronaut.