This Week in Psychedelics - 2.19.16

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Image by Dahtamnay, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Cannabis

  • Could Cannabis Help Stem the Heroin Overdose Crisis? (TakePart)
  • The Science Is Clear: Marijuana Is Not A Gateway Drug (Reset.me)
  • Bill Maher Smokes a Joint to Prove a Point About Marijuana Legalization (ATTN:)
  • Legal Marijuana Sales Totaled $1 Billion in Colorado Last Year (Reason)
  • California Nuns Illegally Grow Medical Cannabis, Sell It Online (Inquisitr)
  • Meet the Marijuana Industry's Newest Customers: Dogs (Reason)
  • Cannabis does not cause anxiety and depression, study finds (The Telegraph)
  • Why Is Facebook Taking Down Marijuana Dispensary Pages? (TIME)
  • Terminal brain cancer patient says cannabis oil saved his life (Sun Times National)
  • Using Cannabis to Treat Depression (Leafly)
  • Study: No Increase In Prevalence Of Cannabis Use Disorders (NORML)
  • Where do Ireland's political parties stand on decriminalising cannabis? (The Journal)
  • Albuquerque baby makes history with cannabis oil at Colorado hospital (KRQE)
  • Using Cannabis For Sexual Health (Reset.me)
  • Government's Cannabis ATM (SF Weekly)
  • Will there be a 2016 Colorado Cannabis Cup? Permit denied (The Cannabist)
  • Happy Presidents Day! The Founding Fathers and Cannabis (Leafly)
  • Leafly Evolves Beyond Cannabis Strain Reviews (New Cannabis Ventures)
  • 'Cannabis clubs' may be opening in four Swiss cities (The Independent)
  • Step by Step, Pot-Legalizing States Free Their Marijuana Markets (Reason)
  • Leafly Science Roundup: Can Cannabis Improve Your Workout? (Leafly)
  • Ex-coach Ron McBride voices support for medical cannabis (KSL)
  • Barcelona's Pot Boom and Bust (Reason)
  • Adams County denies permit to 2016 Cannabis Cup at Denver Mart (The Denver Post)
  • Beginner's Guide to Cannabis Breeding, Genetics, and Strain Variability (Leafly)
  • Complex California Pot Act Created Unseen Problem (Reason)
  • Snoop Dogg Invests In Canadian Cannabis With Smiths Falls Marijuana Deal (Inquisitr)
  • The gene that puts cannabis users at risk of psychosis: Scientists discover why some smokers are more prone to mental illness (Daily Mail)

LSD

  • Inside the LSD Museum That the DEA Somehow Hasn't Torn to the Ground (WIRED)
  • The Strange Way LSD Both Mimics Psychosis And Improves Mental Health (The Huffington Post)
  • LSD research making a comeback says U of S historian (CBC News)
  • Study: LSD could lead to long-term psychological well-being (Palm Beach Post)
  • Always Wanted to Do LSD With Philip K. Dick? You'll Love Playing Californium (WIRED)
  • LSD research rebounding during 'psychedelic renaissance' (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)
  • Society may have changed enough to warrant a retrial of LSD: expert (Global News)
  • 2 students charged after 3 LSD overdoses at Villanova University (6abc)
  • Williams Sentenced to Probation for LSD Possession (KOWB)

Psilocybin/Magic Mushrooms

MDMA/Ecstasy

  • Could MDMA Save Your Relationship? (Complex)
  • Want to Legalize Medical MDMA? Attend a 'Psychedelic Dinner' (US News)
  • Government urged to consider pill testing as number of ecstasy users appearing at NSW hospitals doubles (ABC)
  • MDMA: Using Safely (The Bottom Line)
  • 'Deplorable' Kids Company psychologist is banned from practising for 12 months after taking MDMA with a vulnerable client in a nightclub toilet (Daily Mail)
  • MDMA, Purest Form Of Ecstasy, Often Contaminated With 'Bath Salts' (Medical Daily)
  • Death At HARD Summer Ruled Ecstasy "Intoxication" By Coroner (Your EDM)
  • Florida man says he was jailed after police mistook aspiring for Ecstasy (WFTV)
  • Teen Raver Died From Ecstasy Intoxication, Coroner Says (L.A. Weekly)
  • Delivery results in felony charges for Oglesby man (LaSalle News Tribune)
  • Teen accused of distributing ecstasy in Canberra faces court (ABC)
  • A man and woman arrested for possession of Ecstasy: Parma Heights Police Blotter (Cleveland.com)
  • Valdosta man arrested on MDMA, cocaine charges (Valdosta Today)
  • Eugene man, allegedly high on ecstasy, arrested on felony assault charge (The Register-Guard)
  • Teen rushed to hospital after taking ecstasy tablet at Coatbridge fast-food restaurant (Scottish Daily Record)
  • Couple celebrated birth of child by taking Ecstasy and pot: West York police (PennLive)

Ayahuasca/DMT

Peyote/San Pedro/Mescaline

Iboga/Ibogaine

  • What's the Difference between Iboga and Ibogaine? Identifying the Right Treatment for You (Psychedelic Times)
  • Psychedelic Research with Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT: An Interview with Dr. Joseph Barsuglia (Psychedelic Times)
  • Sunshine Coast alternative therapist calls on Government to research iboga plant to treat drug addiction (ABC)
  • My First Iboga Experience: An Interview with Dr. Joseph Barsuglia (Psychedelic Times)

Synthetic Cannabinoids/Psychoactive Research Chemicals

Dissociatives

  • Ketamine treatments working wonders on local girl (WOAI)
  • Drug holds promise to fight acute depression (Palm Beach Daily News)
  • Parklife Festival drug dealer told he could have killed someone with ketamine horse tranquiliser (Liverpool Echo)
  • Man dies after falling from fifth-floor flat window while trying to perform a PULL-UP (Mirror)
  • Inquest heard in ketamine addiction case (Barnsley Chronicle)
  • Woman groped, suspect later found on PCP | POLICE BLOTTER (Renton Reporter)
  • Police: PCP arrest made during traffic stop in Md. (WJLA)
  • NJ man arrested for possession of PCP (Mid-Hudson News)
  • Youth faces court over ketamine haul (The Standard)

Opiates/Opioids

  • Kroger to make naloxone available over the counter (Sandusky Register)
  • How snail venom may help end the heroin crisis (KING5)
  • Penetrating Every Stage of Afghan Opium Chain, Taliban Become a Cartel (The New York Times)
  • Cruz, Trump want to secure the border to keep out heroin. But will it work? (The Washington Post)
  • China busts 35 restaurants using opium poppies as seasoning (WFXT)
  • Walgreens to sell Naloxone without a Prescription (MyTechBits)
  • Heroin-Addicted Identical Twins Reveal Shocking Ways They Say The Get Money For Drugs (The Huffington Post)
  • Tasked With Combating Opium, Afghan Officials Profit From It (The New York Times)
  • Overdose prevention pills don't cure opioid problem (Business Insurance)
  • Poppy farmer thought it was a herb (Bangalore Mirror)
  • 'Tea lady' inspires people to give up opium cultivation in Arunachal (The Statesman)
  • Myanmar, a country rich in jade and gems, and OPIUM (The Northeast Today)
  • Opium smugglers evade capture in Jordan (Al Bawaba)
  • Myanmar Activists Say Destruction of Opium Fields Blocked (ABC)
  • Broadway man charged with trafficking opium (The Sanford Herald)
  • Opium Prohibition in Afghanistan (Cato Institute)

Absinthe

  • Man wakes up after a night of drinking of absinthe in Magaluf and discovers a tattoo of a huge penis inked on his leg (Daily Mail)

Kratom

Kava

  • New kava legal challenge in Germany over drugs institute ruling (Asia Pacific Report)
  • New Kava Challenge (Vanuatu Daily Post)
  • Two New Kava Bars Chill out the Bay Area With a Calming, Natural Concoction (7x7)
  • One year mellow at Berkeley's MeloMelo Kava Bar (Berkeleyside)
  • Divisadero's Long-Awaited Kava Lounge Softly Opens This Thursday (Hoodline)

Khat

  • Madagascar flirts with food crisis as Khat fields replace staple crops (AfricaNews)
  • Of Juja's JKUAT students and miraa chewing (Hivisasa)

Miscellaneous Psychedelics/Psychoactives/Drug Policy

  • New Report Finds Drugs Bought On the Dark Net Have Higher Levels of Purity (Thump)
  • Is Meth as Safe to Consume as Adderall? (ATTN:)
  • Here are 10 fascinating drugs that our ancient ancestors used to get high (Raw Story)
  • WATCH: Lana Del Rey Gets High on Psychedelics in New 11-Minute Video for 'Freak' (First to Know)
  • Combat PTSD with psychedelic drugs? The VA or nonprofit organizations must fund more research now (New York Daily News)
  • Why deaths won't stop the party: Drug test kits gain popularity as festival overdoses soar (Geelong Advertiser)
  • Scalia's Mixed Drug War Record (Forbes)
  • North Carolina's Welfare Drug Testing Program Is a Complete Failure (ATTN:)
  • COLUMN: Psychedelic drug safety (Indiana Daily Student)
  • Don't Punish All Drug Offenders for the Crimes of One (Reason)
  • Pope Francis: Mexico Must Confront Drug Trade, Corruption (TIME)
  • Effort made at CU-Boulder to ensure safe recreational drug use (Boulder Daily Camera)

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 (and other psychoactives) are presented by the mass media, which includes everything from the latest scientific research to misinformation.