CANNABIS
Study: Daily Cannabis Use Among Pain Patients Associated with Less Non-Prescription Opioid Use (NORML)
License revoked for California cannabis vape maker Kushy Punch after state seizes $21M worth of products (Marijuana Business Daily)
Scientists Just Figured Out Why Some People Hallucinate on Weed (MERRY JANE)
Another Study Links Vitamin E Additive to Lung Illness (NORML)
California Is Raising Taxes On Cannabis Again (Forbes)
Study Finds “Little Support” for Cannabis Impacting Cognitive Abilities (NORML)
Cannabis reduces headache and migraine pain by nearly half (ScienceDaily)
Marijuana vaping disease strikes Thai patient (Coconuts Bangkok)
Additives result in higher toxins for vape users, Portland State study finds (EurekAlert!)
Michigan halts sale of marijuana vapes unless re-tested (MSN)
Alcohol-Related Car Crashes Declined In Idaho After Washington Legalized Marijuana Next Door (Marijuana Moment)
Feds Will Stop Funding State Addiction Programs That Use Cannabis (MERRY JANE)
Trinidad And Tobago Government Introduces Marijuana Reform Bills (Marijuana Moment)
For many, even 'automatic' clearing of marijuana records could be complicated (Crain's Chicago Business)
Is Weed Safe When You're Breastfeeding? (VICE)
US Air Force Bans Service Members From Using CBD, Despite its Legal Status (MERRY JANE)
Joe Biden Walks Back Marijuana ‘Gateway Drug’ Comment After Week Of Criticism (Marijuana Moment)
Inside the Contentious World of Cannabis Churches (InsideHook)
Pete Buttigieg Says Marijuana Arrests Signify “Systemic Racism.” His South Bend Police Fit the Bill. (The Intercept)
Where Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg Stands On Marijuana (Marijuana Moment)
Congressional Candidate Smokes Marijuana And Talks Legalization In Campaign Video (Marijuana Moment)
Cannabis legalisation: Does it lead to harder drug use? (BBC)
LSD
New Zealand-based LSD microdosing trial gets go-ahead (Newshub)
Inside the Archive of an LSD Researcher With Ties to the CIA’s MKUltra Mind Control Project (The Intercept)
Thai medical authorities issue warning on recreational 'Magic Paper' hallucinogen (AsiaOne)
MAGIC MUSHROOMS
FDA Grants Psilocybin Second Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Resistant Depression (Medscape)
Scientists Discover New Compounds in Magic Mushrooms (Psychedelic Science Review)
Depression sufferers should not self-medicate with magic mushrooms, health experts warn (The Telegraph)
Late frost means magic mushrooms will bloom in the UK on New Year‘s Day (Stock Daily Dish)
MDMA
Parents of teens, here’s what you really need to know about MDMA (The Conversation)
AYAHUASCA
Lindsay Lohan's ex-boyfriend Harry Morton was 'hooked on ayahuasca', a psychedelic drug that distorts brain waves to create a vivid 'waking-dream' state — and was once used by the actress who said it 'changed her life' (Daily Mail)
Don’t Forget Us Native People Behind the Ayahuasca (Kahpi)
Personal Healing with Ayahuasca Helped Me Be a Better Psychologist (Chacruna)
NITROUS OXIDE
Doctors warn of the dangers of ingesting nitrous oxide in light of OU student death (WHIO)
KETAMINE
A Single Dose Of Ketamine Might Help Heavy Drinkers, Study Finds (NPR)
PCP
Naked man reportedly high on PCP jumps off roof of Kansas City home ‘like Peter Pan’ (FOX 4 Kansas City)
OPIOIDS
Pioneering Glasgow clinic offers addicts pharmaceutical grade heroin (The Guardian)
Drugmakers and Distributors Are Under Federal Opioid Probe, Report Says (TIME)
Heroin Pipes: How the “Hammer” Was Built for Harm Reduction (Filter)
My friend and I both took heroin. He overdosed. Why was I charged with his death? (The Washington Post)
COCAINE
Coca Plant Makes a Comeback (Reality Sandwich)
When Paul McCartney Realized Cocaine Was Terrible for Him (Showbiz CheatSheet)
Kirstie Alley Traded Cocaine For Flowers As 'Gift' To Herself (TooFab)
CAFFEINE
Some coffee drinkers claim it causes anxiety. Here's what the science says (Salon)
Caffeine, Cough Medicines: What's in the Average Blood Transfusion (U.S. News & World Report)
Calls for probe into 'energy gum' that has more caffeine than Red Bull (Scottish Daily Record)
Nicotine
Massachusetts Becomes the First State to Ban Flavored Tobacco and Vaping Products (TIME)
Pennsylvania Officially Raises Age Of Tobacco Purchase To 21 (CBS Pittsburgh)
New York City Lawmakers Vote to Ban All Flavored E-Cigarettes (TIME)
CPSC Will Go After Vape Shops That Violate Bottle Rules (Vaping360)
How the British Approach to Vaping Puts the US to Shame (Filter)
More People In US Now See E-cigarettes More Harmful Than Tobacco (Medical Daily)
"Small Vape" Stood Up for Itself at the White House (Vaping360)
What the E-Cigarette Bans Get Wrong (Slate)
Vape debate: Are e-cigarettes wiping out teen smoking? (AP News)
ALCOHOL
Does Drinking Alcohol Literally Shrink the Brain? (SciTechDaily)
A Brain Network for Alcoholism? (Psychology Today)
Stamford and the bottle: Study shows alcohol is a problem in city (Stamford Advocate)
Utah underage drinking declines to record low (The Salt Lake Tribune)
NOOTROPICS
Some Nootropics Contain a Substance Unapproved by the FDA (VICE)
KRATOM
Which Liver Enzymes Metabolize Mitragynine (Net Newsledger)
Retail sale of kratom supplement banned in Monument (Colorado Springs Gazette)
Poison Control Centers Saw 5,000% Increase In Calls About Kratom Exposure (WOSU)
KAVA
Fijian kava arrives in New Zealand pharmacies (NZ Herald)
The viability of kava in healthcare — sensations of euphoria and relaxation (The Market Herald)
MISCELLANEOUS
How Drugs Won the War on Drugs (Mixmag)
Leaked Documents Say Roughly 2,000 NY Prisoners Affected By Erroneous Drug Tests (Gothamist)
Are over-the-counter psychedelics in our future? (Big Think)
Federal Health Agency Hosts Talk On Psychedelics Research (Marijuana Moment)
Psychedelic studies on depression recruiting subjects in the Netherlands (Stitching OPEN)
Nearly 100 Cities Are Considering Decriminalizing Psychedelics, Map Shows (Marijuana Moment)
Is this the way the drug war ends - not with a bang, but a whimper? (Politics.co.uk)
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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.