Cannabis
Hawaii’s Marijuana Decriminalization Law Is Officially In Effect (Marijuana Moment)
Scientists discover the reason why anxious people smoke marijuana (Inverse)
Pot seizures jumped at U.S. border in the year after Canada legalized cannabis (CBC)
Black Swan: rare Jamaican cannabis strain could treat pancreatic cancer (Health Europa)
Report: Federal Marijuana Prosecutions Declining (NORML)
New Jersey: Court Affirms Employer Must Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana Expenses (NORML)
Medical Marijuana Is an Ideal Replacement for Opioids, Another Study Confirms (MERRY JANE)
New CDC Report Highlights the Risks of Black-Market THC Vapes (Reason)
Weed impairs driving skills long after the high is gone (FOX6Now.com)
New Approach Montana aims to put two legalization measures on 2020 ballot (Leafly)
New Mexico Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed After Governor Puts Issue On 2020 Agenda (Marijuana Moment)
Weed Delivery Drones Are Coming to Seattle This Spring (MERRY JANE)
Colorado lawmakers want to stop employers from firing people for using weed in their personal time (The Denver Post)
Marijuana Record Expungement Movement Growing Rapidly, Report Shows (Marijuana Moment)
Can Workers Still Get Fired For Using Marijuana In Legal States? (BroBible)
New Hampshire Lawmakers Take New Approach To Marijuana Legalization For 2020 (Marijuana Moment)
More pets accidentally eating marijuana (WNEM)
Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Shifts Focus To 2022 Instead Of This Year (Marijuana Moment)
LSD
Study Finds ALD-52, 1P-LSD, and 1B-LSD Are Prodrugs of LSD (Psychedelic Science Review)
Magic Mushrooms
A Single Dose of Psilocybin Mushrooms Can Reduce Anxiety for Nearly Five Years (MERRY JANE)
COMPASS Pathways Granted Patent Covering Use of Its Psilocybin Formulation in Addressing Treatment-resistant Depression (PR Newswire)
Psychedelic Events Are Going Mainstream, Where The Much-Maligned Mushroom Industry Focuses On Mental Health (Forbes)
Ayahuasca
We Are Harvesting the Ayahuasca Vine at an Alarming Rate (Kahpi)
'I wake up and I'm a baby': an NFL star's journey into ayahuasca (The Guardian)
How Can You Drink Ayahuasca Legally in the U.S.? (Chacruna)
Ayahuasca, Nazis, and the Life of Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (Kahpi)
Novel Psychoactive Substances
The World’s First LSD Microdosing Kit is Here (DoubleBlind)
Nitrous Oxide
Laughing gas can ease symptoms of depression in just two hours by acting on a brain chemical with no side-effects, new research suggests (Daily Mail)
Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban (The Guardian)
UAMS first hospital in central Arkansas to offer laughing gas for women in labor (KTHV)
Opioids
Up to a third of opioid overdose deaths might be suicides, researcher concludes (Medical Xpress)
Heroin, Fentanyl Deaths Drop in Medicaid Expansion States (U.S. & News Report)
Cocaine
A Cocaine Nasal Spray Just Received FDA Approval (MERRY JANE)
Methamphetamine
Meth overtakes marijuana, now most reported drug in Tennessee crime labs (WJHL)
Caffeine
Using caffeine as a tool to study information processing (Medical Xpress)
Nicotine
Vaping crackdown: School system will send e-cigarette users to alternative school (AL.com)
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepine prescriptions reach ‘disturbing’ levels in the US (New Scientist)
Alcohol
The Latest Findings on Why It’s So Hard to Quit Drinking (Elemental)
Kratom
Kratom to Be Removed as Type-5 Narcotic in Thailand (Chiang Rai Times)
Kratom Business From Colorado Breaks New Ground in Oregon (Westword)
The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug? (NPR)
Kratom Lab Testing and Why It Matters (Kratom Guides)
Kava
Vanuatu stops issuing kava export licences, moves to tighten regulations (Radio New Zealand)
Miscellaneous
Explosive growth of plant medicine movement aims to help heal the world (Chacruna)
Activists Take Steps To Decriminalize Psychedelics In Washington, D.C. (Marijuana Moment)
How researchers and advocates of color are forging their own paths in psychedelic-assisted therapy (WHYY)
The DEA seized her father’s life savings at an airport without alleging any crime occurred, lawsuit says (The Seattle Times)
A Report From the Rocky Path to Legal Psychedelics (Playboy)
Johns Hopkins Scientists Give Psychedelics the Serious Treatment (Scientific American)
Ukraine paves the way for innovative harm reduction in the EECA region (TalkingDrugs)
Roadside drug tests failed by 185 drivers during festive campaign (BBC)
BBC Duped into Promoting Marketing Scheme for Microdosing Psychedelics (Psymposia)
NYC To Host Economics Of Psychedelics Investing Summit (Benzinga)
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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.